EX-STRONGMAN NE WIN DIES WHILE UNDER DETENTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 001555

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/02
TAGS: PGOV BM
SUBJECT: EX-STRONGMAN NE WIN DIES WHILE UNDER DETENTION


Classified By: DCM: RON MCMULLEN FOR REASON 1.5(D)


1. (C) Summary: Ne Win is dead. The news has not yet hit
the streets in Rangoon, but Ne Win's son told the DCM that
reports of his father's death were true. Ne Win's death is
likely to have little political impact. However, many in
Burma will have trouble believing that "the old man" is
finally gone. End Summary.


2. (C) Ne Win's son Ngwe Soe told DCM this afternoon that
press reports that his father had died were true. Following
up on press reports that Ne Win died at 7:30 this morning,
December 5, DCM attempted to visit the residence where Ne Win
and his daughter Sanda Win have reportedly been under house
arrest since March. Authorities at the scene refused to
comment on the reports but DCM encountered Ngwe Soe waiting
by the police roadblock to the compound and apparently not
allowed to enter. Ngwe Soe acknowledged that his father was
dead but asked that the DCM not convey this to reporters who
were waiting nearby. While we have no specific information
on the cause of death, "the old man," as he is known here in
Rangoon, has suffered from heart disease for years. In 2001,
he reportedly received a pace-maker at a hospital in
Singapore and he may have made at least one follow-up visit
since that operation.


2. (U) Ne Win, who ruled Burma with an iron fist from the
late 1950's until the late 1980's, has lived in virtual
seclusion for most of the last 15 years. Although he is
blamed for single-handedly destroying what had been a vibrant
Burmese economy with his personal brand of pseudo-socialist
policies, and for brutally crushing any political dissent, he
was also grudgingly admired for his charismatic personality.
He swept people into his cause and then, just as quickly,
imprisoned, tortured, and killed those he perceived to be a
possible threat. In the late 1980's when dire conditions
from his economic policies created riots and protests, he
retired from power and was succeeded by the State Law and
Order Council (SLORC). In 1997, the SLORC renamed itself the
State Peace and Development Committee (SPDC) and remains in
power today.


3. (U) Ne Win was 91 years old and is survived by two
wives, two daughters, two sons and two-step daughters from
his four marriages. One daughter, Sanda Win, jealously
guarded access to the father over the years and attempted to
promote his legacy through her own three sons. Other family
members, including ex-wives and other children, were
reportedly allowed only infrequent "audiences" with Ne Win.


4. (U) Sanda's efforts to promote her sons as successors to
the Ne Win throne came to an abrupt and unexpected halt
earlier this year when the sons and their father were
arrested on charges of high treason and economic
improprieties. While the sons were roundly despised in
Rangoon for their violent excesses and flagrant disregard for
the law, few here believe that they had the brains or
inclination to plot a coup attempt. Their arrests and
subsequent sentences, and Sanda and Ne Win's house arrest,
are generally believed to be an effort by SPDC Senior General
Than Shwe, once a Ne Win underling, to wipe away any
speculation that he was still under Ne Win's influence.

Comment


5. (C) We expect most ordinary Burmese will react to Ne
Win's passing with glee but, unfortunately, it is unlikely
that his death will have any effect on the current regime's
political or economic policies. Senior General Than Shwe has
made a pointed effort in recent years to distance the SPDC
from Ne Win's legacy and put an end to rumors that Ne Win
still wielded any power. Furthermore, Than Shwe, like Ne Win
before him, has asserted his personal control through purges
of powerful ministers and military members. Of the original
19 SLORC members only three - Than Shwe, Maung Aye, and Khin
Nyunt - remain, and Than Shwe's authority is clearly
unchallenged.

Martinez