VZCZCXRO1785
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #1236/01 3480954
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140954Z DEC 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3448
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2368
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3667

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 001236 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF, DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KIRF SOCI PINR VM
SUBJECT: USCIRF URGES GVN TO EASE ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS TENSIONS IN 
KHMER BUDDHIST PROVINCE 
 
REF: (A) HCMC 0234  (B) HCMC 0520 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001236  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1.  (SBU) The USCIRF delegation, on the final leg of their 
12-day long assessment of religious freedom in Vietnam, visited 
Soc Trang to examine issues pertaining to the Mekong Delta 
province's significant Khmer Buddhist population. The 
delegation, which included Commissioner Leonard Leo and two 
staffers, met with the Chairman of the Soc Trang People's 
Committee, members of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS) 
Executive Council, and the head monk of the Pra Sat Kong Temple. 
USCIRF focused attention on two main issues in Soc Trang:  the 
imprisonment of four Khmer Buddhist monks following a February 
2007 protest and the establishment of additional Pali language 
schools. End summary. 
 
USCIRF Expresses Skepticism About February Protest, Urges 
Amnesty For Imprisoned Monks 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶2.  (SBU) Commissioner Leo opened the meeting with People's 
Committee Chairman Huynh Thanh Hiep by acknowledging 
improvements in religious freedom in Vietnam over the past few 
years, as evidenced by church re-openings and increased dialogue 
between the government and religious groups. He said there 
remained, however, several outstanding issues that needed to be 
addressed in order to achieve full reform. He focused attention 
on two main issues in Soc Trang:  the imprisonment of four Khmer 
Buddhist monks following a protest in February 2007 (reftels) 
and the establishment of additional Pali language schools. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Recounting the official version of the February 2007 
protest, Chairman Hiep blamed the incident on a misunderstanding 
over a minor traffic incident involving a Khmer Buddhist monk 
riding with an unlicensed motorbike driver. Hiep said he was 
very sorry about the case, but emphasized that the incident was 
an issue of public order, not religion. In response, 
Commissioner Leo said he found it "troubling" and "hard to 
believe" that 200 monks and laypeople would protest over what 
officials called a minor traffic incident. The demonstration, 
according to the Commissioner, indicated the level of skepticism 
felt by the Khmer Buddhist monks towards government action, 
which he associated with a history of ethnic and religious 
tension between the GVN and the ethnic Khmer in Vietnam. To 
address this issue, the Commissioner proposed increased dialogue 
between the Khmer Buddhist community and the GVN. Moreover, 
USCIRF urged the GVN to grant amnesty to the four monks arrested 
for their involvement in the February 2007 protest. Chairman 
Hiep stated that the government would consider amnesty if the 
monks demonstrated good behavior in prison but claimed that 
return to their temples was a matter for religious leaders to 
decide. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Commissioner also raised the point that there was 
significant interest in establishing more language and culture 
schools and asked that the GVN ease restrictions on the creation 
of additional language schools. Allowing the establishment of 
additional Pali/Khmer schools, said USCIRF, would demonstrate 
the GVN's interest in preserving Khmer culture and religion as 
well as promote goodwill within the ethnic Khmer community. 
USCIRF cited the closure of at least one language school in the 
past year, a point which Hiep ignored. The Chairman answered 
that in addition to the Pali Supplementary School, all 92 Khmer 
pagodas also taught Pali; any additional schools would need to 
be approved by the Ministry of Training and Education. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) During the People's Committee meeting, USCIRF also 
engaged in a lengthy hypothetical discussion about whether the 
GVN would allow Khmer Buddhists to separate from the Vietnamese 
Buddhist Sangha, drawing an analogy to Christian Protestants. 
The Chairman responded by firmly asserting that "there is only 
one VBS" uniting all Buddhist sects in the country and that this 
issue had never before been raised in the province. After the 
meeting, PolOff raised concerns that the hypothetical was 
misinterpreted as fact by Vietnamese officials. Commissioner Leo 
immediately clarified the situation with the Hanoi CRA 
representative,  stating the question was purely hypothetical 
and had not been raised by any group or individual. 
 
Khmer Monks Carefully Adhere To The Official Party Line 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶6.  (SBU) USCIRF met with several representatives from the VBS 
Executive Board, including Duong Nhan, a Khmer monk and rector 
of the Pali Supplementary School. The monks declined to answer 
USCIRF questions about whether more Pali language schools were 
needed in the province, instead reciting statistics about the 
existing schools and pagodas. When asked about the recent 
closure of a Pali school, a VBS representative stated that the 
school was closed during festivals only. In response to USCIRF's 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001236  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
question about the four imprisoned monks, Duong stated that he 
approved their disrobing because they had violated the rules of 
the pagoda and school. Duong claimed that the four monks had 
been "incited by expat groups" to use religion to urge people to 
demonstrate and disrupt public order. He said he would allow 
them to return to the school if they became "good people after 
re-education." 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Lastly, USCIRF had a private meeting at Pra Sat Kong 
Temple, located about 30 minutes from the provincial capital and 
selected by USCIRF because of reported house arrests. The head 
monk enthusiastically received the delegation and expressed his 
deep gratitude for their interest in the Khmer community. He 
explained that the GVN had recently provided funding for the 
construction of a new religious school on the temple grounds, in 
addition to giving scholarships to novice monks to study. The 
pagoda was responsible for selecting the monks and registering 
their names with local authorities each new school year. The 
monk reported that he and his fellow monks were free to go 
anywhere in the city, and that there was no police presence 
around the temple. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶8.  (SBU) In his final debrief with the CG, Leo suggested giving 
additional support for the preservation of Pali/Khmer culture, 
as a means of reducing both religious and ethnic tension in the 
province. 
FAIRFAX