STATUS OF NLD DEPUTY CHAIRMAN U TIN OO

S E C R E T RANGOON 001507

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM PGOV BM NLD
SUBJECT: STATUS OF NLD DEPUTY CHAIRMAN U TIN OO


Classified By: COM Carmen M. Martinez for reason 1.4 (b)


1. (S) SUMMARY: NLD deputy chairman U Tin Oo, 77, remains
under house arrest, although has been allowed to visit a
private clinic for medical diagnosis. He is undergoing
medical treatment and may need surgery. His wife, Dr. Tin
Moe Wai, met with DCM November 26 to delivered a personal
note from U Tin Oo thanking the Embassy for its ongoing
support. End Summary.


2. (C) Conditions of Detention: Former Burmese defense
minister and NLD deputy chairman U Tin Oo, arrested in May
2003 at the Depeyin attack, was imprisoned near the Indian
border until his February 2004 transfer to house arrest in
Rangoon. He is confined to his home, may not have visitors,
and his telephone line has been cut. His wife, grandson, and
daughter-in-law also live in the house, but may come and go
as they please. Security at the house has become less strict
with the demise of Khin Nyunt's Military Intelligence (MI)
apparatus; currently only four men (two police Special Branch
and two regular police) guard the house. Heretofore MI had
checked all bags and packages, but now the security personnel
only note the times Tin Oo's relatives come and go.


3. (S) A Message From U Tin Oo: Emboffs have been smuggling
National Geographic Magazines, messages, and some personal
items to Tin Oo via relatives since his arrest in 2003. DCM
met November 26 with his wife, who delivered a handwritten
note from U Tin Oo. Excerpts follow:

-- Thank you so much for your kind wishes and compliments.
I'm doing well now. The only trouble is a very tiny
gallstone, about the size of 8mm in diameter, which I could
stay under the prescription of the specialist.

-- Thanks again sending me some reading materials ... I had a
good appetite, devouring all the National Geographic
Magazines given ... It was great entertainment, great pleasure
and gaining many knowledge, as if I was visiting all parts of
the world, especially U.S.A.

-- I'm looking forward seeing you all in very near future.


4. (S) Life Under House Arrest: Dr. Tin Moe Wai (aka Aunty
Shwe) said her husband has suffered from colitis and other
abdominal pains and will likely need surgery for his
gallstones. He was taken for diagnosis at a private clinic
last month and is currently on medication. Aunty Shwe
described his daily routine as encompassing morning prayers
and meditation, a light lunch, afternoons spent writing his
autobiography, early evening exercise in the garden, supper,
and then TV news. She said she did not think he was in any
unusual danger from the regime at this time, but he
acknowledged he was completely at their mercy.


5. (S) Request for Assistance: When DCM asked if there was
anything we could do for her husband, Dr. Tin Moe Wai
mentioned two things. She said U Tin Oo's greatest wish was
to have their 18-year old grandson attend a university
abroad. (His father, Tin Oo's only child, is a political
asylee in Japan.) Unfortunately, the regime will not issue
the young man a passport, Aunty Shwe lamented. Second, she
admitted they were nearly broke and needed money for food and
utilities. She explained that her husband did not receive
his military pension and their sole source of income was rent
from a house they owned. The house was previously rented to
Russian diplomats and then Western NGO workers, but the
regime last year cut off the house's phone line, making it
unrentable to normal tenants. Dr. Tin Moe Wai asked if the
embassy could rent the house, "for only $300 per month, or
$250 if that is too much."


6. (S) COMMENT: U Tin Oo's note and his wife's attitude
were chipper in tone. Both expressed gratitude at not being
forgotten by the American Embassy. Dr. Tin Moe Wai was
unwilling to venture political insights on her husband's
behalf, commenting only "time will tell," to several queries
raised. Indeed, time will tell, and it will also take its
toll on the geriatric senior leadership of the NLD, whose
median age is now 80, (a figure that includes the relatively
sprightly Aung San Suu Kyi, 59). End Comment.

MARTINEZ