VZCZCXRO8095
OO RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1093/01 2661006
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221006Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8507
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5137

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001093 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF VM
 
SUBJECT: CATHOLICS PROTEST GVN ACTION, POLICE SEIZE LAND AT THAI HA 
PARISH 
 
REF: HANOI 1086 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  The standoff between Catholic parishioners and 
the Hanoi city government continued to escalate over the weekend, as 
the Hanoi Archbishop led a special mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral 
attended by 12,000-15,000 and the state-controlled media continued 
to attack the Archbishop.  Construction of a public park and library 
at the former residence of the Papal Nuncio went forward with the 
apparent blessing of PM Dung, while across town, local authorities 
raided disputed property near the Thai Ha parish.  Meanwhile, the 
MFA spokesman denied the beating of the AP Bureau Chief and claimed 
that the journalist had broken the law in attempting to photograph 
Friday's prayer vigil.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ARCHBISHOP HOLDS MASSIVE MASS... 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Following the events of Friday, September 19 (reftel), the 
Archdiocese of Hanoi on Saturday continued its large prayer vigils, 
as construction workers continued to tear down buildings surrounding 
the former Papal Nuncio's residence and moved forward with the rapid 
construction of a public park.  Poloff estimated the crowd to be 
well over a thousand.  Unlike Friday, when it appeared that the city 
government was leading the government's efforts to transform the 
disputed property, on Saturday, state-controlled media reports 
highlighted that Prime Minister Dung's had personally signed off on 
plans to turn the property on Nha Chung Street into a public park. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On Sunday, September 21, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet 
conducted a special mass at Hanoi's St. Joseph's Cathedral, attended 
by nearly 100 priests and three bishops from outside Hanoi, in which 
he pointedly mentioned the persecution of the early Saints in Rome. 
Poloff and contacts at the mass estimated that at least 5,000 
persons were packed into the Cathedral.  Despite heavy rain, some 
7,000-10,000 additional parishioners filled the square outside the 
Cathedral and surrounding streets.  Following the mass, the 
Archbishop, bishops, and priests resumed their vigil near the 
disputed property, where the Archbishop again read his public letter 
to the President and Prime Minister criticizing the government's 
actions. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The vigil continued at the site Monday morning, but in 
much smaller numbers, while the Archbishop departed Hanoi to attend 
an emergency meeting of the Episcopal Council in Dong Nai. 
 
...AND MEETS CITY OFFICIALS... 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On Saturday, the Archbishop had an acrimonious meeting 
with the Chairman Nguyen The Thao People's Committee of Hanoi 
regarding the land dispute, according to priests close to the 
Archbishop.  The Archbishop continued to press city officials to 
halt construction of the new public park and to return the land to 
the church.  City officials asserted that the Catholic Church had no 
claim to the land and were adamant that the Archdiocese was breaking 
the law in pressing for continued prayer vigils at the site. 
 
...BUT CONTINUES TO BE HARSHLY CRITICIZED 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Press reports following the meeting were overwhelmingly 
hard-hitting, with the state-controlled media attempting to 
characterize the Archbishop as unpatriotic by seizing on a statement 
in which he said the government's actons had made him "ashamed" to 
carry a Vietnamese passport when traveling overseas.  The next day, 
the People's Committee of Hanoi issued a statement accusing the 
Archbishop of disturbing public order and undermining national 
unity.  The statement, signed by Chairman Thao, threatened that if 
the Archbishop did not end his "illegal acts," he would be treated 
"in accord with the law." 
 
MEANWHILE AT THAI HA PARISH 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Authorities also moved ahead to quell ongoing 
demonstrations at Thai Ha parish, the location of Hanoi's other 
prominent Catholic land dispute.  Late Sunday evening (September 
21), priests at Thai Ha reported that security forces and a "citizen 
brigade" had raided the property and destroyed the makeshift altar 
where parishioners had held vigil since mid August.  The priests 
informed PolOff that police had driven them off the land and for a 
time had surrounded their church.  According to the priests, an 
elderly Catholic woman looking after the Thai Ha property was 
missing and another woman beaten during the raid had required three 
stitches.  Parishioners gathered at the church on the morning of 
September 22 to pray, but police had sealed the street near the 
disputed land. 
 
 
HANOI 00001093  002 OF 002 
 
 
MFA DENIES POLICE BEAT AP CORRESPONDENT 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) On September 21, MFA Spokesman Le Dung posted a statement 
on the Ministry's web site claiming that "there was no beating" of 
the Amcit journalist.  The statement, however, asserted that the 
journalist had broken Vietnamese law "by deliberately taking 
pictures at a place where taking pictures was not allowed." 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The MFA's assertion is risible.  Video footage, posted now 
on YouTube, shows the AP journalist being taken into custody.  His 
clothes are clean and he is unharmed.  Approximately a half hour 
later, he is seen and photographed (by DPolCouns, among others), 
still in police custody, with a laceration on his head and 
blood-soaked clothes.  While we did not witness the Amcit being 
beaten, it is clear that he was suffered his wounds while in police 
custody. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Developments at the former Nunciate residence and Thai Ha 
parish are more complicated, though the government's stance appears 
equally intransigent.  After weeks of inaction and relative 
restraint, the authorities have likely concluded that they can no 
longer tolerate large-scale demonstrations and are now moving to 
permanently change the facts on the ground. 
 
Michalak