VZCZCXRO1746
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0614/01 1441011
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231011Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7888
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7125
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 4768
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000614 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR DRL A/S KRAMER FROM AMBASSADOR MICHALAK 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV OTRA ECON VM
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR U.S.-VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE 
 
 
HANOI 00000614  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
Summary and Introduction 
------------------------ 
 
¶1. (SBU) Assistant Secretary Kramer: Mission Vietnam looks forward 
to welcoming you to Hanoi.  Your visit is well timed to focus 
Vietnamese leaders on the importance we attach to human rights in 
strengthening and deepening our bilateral relationship in the year 
ahead.  Overall, the U.S.-Vietnam relationship continues to broaden 
and mature, and the transformation of the economic, social and 
technological landscape continues to create new spaces for Vietnam's 
people to communicate their views, including the public's growing 
intolerance for government inertia and corruption.  However, despite 
a general loosening of control over many aspects of life for most 
Vietnamese, especially when compared to past decades, the government 
still limits citizens' freedom of speech, assembly, movement, and 
association.  While the government still maintains control of the 
organized activities of religious groups, Vietnamese citizens are 
generally allowed to practice their religion, and the government 
continues to legalize many religious congregations.  The United 
States is viewed by the majority of Vietnamese as a key partner in 
Vietnam's current and future success, and our Human Rights Dialogue 
(HRD) is an opportunity to address our differences constructively 
and reinforce our view that improvement in Vietnam's human rights 
and governance record is in the country's own interest.  End 
summary. 
 
Background: Bilateral Relations Continue to Improve 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Vietnam's economic successes have translated into greater 
international clout, especially in the region.  Vietnam's role as a 
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council has raised its 
international profile.  Hanoi is not fully sure how to handle all 
the attention, but understand that the United States has - and is - 
playing a direct role in creating the conditions for their nation's 
success.  Leaders here are thankful, in particular, for the key 
technical assistance we've given over the past seven years in 
reforming the system of economic governance. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Challenges of course remain.  GVN leaders argue that 
maintaining the Party's preeminent political role is critical to 
preserving stability.  Conservatives still seek to use issues like 
Agent Orange, as well as other war legacy issues, to put the United 
States in a bad light.  China remains Vietnam's critical strategic 
preoccupation, and this can complicate our efforts to engage in some 
key areas.  At the same time, Vietnam's leaders also realize that 
the United States is an important force in maintaining a stable 
geopolitical environment in which even "small" countries like 
Vietnam are assured their independence and freedom of action.  As 
Vietnam continues its rapid economic and social transition, many 
Vietnamese view the strength of its relations with the United States 
as a key indicator of how much progress has been made in leaving the 
dark days of the 1970's and 1980's behind.  For these reasons, 
Vietnam's leaders are committed to continued progress in bilateral 
relations and your interlocutors will likely speak positively and 
optimistically about the future of U.S.-Vietnam ties. 
 
Engagement on Human Rights: Results 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In February 2006, we resumed our annual Human Rights 
Dialogue (HRD) with Vietnam in recognition of progress achieved in 
the area of religious and political freedom since the suspension of 
the Dialogue in 2002.  After the 2006 Dialogue, the GVN released 
three high-profile political prisoners, allowed Mission political 
officers to visit certain prisons, and repealed catch-all 
administrative detention Decree 31.  After the April 2007 HRD, there 
were additional prisoner releases, increased legalizations of 
religious organizations, and a more cooperative response to USG 
entreaties in areas of judicial reform and governance. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In addition, in the 2006 and 2007 bilateral labor 
dialogues, the USG and GVN signed Letters of Understanding to renew 
and continue labor cooperation in areas including improving labor 
inspection and enforcement, and preventing and eliminating 
exploitative child labor and TIP in Vietnam.  Moreover, Vietnam's 
May 13 application to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) 
should give us additional leverage to promote long-lasting reforms 
in Vietnam's treatment of the rights of collective bargaining and 
freedom of association.  Ongoing USG labor and TIP advocacy helped 
result in the GVN's 2007 ratification of ILO Convention No. 29 
outlawing forced labor and the 2007 establishment of a new 
anti-trafficking unit within Vietnam's Police Department Human 
resource development, industrial relations, expanded labor rights, 
and occupational health and safety are other important areas of our 
ongoing labor dialogues. 
 
HANOI 00000614  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) In my calls on leading Government of Vietnam officials and 
in my statements to the local and international media, I have 
explained that the promotion of human rights is among my top 
priorities for my tenure.  I reiterate President Bush's message to 
Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in June 2007 that, in order 
for the United States - Vietnam relationship to progress, Vietnam 
will need to do more to respect human rights.  We also coordinate 
our efforts with other like-minded countries through an 
Ambassadorial group that meets monthly to share views and 
information on human rights issues. 
 
Challenges on Human Rights 
-------------------------- 
 
7.(SBU) While we share common views with the GVN in many areas, 
differences over human rights remain, and lingering fears that the 
United States supports the overthrow of the current regime continue 
to complicate the relationship.  The existence of groups, many led 
by overseas Vietnamese, in the United States and elsewhere that 
continue to explicitly advocate regime change helps generate 
negative charges by conservatives here which stoke a lingering 
paranoia that we are indeed still "the enemy." Reassuring the GVN 
that the USG does not support separatist groups but that it does 
support freedom of expression can assist in building a better human 
rights dialogue based on mutual trust. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Serious deficiencies related to human rights in Vietnam 
include lack of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom 
of the press.  One of our key objectives is to end the use of 
catch-all "national security" provisions such as Article 88 of the 
GVN criminal code, which prohibits "conducting propaganda against 
the State."  Several prisoners on our persons of concern list have 
been incarcerated under Article 88, for activities that would be 
considered legal freedom of speech and the press in the United 
States.  The U.S. Mission tracks approximately 50 individual cases 
of prisoners of conscience and activists under various forms of 
house arrest, surveillance, and/or harassment.  We continue to call 
for the release of all prisoners of conscience and freedom of 
peaceful expression of political views, but where we see individuals 
expressing their political opinions, many of our government 
interlocutors see "lawbreakers" trying to destabilize the regime. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Your visit comes at a particularly interesting time for the 
Vietnamese media.  All outlets remain under the control of the GVN 
but a recent case has highlighted strains within the system.  On May 
12, two investigative reporters of leading dailies Thanh Nien and 
Tuoi Tre were detained by the police for their articles on a major 
corruption scandal in 2006.  The police allege the two abused their 
positions for personal gain and revealed State secrets.  Media and 
general public response has been strongly negative against the 
police and other officials.  While media contacts have told us that 
editors have been directed to stop covering the story, a number of 
outlets have continued to write about the arrests, and they remain a 
primary focus of the Vietnamese blogosphere.  Journalists suggest 
the arrests will not hamper their coverage of corruption cases, but 
several have also voiced private concerns that reporters need to 
exercise particular caution now as this story continues to unfold. 
Post will continue to follow developments closely. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Beyond this particular story and more broadly in the 
media, perceptible progress is, however, being made.  Key Vietnamese 
leaders are committed to enhancing governance establishing the rule 
of law, and - publicly  anyway - combating corruption, all critical 
in building guarantees of individual freedoms.  Vietnam's leading 
newspapers are more aggressive in terms of the types of news they 
publish and their willingness to push back against censors.  Only a 
few years ago, any protest resulted in swift and severe police 
action.  Over this past year, various peaceful protests occurred 
involving issues such as land rights, opposition to Chinese 
territorial claims, and demands for the return of Catholic Church 
property, with one stretching out for a month before it finally 
ended peacefully. 
 
¶11. (SBU) With regard to religious freedom, Vietnam has made 
surprising progress, in large part due to the intensive engagement 
of Ambassador Hanford over recent years.  More needs to be done, but 
the country no longer qualifies as a particularly severe violator of 
religious freedom under our legal definition and we removed the 
nation from the list of countries of particular concern in late 
¶2006. 
 
Consequences of War 
-------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) In your meetings, you may hear references to "consequences 
 
HANOI 00000614  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
of war" or "legacies of war" issues, especially given the recent 
U.S. Court of Appeals decision to uphold the district court 
dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Vietnamese citizens against 
American chemical companies seeking compensation for injuries due to 
exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange and its contaminant, dioxin. 
In addition to Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin, however, "legacy" issues 
also include unexploded ordnance (UXO) and land mines from the war 
era and the recovery of missing Vietnamese military personnel. 
 
¶13. (SBU) While scientists and GVN officials continue to debate the 
human impact of the 80 million liters of AO sprayed over 2.6 million 
hectares and 3,000 hamlets in Vietnam, recent GVN-approved studies 
reveal that dioxin contamination is not widespread, but rather is 
concentrated in roughly 20 "hotspots," At or around for former U.S. 
bases.  At these bases, spillage from which Operation Ranch Hand 
missions, where AO was transferred, stored, and loaded have soil 
dioxin concentrations exceeding levels recommended by the U. S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health 
Organization.    Other areas targeted by aerial spraying do not 
currently have elevated concentrations of dioxin. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Over the past few years, the United States and Vietnam 
have begun to cooperate on certain aspects related to AO/dioxin, 
which, in turn, has led to an improved tone in the 
government-to-government dialogue and in the Vietnamese press. 
Since 2001, the USG has spent over $2 million to initiate technical 
dialogues, scientific conferences on the health and environmental 
effects of AO/dioxin, and fund a four-year project to build the 
capacity of Vietnamese scientists to analyze soil samples collected 
at the Danang airport dioxin "hotspots."  In 2007, Congress 
appropriated an additional USD 3 million in Economic Support Funds 
(ESF) for "dioxin mitigation and health activities."  Mission 
Vietnam has met with the GVN, local officials, and several NGOs to 
begin implementation of this funding.   U.S. engagement has 
encouraged several other donors to enter this area and we coordinate 
our efforts with those donors as part of a multilateral approach to 
this development issue. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Since 1989, USAID, through support from the Patrick J. 
Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF) and other sources, has provided over 
USD 43 million to support NGOs and private voluntary organizations 
to develop comprehensive programs for people with disabilities, 
independent of cause.  In addition, since 1993 the USG has been 
actively involved in assisting the people of Vietnam in overcoming 
the social and economic impacts of remaining UXO from the war. 
Vietnam was formally accepted as the 37th participant in the U.S. 
Humanitarian De-mining Program in June 2000, and the USG is now the 
largest donor of humanitarian assistance for mine action programs in 
Vietnam.  The USG has invested over USD 37 million in a broad 
spectrum of programs not only to locate, remove and destroy 
unexploded ordnance and landmines, but also to address the UXO 
effects on health and livelihood of Vietnamese living in affected 
areas. 
 
¶16. (SBU) Today, various NGOs conduct UXO and land mine clearance, 
risk education and victim rehabilitation. The USG has also donated a 
significant quantity of equipment to the PAVN to assist efforts in 
UXO and landmine clearance and return land to productive use.  In 
2006, the State Department provided USD 3.5 million to support UXO 
action and demining activities in Vietnam, almost a third of which 
went directly to PAVN in the form of donated demining equipment. 
FY08, an additional USD 2.5 million will be provided to underwrite 
mine action related activities in Vietnam.  For FY08, Congress 
dictated that approximately $2.5 million be spent on demining 
programs, a substantial increase from the $800,000 requested by the 
Administration. 
 
What You Can Expect 
------------------- 
 
¶17. (SBU) You can expect your interlocutors not only to be 
articulate and well informed, but also to speak in terms generally 
supportive of growth in the bilateral relationship.  I fully expect 
the overall tenor to be positive, contributing to our efforts to 
help translate those good feelings into measurable accomplishments 
in our bilateral relationship. 
 
¶18. (SBU) When confronted on directly on shortcomings in Vietnamese 
law regarding human rights issues, our GVN interlocutors often do 
not disagree directly.  Rather, they may acknowledge shortcomings in 
the Vietnamese legal system, but note that these reflect the 
different stages of development in our respective countries as well 
as different cultural norms.  They will make the point that United 
States standards should not be "imposed" on a developing country of 
Vietnam's status and per capita income. 
 
 
HANOI 00000614  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶19. (U) There will be media interest in your visit, both among 
Vietnamese and international outlets.  We are making arrangements 
for a press conference and, in addition to questions on the purpose 
of your visit and the results or your meetings, would anticipate 
questions on your recent dialogue in China. 
 
¶20. (SBU) Again, we look forward to your visit and stand ready to do 
everything we can to make your visit to Vietnam as productive as 
possible. 
 
MICHALAK