VZCZCXRO6928
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0443 1151238
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241238Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4422
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0044
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 4645

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000443 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL VM
SUBJECT: POLICE PRESSURE MOUNTS AS OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY NEARS 
 
REF: HANOI 235 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Prime Minister Dung's public comments that 
the GVN will not tolerate disruptions of the April 29 Olympic 
torch relay in Ho Chi Minh City have been followed by what 
appears to be a very well-orchestrated police crack down against 
persons deemed likely to incite anti-China protests.  Members of 
a local group known for its outspoken anti-China rhetoric report 
increased police attention, including "working sessions," and 
outright physical intimidation.  One member has left the city. 
The group's leader, a prominent anti-China and pro-human rights 
blogger arrested last week (reftel), has now been charged with 
tax evasion.  In spite of police pressure, the blog community 
continues to call for protests on April 29. End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Members of the Freelance Journalists Club led by Nguyen 
Van Hai (aka Hoang Hai or Dieu Cay), the blogger arrested last 
week (reftel), are receiving increased attention and 
intimidation from authorities in the run-up to the Beijing 
Olympic torch relay in HCMC on April 29.  Several of Hai's 
associates report round-the-clock surveillance by an increasing 
number of plainclothes police who are being stationed near their 
homes and following them during their daily routines.  Members 
of the club have also been summoned to multiple "working 
sessions" with the police in recent weeks. 
 
¶3. (SBU) One prize-winning movie director who belongs to the 
club has left HCMC temporarily to avoid further police 
harassment.  Another club member said plainclothes police 
confronted him when he was out with his girlfriend, pretended to 
be his girlfriend's "brothers" and threatened to beat him up. 
They also warned him "not to go anywhere" in public.  Yet 
another club member said he was detained for "not carrying his 
ID" while he watched police carry out a search of Hai's home. 
According to other members and the club's website, this same 
individual has now been called up for mandatory military 
service, even though he is currently a university student. 
(Comment: Most university students studying their bachelors in 
Vietnam are exempt from military service.  Viet Youth for 
Democracy Activist and blogger Nguyen Tien Trung was also called 
up for 18 months of military service in March, leading Post to 
believe that mandatory military service may be a new GVN tactic 
for taking young activists out of commission.  End note.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Meanwhile, Cong An ("Police") newspaper reports that 
the club member arrested last weekend (reftel), Hoang Hai, is 
now being charged ... for tax evasion!  The charges reportedly 
stem from an investigation that uncovered evidence that Hai 
dodged taxes on his HCMC residence in violation of Article 161 
of the Vietnam Penal Code.  Hai's associates confirmed to ConGen 
that he is now currently being held in HCMC's district 3 police 
detention facility. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Despite this crackdown, which began on the heel's PM 
Dung's public declaration that disruptions of the April 29 
Olympic torch relay in HCMC would not be tolerated, the 
situation in HCMC remains quite unsettled.  Anti-China 
sentiments fueled by the ongoing spat over the Spratly and 
Paracel islands as well as China's recent crackdown in Tibet 
remain hot button issues among Vietnamese youth.  Reports and 
contacts here indicate that overseas Vietnamese students 
participated in anti-Beijing Olympic rallies in Europe during 
Olympic torch relay ceremonies there, and the domestic blog 
community continues to call for anti-China protests here on 
April 29. 
 
FAIRFAX