VZCZCXRO5757
PP RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHHM #0805/01 2111109
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301109Z JUL 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2938
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2073
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3140

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000805 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS BRETT BLACKSHAW 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI ECON VM
SUBJECT: GVN PROMISES AND DETAINEE RELEASES IN WAKE OF LAND RIGHTS 
PROTESTS 
 
REF: HCMC 766 AND PREVIOUS 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000805  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Since land rights protests in Ho Chi Minh City 
were broken up by police on July 18, the GVN has continued 
publicizing the measures it is taking to address land rights 
protesters' concerns, including the establishment of fourteen 
interagency inspection teams to look into unresolved land claims 
disputes.  Eyewitnesses have dismissed overseas reports that 
heavy police violence was used to break up protests and most of 
the protest organizers earlier reported detained have been 
released.  ConGen has been unable to confirm the status of two 
others.  End summary. 
 
GVN CREATES MULTI-AGENCY TASK FORCE 
----------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) Press reports continue to reflect positive GVN actions in 
the aftermath of the forcible breakup of land rights protests in 
HCMC on July 18.  According to local media reports, senior State 
Inspectorate official Tran Van Truyen announced the 
establishment of 14 inspection teams on July 26 to resolve 
outstanding claims in Vietnam's southern provinces.  These 
inspection teams will include officials from the Ministries of 
Natural Resources and Environment, Finance, Construction, the 
State Inspectorate and the Office of Government(OOG - an 
Executive-level office which advises the Prime Minister and 
Cabinet members among others).  Press reports also stated that 
some 'simple cases' of land disputes and compensation had been 
settled in the province of Dong Thap.  According to one report, 
the Deputy Party Secretary of Tien Giang province, home to the 
largest number of protesters, personally met with protesters to 
listen to their claims and called for relevant agencies to 
proceed with the resolution. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Despite this active press campaign, ConGen's contacts 
noted no concrete breakthroughs in this thorny issue. Mr. Nguyen 
Van Trinh (aka, Ba Trinh), a Tien Giang resident and one of the 
two main organizers of reftel protests, told ConGen that he has 
not heard of any successful settlements.  Monk Thich Minh Nguyet 
of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), who 
visited the protesters during their three-week demonstration in 
HCMC and maintains close contacts with the organizers (reftel), 
told us that Tien Giang authorities have made promises but that 
he has observed no actual progress to date. 
 
DETAINEE UPDATE 
--------------- 
¶4. (SBU) ConGen attempts to communicate with the protest 
organizers have been limited because their cell phones appear to 
have been blocked, but we did manage to speak with Nguyen Van 
Trinh.  Despite several reports -- primarily from overseas 
Vietnamese groups -- of police using water hoses, cattle prods, 
and tear gas to break up demonstrators, Trinh said he did not 
see any tear gas, and that water hoses were only used to clean 
the area where protesters had been camped for three weeks. 
Trinh did confirm that he was forcibly placed into a police 
truck and suffered minor injuries when he tried to resist, but 
said he was not beaten.  Released after one night in police 
custody, Trinh said he has been summoned to return for 
interviews with the police almost everyday.  Trinh told us that 
police have asked him for names of other organizers and 
information on how funds from the UBCV and overseas Vietnamese 
supporters were funneled to the protesters.  Police have also 
tried to pressure Trinh into signing a commitment not to 
organize or take part in land protests in the future.  Trinh 
said he does not yet know whether he will be prosecuted for his 
role in the protests. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Pastor Duong Kim Khai, a ConGen contact with several 
connections within the land rights movement, confirmed that Ms. 
Nguyen Thi Bao Phuong, the PalTalk user arrested for allegedly 
giving food to the protesters and whose case was the focus of 
several inquiries from U.S. based NGO's, was released after a 
brief detention.  Pastor Khai also confirmed that the other main 
organizer previously reported in reftel, Ms. Cao Que Hoa, has 
been released.  ConGen has been unable to confirm the present 
status of two other protest organizers, Ms. Vu Thanh Phuong and 
Ms. Hien. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶6. (SBU) Though the establishment of 14 interagency inspection 
teams shows a willingness to admit that the protestors had a 
valid grievance and perhaps even a GVN willingness to take 
action on the land protesters' claims, actual resolution of 
these complicated and difficult cases will likely take some time 
to materialize even if the GVN's press statements are completely 
sincere.  The GVN's handling of the protest organizers has been 
restrained thus far, but ConGen will continue attempts to 
confirm detainee releases as well as report any future arrests 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000805  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
or prosecutions of land protest organizers.  End comment. 
 
¶7. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX