VZCZCXRO0045
OO RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1398/01 3520939
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 180918Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0625
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0298

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001398 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF VM
SUBJECT: Government to evict Plum Village monks again by the end of 
the year 
 
REF: HCMC 672; HCMC 669 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Vietnamese officials in Hanoi and the Central 
Highlands continue to assert that Plum Village monks and nuns must 
return to their home provinces and seek residence at local 
Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS)-affiliated temples despite our 
latest round of protests.  The head of the EU mission who recently 
visited Lam Dong said that Phuoc Hue's Chief abbott felt he had no 
choice but to sign a document agreeing to evict the followers in 
the face of pressure from police, local authorities and an angry 
mob.  The Plum Village monks and nuns appear reconciled to 
returning to their home provinces.  The MFA denied a request by 
HCMC to visit the area (which falls outside of the HCMC consular 
district).  The Mission will continue to press for a peaceful 
resolution and protection for the Lang Mai Order, and remind the 
GVN its handling of the entire Bat Nha situation reflects poorly on 
Vietnam's deteriorating human rights record.  The Embassy is also 
planning to visit the area in early January. End summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a December 12 meeting with the Vice Chairman of the 
Central Highlands Steering Committee, Tran Viet Hung, in Dak Lak 
Province, Poloff voiced continuing concerns about the situation 
facing the Plum Village adherents residing at the Phuoc Hue pagoda, 
noting in particular the problems the EU delegation recently 
experienced when trying to meet with Chief Abbott Thich Thai Tuan 
and Plum Village followers.  Hung was well briefed on the matter 
and quoted almost verbatim MFA and MPS talking points that dismiss 
the situation as an "intra-Buddhist dispute."  He also recalled his 
exchange with State Department officials on this topic during his 
visit in November as part of a VOLVIS program.  He said that the 
only possible solution at this time was for the Plum Village monks 
to return to their home provinces and to seek residence in local 
VBS-affiliated pagodas. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On December 14, Swedish Political Counselor Marie-Louise 
Thaning, who led the EU delegation to the region, said she was 
"shocked" by the angry mob that had interrupted the EU meeting with 
the Chief Abbott of the Phuoc Hue pagoda last week (Ref A). 
Thaning noted that the Bat Nha situation was a key topic of 
conversation during the EU's biannual Human Rights Dialogue that 
took place December 11, immediately after the EU visit to the 
region.  Thaning said that the EU delegation highlighted the 
European Council's recent resolution which criticized Vietnam's 
actions regarding the Plum Village Order and asked the Vietnamese 
government to act with restraint in resolving the situation. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On December 14, Poloff met with Director General for 
International Cooperation Dang Tai Tinh and Director General for 
Buddhist Affairs Bui Huu Duoc at the Committee of Religious Affairs 
(CRA) to discuss the ongoing situation at the Bat Nha Pagoda.  Not 
surprisingly, DG Duoc characterized the dispute as an "internal" 
disagreement between Buddhist factions.  Poloff took issue with 
this characterization noting the CRA had recently rejected the 
sponsorship requests by two VBS pagodas willing to host the Plum 
Village order in Dong Nai and Lam Dong provinces (Ref A).  If this 
was simply an intra-Buddhist dispute, why did the CRA stand in the 
way when the Buddhists tried to resolve the issue peacefully, 
Poloff asked.  DG Duoc changed tack, insisting that the Plum 
Village Community had broken the law by not seeking CRA permission 
before building their training center at the Bat Nha Pagoda, 
illegally installed their own Deputy Abbott of the pagoda, failed 
to register the monks and nuns with local officials as required by 
law, and ordained monks and nuns without seeking prior approval of 
the CRA.  He said, "If we let the Plum Village Community break the 
law with impunity every other religion will follow suit."  He also 
asserted that there were significant lifestyle differences between 
the Plum Village "religion" and the state-sponsored VBS, including 
allowing monks and nuns to pray and meditate together, which is 
considered "scandalous" by other Buddhists here. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Poloff noted Plum Village followers had been active for 
at least four years, and that Thich Nhat Hanh had been welcomed by 
President Triet and many other senior officials.  DG Duoc did not 
respond, instead complaining about "anti-GVN" information posted on 
the "Phu Sa" website, which he attributed to Thich Nhat Hanh. 
Suggesting that political considerations have colored the GVN's 
judgment, Duoc then cited a letter from Thich Nhat Hanh to Triet, 
supposedly in private but later posted online, that recommended 
that the CRA and the religious police be abolished and that Vietnam 
 
HANOI 00001398  002 OF 002 
 
 
drop the word "Socialist" from its name. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Duoc then repeated earlier claims that the GVN had tried 
several times to meet with Thich Nhat Hanh in France, only to be 
rebuffed.  He also wondered why none of the Plum Village 
Community's senior leadership had attempted to call the CRA to 
discuss the ongoing dispute.  Poloff pushed back, asking if DG Duoc 
had called the Lam Dong local authorities when the mob originally 
attacked the Plum Village Community in June, whether he had called 
on the Ministry of Information and Communication when the MPS 
mouthpiece Cong An Nhan Dan published several slanderous articles 
against Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community, or whether 
he had called the police to find out why plainclothes officers were 
involved in roughing up monks and evicting them from their homes. 
Not surprisingly, Duoc did not respond. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment: Barring further provocations by GVN authorities 
or a change of heart on the part of the Lang Mai followers, the 
nearly year-long standoff is coming to an end, with the Lang Mai 
monks resigned to leave the pagoda by the end of the year.  Two 
other Plum Village contingents remain in Hue and Khanh Hoa 
provinces.  The authorities' poor handling of the situation, 
particularly their unwillingness to protect the followers against 
mob violence, constitute another stain on Vietnam's already poor 
human rights record and remind us of the perceived "threats" that 
groups like the Long Mai represent to maintaining social order in 
Vietnam.  End comment. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Ho Chi Minh City. 
Michalak