VZCZCXRO5188
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0414/01 1140412
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230412Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4392
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3017
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 4615

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000414 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, PRM/A, AND ECA/PE/V/F/A FOR MICHAEL CAIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREF SOCI ECON EAGR VM
SUBJECT: CENTRAL HIGHLANDS LEADERS ROLL OUT WELCOME MAT IN DAK LAK 
 
REF: HCMC 406 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000414  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) During the Ambassador's two-day trip to Dak Lak March 
17-18, Central Highlands officials spoke positively about their 
recent Voluntary Visitor (VolVis) trip to the United States, 
reiterating their desire to promote more two-way exchanges. 
While skeptical about the perceived credibility of a possible 
GVN-USG public information campaign to clarify US resettlement 
requirements, Dak Lak leaders reacted favorably to the idea of 
having a "trusted" NGO with experience in Vietnam promote safe 
migration and provide accurate information about USG 
resettlement.  Provincial People's Committee Chairman Lu Ngoc Cu 
described a litany of government assistance programs and plans 
to assist ethnic minorities, adding that the proportion of 
government resources devoted to ethnic minorities is beginning 
to breed resentment among the majority ethnic Vietnamese 
population. Bad weather will mean lower yields for Dak Lak's 
biggest cash crop -- coffee -- but some farmers see a bright 
future through a new USAID-funded cocoa cultivation program. 
End summary. 
 
Seeing is Believing 
------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Members of the Central Highlands Steering Committee 
(CHSC), a centrally-appointed GVN advisory group, gave a glowing 
account of their travels in the U.S. under the auspices of the 
Voluntary Visitor Program in March, which included provincial 
leaders from Dak Lak, Kontum and Gia Lai.  The officials told 
the Ambassador they appreciated the opportunity to meet with 
people "face-to-face," and said they were surprised by the lack 
of current and accurate information the American public had 
regarding conditions in the Central Highlands.  Noting "nothing 
is the same as seeing it for yourself," the group agreed more 
exchanges between the U.S. and Vietnam were needed to clear up 
misunderstandings and strengthen ties. 
 
¶3. (SBU) When asked about the demonstrations by Montagnard 
advocacy groups in Greensboro, North Carolina, CHSC officials 
were unperturbed, noting they had been well-briefed by their US 
hosts on the potential for protests and understood why some 
groups would be upset about their visit given the "lack of 
accurate information" they had regarding ethnic minority 
developments in the Central Highlands.  CHSC officials repeated 
their desire to host US groups on visits to the region so they 
could see the changes for themselves. (Comment: Information from 
news reports and contacts in North Carolina suggest that the 
delegation's defensive attitude and sometimes impolite behavior 
-- walking out of meetings and home hospitality events, for 
example -- may also have contributed to tensions.  End comment.) 
 
Trusted NGO Partner Needed 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) CHSC officials also raised concerns about the continued 
"migration" of ethnic minorities from the Central Highlands to 
Cambodia, noting the increasing number of reports that human 
traffickers are luring their customers with promises of economic 
benefits and "an easy life" when resettled to a third country. 
CHSC officials said going the "legal way" (i.e., through the 
Consulate's Humanitarian Resettlement Section (HRS)), requires 
funds to travel the 300 kilometers from Dak Lak to Ho Chi Minh 
City and to pay the non-refundable interview fees--an option not 
available for many poor ethnic minority families.  (Note:  There 
is no interview fee.  The cost of travel is a significant burden 
for Visas-93 applicants, but we do not know why the officials 
mentioned a nonexistent interview fee.  Applicants more commonly 
complain to HRS about the cost of obtaining GVN-issued 
documents.  End note.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) CHSC officials were somewhat skeptical that a joint 
public awareness campaign would help to counter the rumors 
circulating about USG resettlement programs, saying ethnic 
minorities "would not believe what the GVN or the USG told 
them."  The officials did respond favorably to the idea of 
allowing an NGO with experience in Vietnam to disseminate 
information about safe migration and USG resettlement policies. 
They suggested coverage of the "realities" of the UNHCR camps in 
Cambodia would be valuable.  They also welcomed HRS's offer to 
hold workshops for local officials on USG resettlement policies. 
 (Note:  HRS is now working with its GVN contacts in HCMC to 
develop a plan that will win central government approval on this 
sensitive topic.  End note.) 
 
Chairman Cu on Ethnic Minority Aid 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000414  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Dak Lak People's Committee Chairman Lu Ngoc Cu briefed 
the Ambassador on a variety of GVN assistance programs for 
ethnic minorities, primarily through Program 134, which provides 
basic sanitation, housing and allocation of residential and 
agricultural lands, as well as Programs 139 and 159, which offer 
comprehensive medical, educational and electricity subsidies. 
To date, Chairman Cu said, Dak Lak has allocated over 8,000 
hectares of farm land and provided access to clean water to all 
ethnic minority villages in the province.  All thirteen 
districts have boarding schools for ethnic minority children and 
electricity has been provided to 2,238 villages.  Cu said Dak 
Lak has spent VND 94 billion (USD 5,875,000) of its provincial 
budget on ethnic minorities' medical insurance in 2007, a 30 per 
cent increase from 2006.  Cu expects all Program 134 targets to 
be met by the mid-2008, adding that 411 more villages will be 
wired into the provincial power grid by the end of 2009. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Though these assistance programs are making a material 
difference in the lives of ethnic minorities, Chairman Cu's 
comments made it clear they can also be another source of 
tension between ethnic minority and Kinh majority communities. 
Cu said that "ethnic minorities get what Kinh people (the 
Vietnamese majority) must pay for" and said "Kinh people have 
started to complain that they are now the ones facing 
discrimination." 
 
Coffee vs. Cocoa 
---------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Coffee growers in Dak Lak, which with 178,000 hectares 
devoted to coffee cultivation is Vietnam's largest coffee 
growing province, said unfavorable weather this year will reduce 
yields by half in some areas, offsetting the boon of high global 
coffee prices.  But in a few years, coffee profits may be 
rivaled by the rise of a new cash crop in the Central Highlands 
-- cocoa. 
 
¶9. (SBU) In an effort to promote crop diversification and assist 
poor and ethnic minority farmers in the area, the USAID-funded 
ACDI/VOCA program began working in 2006 with approximately 1,600 
farmers in Dak Lak to promote the cultivation of cocoa.  Most 
are members of the M'Nong ethnic minority who live outside Dak 
Lak's coffee growing areas.  Cocoa is an especially advantageous 
crop for Vietnamese farmers because prices have remained 
relatively stable for the last several years and world cocoa 
consumption continues to grow rapidly.  In addition, cocoa 
requires less irrigation and in Vietnam it is more often grown 
in the shade of existing crops than coffee.  Success will take 
time, however, since cocoa trees require about three years to 
produce their first pods and producing high quality cocoa 
requires careful local processing.  Farmers and local partners 
we spoke with agree it will take several years of steady funding 
and training to make the program a success. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment: The Ambassador's trip took place before the 
recent wave of protests struck the Central Highlands (reftel). 
Reporting on those developments are being sent septel.  End 
Comment. 
 
¶11. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX