Hanoi, Dec 9 (AFP) - A senior Vietnamese communist cadre has denounced the absence of democracy and concentration of power in the hands of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in a text obtained on Wednesday.

General Tran Do, a highly respected veteran of the CPV, delivered a 22 page appeal addressed to party supremo Le Kha Phieu, whom he met on November 19.

According to a copy of the original text obtained by AFP, Do described Vietnam as "a society without liberty, always threatened by reversals, without future or in the face of a very precarious future."

The release of Do's appeal comes on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights celebrated on Thursday.

Do's communique is the latest in a series of initiatives by the 76-year-old former general who provoked serious soul searching in the inner sanctum of the communist party after calling for democratization and a political debate one year ago.

While falling short of calling for a replacement of the party -- Do is still a member in good standing -- he said "the confidence of the people towards the party has seriously deteriorated, if it has not totally disappeared."

He added that all those who have called for "renovation of the party" find themselves "immediately accused by the ideological appartus of rejecting the role of the party and by the police of comprising national security."

Earlier this year Do said he was the target of an official press campaign to discredit him, accusing him of disloyalty to the party, which prompted an examination of his claims by the party central committee at a plenum in July.

"The principal of democratic centralism...has killed all creative intiatives, especially in artistic endeavours," he said.

"This favoured development of corruption, because the more one has power, the more favourable are conditions for one to receive advantages."

Despite the existence of a genuine debate among intellectuals and some CPV veterans, the Central Committee of the party at its plenary session in July flatly rejected "petitions by certain people demanding organization of a large political dialogue in the country."

Do, said he had recently spent three months at the home of his son in Ho Chi Minh City surrounded by police disguised as bicycle mechanics.

According to one western diplomat, the steady flow of letters from dissidents within the party reflects growing dissatisfaction, but also that people feel more comfortable expressing their views.

"But it is a clear indication that there is a lot that needs to be improved and that is why people are writing the letters," the diplomat said.

"The biggest problems are lack of freedom of expression, organization and association and freedom of religion," he added.

Amnesty International estimates there are between 30 and 35 prisoners of conscience held in detention in Vietnam, many of whom were jailed for calling for multiparty democracy. (VI:This number of political prisoners is only a fraction of what the number actually is).

Do, who remains a faithful if disenchanted communist, has never called for multiple parties in Vietnam.