VZCZCXRO0990
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #1098/01 2891133
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 160748Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0314
INFO ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0108

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001098 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL VM
SUBJECT: Ambassador Visits Father Ly in Prison 
 
REF: A) HANOI 821 B) HANOI 831 
 
HANOI 00001098  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMMARY: Meeting with the Ambassador October 14, jailed 
political dissident Father Nguyen Van Ly reported that that he was 
"95 percent recovered" from his July 12 stroke.  Ly said he remains 
isolated from other inmates but receives daily medical check-ups 
from prison physicians and maintains a full schedule, including 
regular prayer and Bible reading.  Ly appeared more subdued than he 
was the last time he met the Ambassador; he refrained from the 
vociferous denunciations of Vietnam's communist authorities that 
characterized previous meetings with U.S. officials.  Father Ly 
commented it was important for the government and dissidents to 
understand each others' perspective.  Not surprisingly, he opined 
that Vietnam's laws violated international norms.  Ly thanked the 
Administration and Congress for raising his case with GVN 
officials, but predicted he'll remain in jail for the remainder of 
his five-year term, since he will not "reform" his thinking.  State 
media and prison officials were present throughout the 75-minute 
meeting.  In a follow-on interview with television and print media 
journalists, the Ambassador reiterated his request that the GVN 
release Father Ly.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
Pre-briefing from Prison Warden 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On October 14, the Ambassador and Poloff traveled to Nam 
Ha Prison in Ha Nam Province to meet with prominent political 
dissident Father Nguyen Van Ly.  (NOTE: Post requested the meeting 
at the end of August when first notified about Father Ly's stroke, 
but was not permitted to visit the prison until now.  END NOTE.) 
Immediately prior to the meeting, Prison Warden Thang gave a short 
briefing on Ly's current health situation.  Thang stated that Ly's 
July 12 stroke (Ref. A), which he described as "minor," was the 
result of Ly's recurring high blood pressure.  He claimed that 
Father Ly had failed to take his medication as instructed by prison 
doctors.  Prison officials had provided emergency treatment and 
conducted daily checks of his blood pressure, which now averaged 
140 over 90.  Warden Thang stated that he would make arrangements 
for Father Ly to visit a specialist if Ly's health deteriorated. 
Ly's family had been notified about his condition, and the prison 
had allowed two priests from the Hue Archdiocese to visit (Ref B). 
 
 
 
Father Ly on His Health Status and Daily Schedule 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Father Ly entered the room with an almost imperceptible 
limp, but was clearly animated and in good spirits -- a mood which 
lasted throughout the 75-minute meeting.  Father Ly thanked the 
Ambassador for his concern and described his health as 
"temporarily" fine.  He explained that at the end of May he had 
experienced a sudden spike in his blood pressure and had blood in 
his stool.  Although the situation stabilized in May after 
emergency treatment from prison doctors, he suffered a mild stroke 
on July 12, which Ly attributed to another sudden rise in blood 
pressure.  His right arm and right leg had been temporarily 
paralyzed, but as a result of emergency treatment by prison doctors 
and a regular exercise regiment, Ly regained use of his right hand 
and leg.  He described himself 95 percent recovered, and said that 
he is taking medicine provided by the prison doctors to maintain 
his blood pressure, as well as supplemental medicine provided by 
his family. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Father Ly said that his spirits remain high, quipping 
that he has come to consider prison as his "official office."  He 
wakes up every morning at 3:00 am and prays, reads the Bible, and 
recites mass three times before the prison's morning wakeup bell 
sounds; he recites his prayers and reads the scriptures eight times 
a day.  He reads daily from the bilingual New Testament that the 
USCIRF delegation presented him in May, but asked the Ambassador to 
bring him a bilingual English Bible with the Old Testament the next 
time he visits.  The prison has provided him with additional 
Catholic prayer books, bilingual dictionaries, and the Communist 
Party newspapers, The People (Nhan Dan) and The Law (Phap Luat), 
which he said he reads daily.  Ly also watches several hours of 
television in the evening and on Sunday.  He enjoys gardening in 
 
HANOI 00001098  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
his 15-square-meter courtyard and exercises twice daily.  While Ly 
is entitled, consistent with Vietnamese law, to a one-hour visit 
every month by family, the distance and expense of a monthly trip 
is too much for his relatives in Ho Chi Minh City.  As a result, 
his nieces and nephews rotate, each visiting him every other month. 
He joked that although he is kept in isolation, he is not alone. 
"God, wild birds, rats and his garden help keep me company." 
 
 
 
Human Rights in Vietnam 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Turning to the issue of human rights in Vietnam, Father 
Ly said that this was a "complicated" issue.  Unlike previous 
meetings with the Ambassador and USCIRF, Ly sounded almost 
conciliatory, stating that both sides (the GVN and dissidents) 
needed to consider human rights from the perspective of the other. 
He said, for example, that he had tried to understand restrictions 
on free speech.  He thanked the Ambassador, the USG, and Congress 
for repeatedly raising his case and said that the Ministry of 
Public Security had told his family that he would be released early 
if he "reformed" his thinking.  Father Ly acknowledged that he had 
violated GVN law, but insisted that such laws were not just, noting 
(with a bit of his customary flair) that Karl Marx and Ho Chi Minh 
had been arrested for their radical ideas and released.  Warming to 
the theme, Ly emphasized that the Communist Party controlled the 
media and suppressed contradictory voices.  Returning to a more 
conciliatory tone, Ly added that the Party took these actions to 
maintain stability so that it could "continue working for the 
people." 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Commenting on Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review before 
the UN Human Rights Council, Father Ly noted that countries in the 
third world that view Vietnam as a role model had supported 
Vietnam's position.  Western nations, on the other hand, disagreed 
with Vietnam's catch-all national security provisions, and argued 
that Vietnam's practices violated fundamental individual rights, in 
particular rights guaranteed by the International Convention on 
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Human Rights 
Declaration, which he said prevail over domestic law.  Ly 
maintained that he was a prisoner of conscience and said that he 
knew he would not be released early unless he confessed and asked 
for forgiveness from the GVN.  Father Ly asked the Ambassador what 
he should do.  The Ambassador responded that Ly should do what he 
believed to be right.  Father Ly agreed, adding that this would 
result in his remaining in prison for the five years he has left to 
serve. 
 
 
 
Three Request of the Ambassador 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) At the end of the meeting, Father Ly made three requests: 
1) assist victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam; 2) pass on Ly's 
congratulations to President Obama for winning the Nobel Peace 
Prize and encourage him to use his standing to obtain peace in the 
Middle East; and 3) push for reform of the United Nations to assure 
world peace, a project that he estimated would take 300 years.  Ly 
called on all world religions -- Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and 
Jews -- to work together to obtain peace.  He said that the UN 
should establish an interdenominational peace organization based in 
either Brazil, Australia, or India and headed by either a Buddhist 
or Muslim to push for an end to religious conflict and world peace. 
 
 
 
Press Interview Following Meeting 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Following his meeting with Father Ly, the Ambassador was 
questioned by a VTV television reporter and a print journalist. 
Asked about Father Ly's health condition, the Ambassador responded 
that he trusted Ly's self-diagnosis that his arm and leg were 
almost completely back to normal following his stroke.  In response 
 
HANOI 00001098  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
to a question about the prison's medical treatment for Father Ly, 
the Ambassador noted that Ly had expressed satisfaction with the 
treatment, and added that he was pleased Father Ly's family was 
allowed to visit.  The reporter then stated that Father Ly violated 
the law, and asked whether the Ambassador felt Ly would "reform his 
actions so that he could be given early release."  The Ambassador 
noted that Ly's beliefs had not changed, but called for Ly to be 
released on humanitarian grounds, emphasizing that Ly was not a 
threat to Vietnam.  In response to a question posed by the print 
journalist regarding the Ambassador's views on Father Ly's idea for 
UN reform, the Ambassador said that reform of the United Nations 
was necessary, but hoped it would not take 300 years. 
Michalak