VZCZCXRO7934
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1187 2910925
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170925Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8630
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5227

UNCLAS HANOI 001187 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF VM
SUBJECT: A LESSON IN DOUBLE-SPEAK - HANOI AUTHORITIES BRIEF FOREIGN 
MISSIONS ON CATHOLIC LAND CLAIMS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  On October 15, the Chairman of the Hanoi 
People's Committee Nguyen The Thao summoned senior diplomats to 
provide the official version of events surrounding the Catholic 
Church land claims at Thai Ha parish and the former residence of the 
Papal Nuncio.  After a long, technical explanation of the historical 
and legal background to the disputed properties, Hanoi officials 
excoriated Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet for causing "social disorder 
and public discontent."  Thao's deputy confirmed that the GVN had 
asked Vietnam's Episcopal Council to transfer Archbishop Kiet and 
others out of Hanoi.  The briefing did not sit well with many in the 
audience -- subsequent glowing press reports to the contrary -- and 
the Charge and other diplomats voiced concern over the authorities' 
handling of the whole affair.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On October 15, the Hanoi People's Committee invited Chiefs 
and Deputy Chiefs of Mission to attend a briefing on recent events 
concerning disputed property at the Thai Ha parish and the former 
residence of the Papal Nuncio.  People's Committee Chairman Nguyen 
The Thao was joined by Vice Chairman Vu Hong Khanh, Police Chief 
Nguyen Duc Nhanh, and representatives of the MFA and Government's 
Committee for Religious Affairs.  A number of representatives of 
Vietnam's state-controlled media also attended. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Opening the briefing, Vice Chairman Vu Hong Khanh launched 
into a complicated discussion of the historical and legal background 
of the properties, insisting that the two parcels once belonged to 
the Catholic Church, but were voluntarily transferred to the State 
in the 1960s during the land reform movement.  "Many plots of land 
were transferred to State management during and after the War as 
they hadn't been well utilized," Khanh stressed, adding that the 
Church's land claims were not in compliance with the spirit/content 
of the current land Law and Resolution 23 of the National Assembly. 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to Khanh, the city's administration many times 
invited the priests in charge of the Hanoi Archbishop's Residence 
and Thai Ha Parish to discuss the issues and had proposed giving the 
Church other land.  However, instead of sitting down with city 
authorities, clergymen including Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet and Thai 
Ha chief priest Vu Khoi Phung had organized demonstrations and 
sit-ins.  (Note: The Archbishop told us in September the Church had 
written annually for seven years to inquire about its claims, but 
never received a response.  Khanh's story omitted the Church's 
objection to the transfer of the land to a developer proposing to 
bid a Karaoke club.  End note.)  Moreover, according to Khanh, local 
Church leaders, including the Archbishop, had "excited ignorant 
parishioners in and outside Hanoi to commit unlawful acts."  As 
evidence, Khanh cited the destruction of a gate at Thai Ha, the 
installation of statutes and crosses, and the posting of fabricated 
information on the internet.  Because of these efforts to arouse 
"social disorders and public discontent," the city administration 
decided to take back the land and build parks there for public use. 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Vice Chairman Khanh stated that the city administration 
had issued an official warning against Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet, 
Thai Ha Church chief priest Vu Khoi Phung, and other clergymen. 
They had also asked the Episcopal Council to transfer Archbishop 
Kiet out of Hanoi.  In response to pointed questioning from the 
diplomats, Khanh said while the city administration respects freedom 
of expression and religion, religious practice must be in accordance 
to the law.  The Catholic Church's efforts to reclaim land was 
wrong, and the recent acts of a number of clergymen and parishioners 
violated the law, Khanh said. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Charge questioned why the authorities felt it 
necessary to transfer Archbishop Kiet and others out of Hanoi, 
emphasizing that it was difficult to explain these actions to a 
skeptical U.S. audience.  The Charge urged to allow freedom of 
expression and find a mechanism to resolve disputes such as these 
reasonably, fairly, and within the law. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT: The briefing was surreal enough.  But the next 
day the newspaper "New Hanoi" offered the following Orwellian 
account: "[The Charge] appreciated the way the People's Committee 
handled the matter.  She said: 'We have always informed our 
government and people in our country that those are purely 
complaints for land, they have nothing to do with limiting religious 
freedom and freedom of speech.'  [She] expressed her hope that Hanoi 
would effectively handle similar cases in the future."  No further 
comment needed.