PINHEIRO'S DOWNBEAT DEPARTURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 001432

SIPDIS

TREASURY FOR OASIA JEFF NEIL
USPACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BM NLD
SUBJECT: PINHEIRO'S DOWNBEAT DEPARTURE

REF: RANGOON 1431

Classified By: COM CARMEN M. MARTINEZ for Reasons 1.5 (B,D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Pinheiro gave a downbeat assessment to the
diplomatic corps of his visit this week to Burma. He repeated
most of his themes from his November 6 meeting at the COM's
residence (reftel),and he was obviously restraining himself
from showing his true level of frustration with the regime.
Pinheiro privately told the COM that he will give a much
harsher critique of his visit when he reaches Bangkok. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) Regarding the SPDC's total failure to grant any of his
goals on this visit, UN Special Rapporteur of the Commission
on Human Rights, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, very carefully
announced to the well represented Rangoon diplomatic corps
that the SPDC "did not refuse" his six appeals. He related
how he told the SPDC that they cannot count on his seal of
approval in the UN without including civil and political
rights in their roadmap process, and that his credibility
will disappear unless they make significant prisoner
releases. Pinheiro said he had warned the SPDC that he will
have to pursue his Shan rapes investigation externally if
they don't cooperate with him, and that it will be the SPDC's
fault if it happens that way.


3. (C) Pinheiro confirmed that 136 NLD members had been
arrested since May 30, and that of those 101 had been
released and 35 were still being held. He also confirmed
that Aung San Suu Kyi was not being held under any provision
of the security laws, though inexplicably the eight elderly
CEC members are.


4. (C) Regarding the roadmap, Pinheiro said he'd told the
SPDC he is not a facilitator for the political process, but
the authorities can't have political success without the
inclusion of basic political freedoms. After all of his
meetings with the SPDC and Government ministers, he concluded
that for the SPDC, the 1990 elections "are completely off the
radar." Though Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt told
Pinheiro that the NLD can join in one of the eight groups of
"farmer's," "worker's," and "politician's" delegates that
will participate in the National Convention, Pinheiro told
the diplomats that there is apparently no inclusion of the
NLD in the process.


5. (C) Finally, Pinheiro announced that he proposed to the
authorities that they should release immediately, by November
12 at the latest, the 35 remaining May 30 NLD prisoners as
well as the 8 CEC members under house arrest, since "they
pose no danger to you." He also had told the authorities he
had a clear picture of the events surrounding Depeyin and
that he will mention it in his speech at the UN. (Note: A
strong hint regarding the NLD video, digital pictures, and
survivor testimonies provided by the Embassy. See reftel).
End note.) He closed by saying he hoped the "roadmap" didn't
become a "roadblock" like in other parts of the world. If
the SPDC "wants to play, then OK." But, in Pinheiro's
opinion, they have to implement basic human rights into the
process or it won't work.
Martinez