RUMORS OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI,S DEATH APPEAR TO BE

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000963 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV COMMERCE FOR ITA JEAN KELLY TREASURY FOR OASIA JEFF NEIL USPACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2013 TAGS: PGOV ASEC BM ASSK SUBJECT: RUMORS OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI,S DEATH APPEAR TO BE UNFOUNDED REF: A. FBIS 110839Z AUG 03 ¶B. RANGOON 928 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.5 (B,D) ¶1. (U) Ref A article in the Thai daily Bangkok Siam Rat (titled "Rumor Says Suu Kyi Dead; Dream of Democracy Shattered") reported on rumors that an assailant recently stabbed detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to death. Although there are many uncertainties regarding ASSK,s current whereabouts and well being, we have no credible information that she has been killed or otherwise harmed. ¶2. (C) As we reported in ref B, the ICRC met with ASSK on July 28 and observed her to be in good health. We have subsequently learned that, in accordance with Burmese laws pertaining to political detainees, ASSK supporters have been able to supply her with weekly deliveries of food and clothing through military intelligence intermediaries. Her supporters believe that she has been receiving these deliveries, although they have been denied direct access to her. Asked to comment about rumors of her death, a senior Ministry of Defense official told Emboff on August 11 that ASSK was "alive, eating regularly, and even gaining weight." ¶3. (U) Comment: Without direct access to Aung San Suu Kyi, we cannot report with certainty on her current status. However, the SPDC maintains an intensely secretive posture with regard to her "protective custody" and the status of all NLD members detained in the aftermath of the May 30 attack on her convoy. As a result, we fully expect that rumors about her state of health will continue to flourish. Martinez