VZCZCXRO9345
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0635 1900014
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 090014Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9867
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5998
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS HANOI 000635 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS and DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL VM
 
SUBJECT: Vietnam Objects to Senate Letter on Father Ly 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: A letter from 37 U.S. Senators to President Triet 
asking for the early release of Father Nguyen Van Ly drew sharply 
opposing responses from the Vietnamese Communist Party and the 
opposition Bloc 8406.  The Party newspaper Nhan Dan ran a highly 
critical editorial condemning the Senate letter as an "incorrect 
act" based on "misinformation" that would "harm bilateral 
relations."  This editorial marks an uptick in critical comments 
from Party mouthpiece Nhan Dan against U.S. policies in general and 
the U.S. Congress in particular.  Leaders of Bloc 8406 released a 
public letter on July 6 heralding the Senate letter and its support 
for Father Ly as a co-founder of Bloc 8406 and pleading with the 
U.S. Senate to do more to assist prisoners of conscience in Vietnam. 
 End Summary. 
 
Nhan Dan Speaks Out Against U.S. Senate 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In response to the July 1 letter from 37 U.S. Senators 
asking for the release of imprisoned dissident Father Nguyen Van Ly, 
the official newspaper of the Communist Party, Nhan Dan, published a 
highly critical editorial criticizing the Senate for interfering in 
Vietnam's internal affairs.  The editorial claimed the Senators were 
clearly "misinformed" about the case of Father Ly and said that the 
letter would harm bilateral relations.  The editorial went on to 
criticize Father Ly directly, asking rhetorically "do the U.S. 
senators have enough information about actions against the State of 
Vietnam that Nguyen Van Ly carried out for decades?  Do they know 
that during the court trial on Mar. 30, 2007 in Hue, Nguyen Van Ly 
had behaviors that seriously offended the court?"  It continued on, 
saying that "it is hard to understand why some U.S. senators want to 
protect and defend him."  The editorial proceeded to call on the 
Senate to be more "objective" when dealing with human rights issues 
in Vietnam and praised former Ambassador Peterson for saying "There 
is no perfect country in terms of human rights.  We need to look at 
Vietnam's progress in the past 10, 20 years." 
 
¶3.  (SBU) This editorial follows earlier editorials criticizing U.S. 
and EU public statements opposing the arrest of attorney Le Cong 
Dinh.  Additionally at the end of May, Nhan Dan ran another 
editorial attacking Congressman Ed Royce for attaching a rider to 
the House State Foreign Operations appropriations legislation that 
recommended Vietnam be returned to the Country of Particular Concern 
list on religious freedom. 
 
Bloc 8406 Thanks Senate for Letter 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In an open letter to thank the U.S. Senate for its support 
of Father Ly, Bloc 8406 leaders Do Nam Hai, Father Phan Van Loi, 
Nguyen Chinh Ket and Tran Anh Kim (who was arrested on July 7) 
praised the Senate action on behalf of "their friend, a peaceful 
fighter" who has spent 17 years in Vietnamese prisons.  They 
concluded their letter with the plea that the Senate "please 
continue to campaign for the liberation of Reverend Nguyen Van Ly 
and other prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, among who are 30 
members of our Bloc 8406, and especially to campaign for our Vietnam 
to have all the human rights as defined in the International 
Conventions that Vietnam has signed to participate in." 
 
Michalak