Cable Viewer

Currently released so far... 3420 / 251,287

### Articles

Brazil Sri Lanka United Kingdom Sweden Editorial United States Latin America Egypt

### Browse latest releases

2010/11 2010/12 2011/01 2011/02
2010/11/28 2010/11/29 2010/11/30
2010/12/01 2010/12/02 2010/12/03 2010/12/04 2010/12/05 2010/12/06 2010/12/07 2010/12/08 2010/12/09 2010/12/10 2010/12/11 2010/12/12 2010/12/13 2010/12/14 2010/12/15 2010/12/16 2010/12/17 2010/12/18 2010/12/19 2010/12/20 2010/12/21 2010/12/22 2010/12/23 2010/12/24 2010/12/25 2010/12/26 2010/12/27 2010/12/28 2010/12/29 2010/12/30
2011/01/01 2011/01/02 2011/01/04 2011/01/05 2011/01/07 2011/01/09 2011/01/10 2011/01/11 2011/01/12 2011/01/13 2011/01/14 2011/01/15 2011/01/16 2011/01/17 2011/01/18 2011/01/19 2011/01/20 2011/01/21 2011/01/22 2011/01/23 2011/01/24 2011/01/25 2011/01/26 2011/01/27 2011/01/28 2011/01/29 2011/01/30 2011/01/31
2011/02/01 2011/02/02 2011/02/03

### Browse by creation date

66 72 73 75 79 86 88 89 90 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
1966/12
1972/02 1972/08
1973/04
1975/03
1979/08
1986/05
1988/01
1989/12
1990/01 1990/07 1990/08
2000/06 2000/09 2000/11
2001/02 2001/03 2001/07 2001/10
2002/02 2002/03 2002/11
2003/03 2003/04 2003/05 2003/06 2003/07 2003/08 2003/09 2003/10 2003/11 2003/12
2004/01 2004/02 2004/03 2004/04 2004/05 2004/06 2004/07 2004/08 2004/09 2004/10 2004/11 2004/12
2005/01 2005/02 2005/03 2005/04 2005/05 2005/06 2005/07 2005/08 2005/09 2005/10 2005/11 2005/12
2006/01 2006/02 2006/03 2006/04 2006/05 2006/06 2006/07 2006/08 2006/09 2006/10 2006/11 2006/12
2007/01 2007/02 2007/03 2007/04 2007/05 2007/06 2007/07 2007/08 2007/09 2007/10 2007/11 2007/12
2008/01 2008/02 2008/03 2008/04 2008/05 2008/06 2008/07 2008/08 2008/09 2008/10 2008/11 2008/12
2009/01 2009/02 2009/03 2009/04 2009/05 2009/06 2009/07 2009/08 2009/09 2009/10 2009/11 2009/12
2010/01 2010/02

### Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Embassy Athens Embassy Asuncion Embassy Astana Embassy Asmara Embassy Ashgabat Embassy Ankara Embassy Amman Embassy Algiers Embassy Addis Ababa Embassy Accra Embassy Abuja Embassy Abu Dhabi Embassy Abidjan Consulate Amsterdam American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura Embassy Buenos Aires Embassy Budapest Embassy Bucharest Embassy Brussels Embassy Bridgetown Embassy Bratislava Embassy Brasilia Embassy Bogota Embassy Bishkek Embassy Bern Embassy Berlin Embassy Belgrade Embassy Beirut Embassy Beijing Embassy Bangkok Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan Embassy Bamako Embassy Baku Embassy Baghdad Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen Embassy Conakry Embassy Colombo Embassy Chisinau Embassy Caracas Embassy Canberra Embassy Cairo Consulate Curacao Consulate Casablanca Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe Embassy Dublin Embassy Doha Embassy Djibouti Embassy Dhaka Embassy Dar Es Salaam Embassy Damascus Embassy Dakar Consulate Dubai
Embassy Freetown
Embassy Guatemala Embassy Gaborone
Embassy Harare Embassy Hanoi Consulate Hamburg
Iran RPO Dubai Embassy Islamabad Consulate Istanbul
Embassy Jakarta Consulate Jerusalem Consulate Jeddah
Embassy Kyiv Embassy Kuwait Embassy Kuala Lumpur Embassy Kinshasa Embassy Kigali Embassy Khartoum Embassy Kampala Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg Embassy Luanda Embassy London Embassy Lisbon Embassy Lima Embassy La Paz Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO Embassy Muscat Embassy Moscow Embassy Montevideo Embassy Monrovia Embassy Minsk Embassy Mexico Embassy Maputo Embassy Manama Embassy Managua Embassy Madrid Consulate Munich Consulate Montreal Consulate Monterrey
Embassy New Delhi Embassy Nassau Embassy Nairobi Consulate Naples
Embassy Ouagadougou Embassy Ottawa Embassy Oslo
Embassy Pristina Embassy Pretoria Embassy Prague Embassy Port Au Prince Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Paris Embassy Paramaribo Embassy Panama Consulate Peshawar
Embassy Quito
REO Basrah Embassy Rome Embassy Riyadh Embassy Riga Embassy Reykjavik Embassy Rangoon Embassy Rabat Consulate Rio De Janeiro Consulate Recife
Secretary of State Embassy Stockholm Embassy Sofia Embassy Skopje Embassy Singapore Embassy Seoul Embassy Sarajevo Embassy Santo Domingo Embassy Santiago Embassy Sanaa Embassy San Salvador Embassy San Jose Consulate Strasbourg Consulate Shenyang Consulate Shanghai Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis Embassy Tripoli Embassy Tokyo Embassy The Hague Embassy Tel Aviv Embassy Tehran Embassy Tegucigalpa Embassy Tbilisi Embassy Tashkent Embassy Tallinn
USUN New York USEU Brussels US Mission Geneva US Interests Section Havana US Delegation, Secretary UNVIE Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius Embassy Vienna Embassy Vatican Consulate Vladivostok
Embassy Windhoek Embassy Wellington Embassy Warsaw
Embassy Yerevan Embassy Yaounde
Embassy Zagreb

### Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AF ASEC AE AR AG AJ AFIN AU AM APER ABUD ATRN AORC AEMR AMGT ACOA AEC AO AX AMED ADCO AODE AFFAIRS AC AS AL ASIG ABLD AA AFU ASUP AGMT
BU BR BL BO BM BE BH BTIO BEXP BIDEN BK BY BA BG BF BB BC BBSR BRUSSELS BILAT BX
CJAN CH CU CASC CVIS CMGT CO CI CLINTON CIA CG CF CN CS CAN COUNTER CIS CA CBW CM CE CONDOLEEZZA COE CR CY CD CTM COUNTRY CLEARANCE CPAS CWC CT CKGR CB CACS COM COUNTERTERRORISM CDG CACM CDB CV
DR DA DHS DOE DEA DK DJ DISENGAGEMENT DOD DEAX
EU EFIN EG ETTC EINV ENRG EI ECPS EINT ECON EIND ETRD EPET EUN EZ EMIN ELAB EAID EAGR ET EC EAIR ENVR ES ECA EWWT ER ELTN EFIS EN EXTERNAL ECIN EINVETC ENIV EINN ENGR EUR ESA ELECTIONS ECUN EINVEFIN ECIP EINDETRD EUC EREL
FR FINR FAO FTAA FREEDOM FI FARC FBI FMLN FJ
GM GG GH GE GV GT GR GTIP GOI GCC GAZA GZ GTMO GA
HA HILLARY HR HUMAN HO HYMPSK HU HURI HK
IR IZ IS IT INRB IRAJ IN INRA INRO IC ID IIP IAEA ITPHUM IV IPR IWC IQ IO ICTY ISRAELI IRAQI ICRC ICAO IMO IF ILC IEFIN INTELSAT ITALY ITALIAN INTERPOL
JO JA JOSEPH JUS JAMES
KE KTFN KDEM KJUS KNNP KGHG KZ KIPR KWBG KIRF KPAO KDRG KHLS KCRM KSCA KPAL KISL KG KACT KN KS KGIC KRAD KU KCOM KBIO KMCA KCOR KV KHDP KTIP KVPR KDEV KWMN KSPR KTIA KHIV KPRP KAWC KOLY KCIP KCFE KOCI KMDR KPKO KTDB KMRS KFRD KLIG KBCT KICC KGIT KSTC KUNR KPAK KNEI KSEP KPOA KFLU KNUP KNNPMNUC KOMC KAWK KO KTER KSUM KHUM KRFD KBTR KDDG KWWMN KFLO KSAF KBTS KPRV KMPI KNPP KR KPWR KWAC KMIG KSEC KIFR KDEMAF KFIN KGCC KPIN KNUC KPLS KIRC
LE LY LU LG LH LI LO LOG
MARR MOPS MU MASS MY MNUC MCAP MA MO MTCRE MG MASC MX MCC MZ ML MK MTRE MP MIL MDC MTCR MAR MEPI MRCRE MI MT MR MQADHAFI MD MAPS MUCN MPOS MEPP MOPPS MAPP
NATO NIPP NL NO NG NI NE NS NAR NPT NZ NU NPG NK NSG NA NT NASA NATIONAL
OVIP OPRC OREP OIIP ODIP OTRA OSCE OAS OFDP OPIC OPDC OEXC OECD OPCW OSCI OTR OVP OFFICIALS OSAC
PGOV PREL PINS PINR PO PTER PK PHUM PARM PL PE PREF PHSA PBTS PGOF PROP PARMS PA PM PMIL PTERE POL PF PALESTINIAN PY PGGV PNR POV PAK PAO PFOR PHALANAGE PARTY PNAT POLITICS PEPR PSI PINT PSOE PU POLITICAL PARTIES PBIO PECON POGOV PINL PKFK
QA
RS RU RW RP RIGHTS RICE RO ROBERT RF RFE REGION
SU SA SY SP SNAR SENV SCUL SW SOCI SF SO SR SG SMIG SL SN SHUM SZ SYR ST SANC SC SAN SIPRS SK SI STEINBERG
TI TIP TBIO TR TX TU TSPA TS TRGY TH TT TW TERRORISM TO TFIN TD TSPL TZ TPHY TK TNGD TC
UK UNSC UG US UZ UP UNO UNMIK UY UNGA UN UE UNESCO UAE UNEP USTR UNHCR UNDP UNHRC USAID UNCHS USUN USEU UV
VZ VE VT VM VTPREL VN
WA WI WMO WTRO WTRQ WHO WWARD WTO
XA XT XM XY XG XC XH XL XF XZ XW XR XS XK
YM YI YE
ZI ZP ZK ZF ZB ZANU ZOELLICK ZR ZU

### Browse by classification

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

### Community resources

Follow us on Twitter Check our Reddit Twitter this Digg this page

courage is contagious

### Viewing cable 10HANOI7, Vietnam Religious Freedom Update - The Case Against CPC

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #10HANOI7.

Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
10HANOI7 | 2010-01-20 09:09 | 2011-01-12 17:05 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Hanoi

`

    VZCZCXRO2744
    OO RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHPB
    DE RUEHHI #0007/01 0200954
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    O R 200954Z JAN 10 ZFF6
    FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0753
    INFO ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
    RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0400

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000007

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS
    STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF AND DRL/AWH

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/20
    TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF HURI PREL VM
    SUBJECT: Vietnam Religious Freedom Update - The Case Against CPC
    Re-Designation

    REF: A) HANOI 5; HANOI 3; 09 HANOI 1398; 09 HANOI 1202; 09 HANOI 1182 09 HANOI 1084; 09 HANOI 873; 09 HANOI 859; 09 HANOI 839; 09 HANOI 713 09 HANOI 695; 09 HANOI 694

    CLASSIFIED BY: Michael Michalak, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

    ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Vietnam’s poor handling of the situations at the Plum Village Community at the Bat Nha Pagoda and the Dong Chiem Catholic parish last week — particularly the excessive use of violence — is troublesome and indicative of a larger GVN crackdown on human rights in the run-up to the January 2011 Party Congress.
    However, these situations are primarily “land disputes,” do not meet the statutory requirement in the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, and should not divert our attention from the significant gains in expanding religious freedoms that Vietnam has made since the lifting of CPC designation in November 2006. These gains include increased recognition and registration of scores of new religions, implementation of a new legal framework on religion, and training programs at the local and national level. Catholic and Protestant communities, including those in the North and Northwest Highlands, continue to report improvements, as do members of the Muslim, Baha’i, and Cao Dai faiths throughout Vietnam. The widespread, systematic religious persecution that existed prior to Vietnam’s designation in 2004 does not exist anymore. Post therefore recommends that the Department not re designate Vietnam and instead use high-level engagement opportunities to press the GVN to continue to expand religious freedom in Vietnam. END SUMMARY.

    Conditions Prior to CPC Designation
    -----------------------------------

    ¶2. (C) Prior to the designation of Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) in 2004, the Vietnamese government’s repression of certain religious groups and their followers was systematic and widespread, and official interference with religious activities was the norm. The U.S. Government had a list of 45 individuals imprisoned because of their religious belief —  including members of the Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Hoa Hao and Cao Dai faiths. Thousands of Central Highland villagers and other ethnic minorities were restricted from practicing their religion and many were forced to renounce their faith. Religious believers were often subjected to harassment and physical abuse. In 2001, the government forced the closure of nearly all unrecognized Protestant congregations and meeting points in the Central Highlands.

    ¶3. (C) The Vietnamese government, moreover, limited the intake of new seminarians and the ordination of new priests to numbers well below the necessary “replacement rate” for the Catholic Church. The government also did not support the Church’s participation in humanitarian activities such as the fight against HIV/AIDS. Church requests for the creation of new dioceses, the formation of a new seminary and the appointment of new bishops also languished in the absence of formal GVN approval.

    Improvements Prior to Lifting of CPC Designation
    --------------------------------------------- ---

    ¶4. (C) After Vietnam’s designation as a CPC in 2004, DRL/IRF and the Embassy created a roadmap to assist Vietnam in lifting the designation. In 2004 and 2005 — just two years’ time — the Vietnamese government introduced sweeping changes to its religious freedom policy by implementing a new legal framework on religion that bans forced renunciation, grants citizens the right to freedom

    HANOI 00000007 002 OF 004

    of belief and religion, as well as the freedom not to follow a religion, and prohibits violations of these freedoms. The government conducted many training programs to assure uniform compliance of the new legal framework at the provincial, district, commune, and village levels. Central government officials began responding to complaints from religious leaders about their treatment at the grassroots level. Protestants across the north also reported improvement in officials’ attitudes towards their religions and practice.

    ¶5. (C) In the North and Northwest Highlands, Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, and the government itself reported an increase in religious activity and observance. Nearly 1000 Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) “meeting points” and places of worship affiliated with other religious organizations in the Central Highlands were registered, including in Gia Lai province where registrations effectively legalized operations for 75,000 believers in the province. 76 SECV congregations were recognized in the Central Highlands and were engaged in regular religious activities. 29 Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) congregations were registered in the North and Northwest Highlands.

    ¶6. (C) The new legal framework allowed for the training of hundreds of new Protestant and Catholic clergy members, including 71 SECV pastors in the Central Highlands. 57 Catholic priests were ordained in a mass public ceremony in Hanoi. Other Catholic priests, including nine in the Dak Lak diocese, were ordained throughout the country. A new SECV Christian training center was approved and opened in Ho Chi Minh City and a new seminary was opened by the Catholic Church in 2006.

    ¶7. (C) Throughout the country, including the Central and Northwest Highlands, officially-recognized religious organizations reported that they were able to operate openly, and followers of these religions report that they were able to worship without harassment. Other non-recognized religions, such as the Baha’i faith, reported that their followers did not face harassment and that the authorities facilitated the legalization of their activities. Finally, all individuals raised by the United States as prisoners of concern for reasons connected to their faith were released as of September 2006.

    Improvements since Lifting CPC Designation (November 2006)
    --------------------------------------------- -------------

    ¶8. (C) While implementation of the legal framework has been uneven, the pace of progress continues to be swift. Since 2006, the GOV issued national-level recognition or registration to the following churches: Seventh Day Adventists, Grace Baptist Church, Bani Muslim Sect, Vietnam Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist), Baha’i Faith, Vietnam Mennonite Church, Assemblies of God, United World Mission Church, Pure Land Buddhist Home Practice Association, Vietnam Presbyterian Church, Vietnam Christian Fellowship, the Bani Muslim Sect, Threefold Enlightened Truth Path, the Threefold Southern Tradition, Mysterious Fragrance from Precious Mountains, and the Four Gratitudes.

    ¶9. (C) Ho Chi Minh City has registered at least 91 Protestant house churches, serving 7,225 parishioners from many different denominations established before and after 1975. These groups include Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, LDS Church, Assemblies of God and the United Gospel Outreach Church. Additionally, all meeting points that had been closed in the Central Highlands have since been reopened, totaling over 1,700 meeting points and 150 registered congregations. The SECV has also opened scores of new churches with the assistance of Central Highlands’ authorities in Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Dak Nong provinces. The SECV has confirmed that training classes for pastors in Dak Lak and Gia Lai are ongoing and that hundreds of new pastors have been ordained and assigned to newly-registered meeting points. The SECV has reported that a previous shortage of pastors

    HANOI 00000007 003 OF 004

    in the Central Highlands no longer exists.

    ¶10. (C) Additional churches were registered in the Northwest Highlands bringing the total ECVN registered congregations in the region to 168. The ECVN was allowed to build its first new church in decades in Lang Son Province in November 2008. The Church houses an ethnic minority Red Dzao congregation, but will also conduct services for a recently established and newly registered ethnic H’mong congregations. During the past few years, members of Mission Vietnam and foreign visitors, both official and religious, have witnessed religious ceremonies involving thousands of Christians, Catholics and Buddhists, as well as Vietnam’s indigenous religions, such as the Cao Dai.

    ¶11. (C) Ongoing land disputes notwithstanding, the Catholic Church continues to report that its ability to gather and to worship has improved, and restrictions have eased on the assignment of clergy. During the 2007 visit of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, one Catholic priest told Commissioners that in the past, the Church had to wait for explicit approval from the GVN before moving forward with the appointment of clergy. Now, the Church submits names and the GVN has 30 days to voice its disapproval. The priest said the GVN objected in only one instance, and since the objection came after the 30 days had passed, the Church proceeded with their choice without repercussions. In 2008, the GVN approved the establishment of an additional Catholic seminary and the GVN no longer restricts the number of students entering seminary each year. In April 2008, government officials returned the La Vang church and pilgrimage center, the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in the country.

    The GVN also has also relaxed its stance against Church efforts to involve itself in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other social work activities, a process we are encouraging. In December 2009, State President Nguyen Minh Triet met with Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City for a meeting that the Vatican characterized as a “significant event in the progress of bilateral relations with Vietnam.” Since 2006, the Vatican and Vietnam have exchanged a number of delegations, including a January 2007 visit by PM Nguyen Tan Dung, and created a Joint Working Group on reestablishing relations that met for the first time in February 2009.

    More Needs to be Done
    ---------------------

    ¶12. (C) Vietnam’s improving record on religious freedom has been tarred by the recent violence against Catholics in Dong Chiem and the forced eviction of nearly 400 monks and nuns affiliated with Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Order from first the Bat Nha Pagoda and later the Phuoc Hue Pagoda both in Lam Dong Province. These evictions, and the violence associated with them, were preceded by months of intimidation and physical attacks. Vietnam has been slow to acknowledge the damage caused by the Lang Mai/Bat Nha dispute, with the GVN repeating the now standard line that the incidents reflected a convoluted intra- Buddhist disagreement. As religious freedom progresses in Vietnam, religious groups are increasingly demanding more from the government than the right to worship freely -- including the desire to be more involved in charitable activities and seeking resolution to longstanding property disputes. Vietnam’s single- Party-dominated state still draws the line at any co-mingling of religion with politics. This explains not only Vietnam’s very rough treatment of leading political dissident and BLOC 8406 cofounder Father Nguyen Van Ly, as well as the GVN’s approach to the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and the so-called “Dega Protestant Church” in the Central Highlands. Additional areas that need improvement include the slow pace of registrations of Protestant congregations in the Northwest Highlands and the lack of approval of a H’mong translation of the Bible. Isolated incidents of harassment of Christians; and while illegal, the occasional forced renunciation of faith, also continue in far-flung areas.

    Comment HANOI 00000007 004 OF 004
    -------

    ¶13. (C) The GVN is coming under pressure, justifiably, for its ham-fisted, at times brutish, handling of the situations in Bat Nha and Dong Chiem. As we saw with the large-scale Catholic protests a year ago in Hanoi and July 2009 in Quang Binh province (reftels), there are complicated historical and land use issues at play. Until the government develops a transparent, fair process for adjudicating land claims, disputes between the government and religious organizations will continue to fester and occasionally flair up. However, such incidents are largely land issues, not religious persecution. Furthermore, they do not approach the threshold established by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act. Moreover, despite the continuing problems mentioned above, there are no indications that the GVN is backsliding on its commitment to register and recognize religious groups, a principle condition for the lifting of CPC in 2006. The GVN appears to be implementing its legal framework on religion that it codified in March 2005. END COMMENT.

`