VZCZCXRO1776
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0056/01 0551027
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241027Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6325
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 4206
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY PRIORITY 6568

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000056 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV PREL VM
SUBJECT: THE HOA HAO TODAY 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000056  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The religious freedom situation facing the 
more than one million mainstream Hoa Hao continues to improve 
since GVN recognition in 1999, as evidenced by the open 
religious gathering in An Giang province attended by 
50,000-70,000 followers in January.  The vast majority of Hoa 
Hao today have distanced themselves from their militant roots 
and practice their faith openly and freely.  Two small groups of 
unrecognized Hoa Hao, comprised primarily of pre-1975 militants, 
continue to experience harassment by local authorities. 
Reliable Consulate contacts debunked reports of harassment of 
Hoa Hao followers in An Giang province that appeared on 
dissident blogs as being greatly exaggerated by the former 
chairman of the unrecognized Pure Hoa Hao Church, Le Quang Liem 
-- an advocate of self-immolation who represents a small and 
declining number of Hoa Hao in Vietnam.  End summary. 
 
 
 
Reports of Harassment Exaggerated 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Post followed up with reliable contacts - including a 
member of one of the unsanctioned Hoa Hao churches - in response 
to Internet reports on dissident blogs alleging that thousands 
of Hoa Hao demonstrators were being beaten by police in An Giang 
province on February 19 during a protest over the dissemination 
of marred images of Hoa Hao founder Huynh Phu So.  Our contact 
confirmed that the protest occurred, but noted it only involved 
40 to 50 followers of the unrecognized Pure Hoa Hao still loyal 
to former leader (and noted pre-1975 militant) Le Quang Liem. 
The eyewitness refuted the Internet claims that individuals were 
arrested or beaten; the police tried to prevent one follower 
from taking pictures of the rally, which resulted in a minor 
altercation.  The rally took place in front of the An Giang 
Printing Company to protest the apparently accidental 
distribution of photocopies that depicted Hoa Hao founder Huynh 
Phu So's image as blurry and scratched. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Our contact explained that the officially recognized 
Hoa Hao Church had ordered prints of the founder, but rejected 
the order due to poor print quality.  The An Giang Printing 
Company then sold the rejected order as waste paper.  When waste 
paper wrappers with Huynh's image began to surface, the Pure Hoa 
Hao decried the incident as an effort by the authorities to 
discredit the Hoa Hao faith and defame the founder.  The 
management of the An Giang Paper Company promptly issued an 
apology to the official Hoa Hao executive board, but the 
unsanctioned Hoa Hao have not accepted the apology and plan to 
file a lawsuit against the company.  Our contact, who broke with 
Liem several years ago due to Liem's advocacy of self-immolation 
as a method of protest, said Liem exaggerated the details of the 
incident and posted them on the Internet in order to gain more 
sympathy for his faction of the unrecognized Hoa Hao. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  The over one million mainstream members of 
the Hoa Hao church continue to experience increasingly religious 
freedoms and liberties since registration in 1999.  Not 
surprisingly, the few, unrecognized members of the Hoa Hao 
church, especially those that have become active in opposition 
politics and who advocate violence as a means of opposing the 
government, continue to experience difficulties with local 
authorities.  End comment. 
 
 
 
Hoa Hao Mainstream Flourishing 
 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) The vast majority of Hoa Hao today have distanced 
themselves from their militant roots and practice their faith 
freely.  The official Hoa Hao Church was recognized by the GVN 
in 1999, and the current number of followers is estimated to be 
1.3 million, primarily in the Delta region.  A deputy on the 
Executive Board told ConGenOff that 50,000 to 70,000 pilgrims 
joined in the celebration of founder Huynh Phu So's birthday in 
January at his ancestral home in An Hoa Tu, An Giang.  The GVN 
no longer prohibits the display of Huynh's image and the 
Executive Board had been ordering prints from the An Giang Paper 
Company for five years without incident.  The church has 
published some, but not all, of the Hoa Hao sacred literature. 
(The representative noted they did not publish "inappropriate" 
texts dealing with homeopathic medical practices and the group's 
former political leanings).  Though the government confiscated a 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000056  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
number of Hoa Hao properties after the war, the Executive Board 
is not inclined to press the GVN for their return. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Founded in 1939 by peasant farmer Huynh Phu So in the 
Delta border region of Chau Doc (now An Giang Province), the Hoa 
Hao faith is said to be a continuation of the Buu Son Ky Huong 
(Mysterious Fragrance of the Precious Mountains) tradition which 
originated in the 19th century near the Vietnam-Cambodia border. 
 Religious adherents practice simple rites conducted at home, 
eschewing elaborate ceremonies and highly decorated temples in 
favor of giving more aid to the poor.  Early Hoa Hao followers 
also closely linked religion and patriotism, with duty to the 
nation being a central tenet of the faith.  This led to the 
formation of Hoa Hao village security forces that developed into 
armed militias who, like the Cao Dai, were among the first to 
fight against occupation by French and Japanese forces.  The Hoa 
Hao became a powerful, independent force during the late 50's 
and 60's, opposing both the communist-led National Liberation 
Front and President Ngo Dinh Diem 
 
.  A Time magazine article from 1955 chronicling a Delta raid on 
the Hoa Hao by Diem's troops characterized the Hoa Hao as a 
"rowdy private army of Buddhist dissidents who run their own 
feudal entity."  Infighting between sects eventually led to the 
demise of the notorious Hoa Hao General, Ba Cut, and the end of 
the Hoa Hao's militarism. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) A small number of Hoa Hao refused to join the 
government-approved group in 1999, and formed a splinter sect 
called the Central Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, or the Pure Hoa Hao. 
 Lead by former militant Le Quang Liem, the Pure Hoa Hao 
advocate self-immolation as a means of protest against the GVN. 
In 2005, two Pure Hoa Hao adherents self-immolated during 
clashes with the police, and Liem also threatened to set himself 
on fire in front of the Consulate.  As a result of their 
anti-GVN views and radical actions (including one incident where 
a Hoa Hao leader and several Hoa Hao members assaulted police 
officers and splashed gasoline on a female security officer 
during a rally), several members of the Pure Hoa Hao were 
arrested in 2005. 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) In 2007, Liem appeared to step back from his leadership 
role and post received very few reports from him or his faction. 
 Some Hoa Hao contacts speculated that Liem was trying to reach 
a settlement with the GVN and had requested the return of his 
pre-1975 headquarters or $30 million VND (approximately $1500 
USD) in compensation.  Contacts said this move discredited him 
in the eyes of his followers, leading many to leave and form 
another group called the Traditional Hoa Hao, which disavows 
violence and the practice of self-immolation.  (Note:  Members 
of the Traditional Hoa Hao met with USCIRF in 2007 and 2009. 
End note.)  But Liem issued a declaration in January vowing to 
resume his activism and renew his commitment to fight for 
freedom.  Liem is also a member of the dissident political group 
Bloc 8406 and an advisor to the Vietnam Political and Religious 
Prisoner Friendship Association (Note: This group includes 
several well-known anti-GVN dissidents like Dr. Nguyen Dan Que 
and UBCV leader Thich Quang Do.  End note.)  The declaration 
called on all Pure Hoa Hao to be prepared to sacrifice their 
lives and assets in pursuit of their cause. 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) Though some Hoa Hao followers have distanced themselves 
from Liem, unrecognized members continue to report surveillance 
and harassment by security forces, especially during religious 
events or commemoration days.  Pure Hoa Hao Buddhists in An 
Giang reported that a force of 100 police and officials 
surrounded their unrecognized pagoda during the January birth 
anniversary of Hoa Hao's founder and prevented adherents from 
gathering.  Hoa Hao leaders also reported receiving warnings 
from police not to leave their homes.  One adherent in Vinh Long 
province said she is questioned by police whenever she tries to 
hold religious ceremonies and that the altar and Hoa Hao flag 
she erected at her home were torn down in December 2009. 
Another follower in Dong Thap province said police prevented 
guests from attending his mother's one year death anniversary in 
November 2009, adding that he was so frustrated, he threatened 
to self immolate. 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX