The thorny issues of minority rights, religion and land topped the agenda for a key meeting of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, state-controlled media reported Monday.
In his opening address, Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh called them "sensitive issues that require precise and accurate settlement," the official Vietnam News Agency said.
Manh said the plenum, which started Monday and usually runs for a week, would review current resolutions on religious and ethnic minority issues while outlining new policies to strengthen national unity, VNA reported.
"These are the factors that ensure the maintenance of political and social stability and the country's sustainable development," Manh told the 150 members of the powerful Central Committee.
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party was shaken in February 2001 when thousands of ethnic hill tribe members — unhappy over land confiscation and restrictions on their Protestant faith — protested in the country's Central Highlands.
The government sent in military and police forces to quell the protests, triggering a massive exodus across the border into Cambodia.
International human rights groups have repeatedly accused Vietnam of repressing religious dissidents.
In October 2001, Vietnam sentenced an outspoken Catholic priest, Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, to 15 years in jail for advocating religious freedom.
The outspoken leaders of a banned Buddhist church and a Buddhist sect have also been under house arrest.
The plenum will also review land issues and make recommendations. Land disputes and government corruption are the main source of public complaints against the government.