FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE BURMESE GULAG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 001499

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM BM
SUBJECT: FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE BURMESE GULAG

REF: A. RANGOON 1491

B. RANGOON 1488 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary: One of Burma's best-known dissidents, Min Ko
Naing (aka Paw Oo Tun),freed on November 19 after 15 years
spent in Burmese prisons, met with Emboffs and discussed his
long, isolated, and arduous stint in the military regime's
gulag. The 42 year-old former Rangoon University zoology
major, arrested in 1989 for his leadership role in the
student-led pro-democracy movement, was confident and in
remarkably good spirits, though he showed some signs that
difficult prison life had taken a certain mental and physical
toll. He expressed deep gratitude for support from the
United States and enjoyed the opportunity to get briefed on
political developments that have taken place over the
intervening years. This courageous man--who made enormous
personal sacrifice in pursuit of a peaceful transition to
democracy in Burma and improved human rights for his fellow
citizens--strikes us as a stirring example of what U.S. Burma
policy is all about. End Summary.

"Thank you, America"
--------------


3. (C) During our November 22 meeting with Min Ko Naing at a
U.S. mission residence, the recently released activist
expressed deep gratitude for support from the United States
during, and prior to, his incarceration. As if emerging from
a deep freeze after 15 years of virtual isolation, he was
amazed to learn about political and technological
developments since his 1989 arrest. For example, he
expressed disbelief over a digital camera and our ability to
e-mail his photo that night to friends and supporters outside
of the country and surprise that Senator John Kerry had
visited Burma in 1999. He was also delighted to learn about
U.S. sanctions and other forms of pressure applied on the
regime over the past decade.


4. (SBU) Min Ko Naing inquired about U.S. Embassy staff and
friends with whom contact was severed in 1989, most notably
the last U.S. Ambassador to Burma, Burton Levin (1987-1990).
He asked for information on supporters from Congress,
including former U.S. representatives Stephen Solarz (whom he
had met in 1988) and Bill Richardson (who visited Min Ko
Naing at Insein Prison twice during the early 1990s). He
also inquired about the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and was
saddened to learn that the former Senator had passed away in

2003.

The Conqueror of Kings
--------------


5. (SBU) Min Ko Naing ("Conqueror of Kings," a nickname
earned during 1988 student marches) demonstrated a remarkable
memory and recalled that the Burmese regime (the then-SLORC)
had arrested him on March 23, 1989 and sentenced him in 1991
to 15 years in prison. In 1993, as part of a broader amnesty
for political prisoners, the regime reduced his sentence to
10 years. On the basis of provisions in the existing penal
code, he should have been released for good behavior on July
20, 1999. However, prison authorities cruelly informed him
when that date arrived that he was subject to security
provisions of the law and would be held indefinitely.


6. (SBU) On November 16, 2004, Min Ko Naing learned from the
Sittwe prison director that his imminent release was a
distinct possibility. The director, who rarely visited the
political ward, told Min Ko Naing on that day that there had
been significant changes in the Burmese government: "We are
at a turning point and the current situation is good for
you." However, the political activist had learned the hard
way about dashed hopes and refused to believe the prison
director until November 19, when he was whisked from the
Sittwe prison for a one-hour flight to Rangoon and freedom.


7. (SBU) Min Ko Naing--who spoke to us primarily in Burmese,
apologizing that he had had no opportunity in prison to
practice his English--said that prison authorities has issued
him an "unconditional release." Unlike other releases of
political prisoners in the past, the GOB did not require him
to sign a confession or agree to limits on his movements or
activities. "I cannot explain why they released me," he
said, "nor do I know how they will treat me from this point
on." He added that o/a November 19 the Sittwe prison
released a total of about 30 "regular" prisoners who had
already completed their sentences, but freed none of the
other handful of political detainees.

Ten Years of Solitude
--------------


8. (C) Min Ko Naing said he spent the first nine years of his
imprisonment at Rangoon's infamous Insein Prison. He
described these years as the most difficult of his long
sojourn in the gulag, as he spent most of his time in
solitary confinement within a so-called "special ward" for
political prisoners. Military intelligence agents, disguised
in prison guard uniforms, were assigned to monitor the
special ward where they prohibited the political prisoners
from doing anything without MI permission - including
talking, reading, and writing.


9. (C) In late May 1998, the regime transferred Min Ko Naing
from Rangoon to Sittwe, another notorious prison located in
the capital of Rakhine State, near Burma's western border
with Bangladesh. He said that although prison conditions
were deplorable, authorities treated the political prisoners
relatively better than at Insein Prison. Still, he faced
considerable hardship. The Sittwe prison is located more
than 400 miles from Rangoon (at least two days overland) and
family members were only allowed to travel and visit him
twice a year. He again spent significant time in solitary
confinement (ten out of the combined fifteen years he was
jailed at Insein and Sittwe). However, he added that ICRC
representatives were able to visit him periodically and that
such visits "always helped improve conditions," as well as
his morale.


10. (SBU) For the duration of his imprisonment, Min Ko Naing
said that health care was "essentially non-existent."
Neither prison medics nor janitors were allowed regular
access to the "special wards" for political prisoners, and
during several bouts of illness Min Ko Naing said he was
confined to his cell where had to sleep among his own vomit
and feces.

A Little Help From Another Fourth Class Citizen
-------------- --


11. (C) Minimally sympathetic prison guards in Sittwe
assigned a regular prisoner to assist Min Ko Naing in keeping
his cell clean. He said that they had purposefully selected
an ethnic Rohingya prisoner, jailed on immigration charges,
who did not speak Burmese "in order to keep me isolated from
outside news." However, Min Ko Naing said he "fooled" his
jailers by learning Bengali with the Rohingya prisoner, from
whom he able to glean an occasional scrap of news about
Burmese and world events (prison authorities later punished
his guards for "allowing" him to learn Bengali).
Nonetheless, he said that the Rohingya prisoner, as well as
friendly prison personnel, had very little education and as a
result were not able to pass on accurate political news or
analysis. He sporadically received tiny notes smuggled in
from friends and supporters, but in general he described a
15-year period mostly devoid of news.


12. (SBU) Min Ko Naing offered that the years of solitude had
taken a tremendous toll on his mental health. In his last
few years at Sittwe, he was allowed to spend half an hour
daily in a communal bath area and also had occasional access
to the prison's death row compound (inhabited primarily by
ethnic Rohingyas). During these brief encounters with fellow
prisoners, he said he had significant difficulty
communicating and making himself understood, causing him to
doubt his mental capacities. He further observed that a
deterioration in his mental health had led to a number of
physical problems.


13. (C) Min Ko Naing declined to comment whether he had been
tortured in prison. However, during our encounter he showed
signs of some eye damage and hearing loss. He also revealed
that preliminary results from a physical exam on November 22
indicated heart problems that will require drug treatment.
While he had some difficulty responding to open-ended
questions, he was quite confident and relaxed and
demonstrated keen political insight. He was also disarmingly
witty, reflecting on several of his darker moments with
humorous anecdotes. He noted that when prisoners were
feeling particularly depressed about conditions or the
prospects for release, they would declare with bitter irony
that "All will be better when Razali arrives," observing that
the U.N. Special Envoy (and his predecessors) were rarely
allowed to visit Burma and, when they did, were unsuccessful
in making any progress.


14. (C) As for his future plans, Min Ko Naing said
understandably that he will take the time necessary to heal
his physical and mental wounds. Given uncertainties about
the SPDC's posture toward recently released political
prisoners, he said he would keep a low profile for the
foreseeable future. However, Min Ko Naing added, he is keen
to keep in touch with the U.S. Embassy and will soon make a
return visit to our American Center and its library holdings,
where he said he gained important information and inspiration
when he was a university student in the 1980s.

A Profile in Courage
--------------


15. (SBU) Comment: Min Ko Naing once published a poem titled
"Faith," that read in part: "In this unfinished revolution;
Should my soul be gripped with fear, be hesitant and lack
courage; Let your souls enter into mine and steer me along."
He is clearly grateful for the help and support he received
from the United States and others over the years, and yet we
saw no signs that fear had conquered this remarkable man.
Min Ko Naing's enormous personal sacrifice--in pursuit of a
peaceful transition to democracy in Burma and improved human
rights for his fellow citizens--is one of many stirring
examples of what U.S. Burma policy is all about. End Comment.
MARTINEZ