BURMA: GOB AFFIRMS THAT ASSK WILL REMAIN ISOLATED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001647

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR BM ASSK
SUBJECT: BURMA: GOB AFFIRMS THAT ASSK WILL REMAIN ISOLATED
IN DETENTION

REF: A. RANGOON 1643

B. RANGOON 1612 AND PREVIOUS

C. RANGOON 1530 AND PREVIOUS

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


1. (C) Summary: The new Minister of Home Affairs, offering
the first official GOB word on the current status of Aung San
Suu Kyi's detention, says that ASSK and NLD Vice Chairman U
Tin Oo are no longer considered held "in protective custody,"
but rather are detained under a specific provision of law
which allows detention without trial and prohibits any
contact with outside parties. The Minister also claims that
ASSK herself had requested the recent removal of her personal
bodyguards from her compound. The SPDC will now claim legal
justification for the indefinite detention of the NLD
leaders, making it unlikely that the regime will bow to
international pressure to free either of the two any time
soon. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On December 29 COM and P/E chief called on the GOB's
new Minister of Home Affairs, Major General Maung Oo. The
Minister was joined by Police Brig Gen Khin Yee, Director
General of the Burmese Police Force, and other senior
ministry and police officials. We delivered a demarche on
the USG narcotics certification process (septel),but also
used the opportunity to raise issues related to the South
Asian tsunami (ref A) and the ongoing detention of ASSK.


3. (C) The COM pressed for an explanation as to why the GOB,
reversing its standard description of Aung San Suu Kyi's
status as "protective custody," recently applied to the
democracy leader a specific criminal charge under the 1975
"Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Subversive
Elements" (ref C). The COM added that the new charge
indicated the GOB now considered ASSK a threat to national
security.


4. (C) Minister Maung Oo replied that ASSK had breached
specific provisions of the law (NFI) and declared that the
GOB "should have taken this action from the beginning,"
meaning after the May 2003 assault on her convoy and
intimating that the SPDC blamed former Prime Minister Khin
Nyunt and his military intelligence apparatus for
inappropriate handling of ASSK's case. He also said that
under the provisions of the law, specifically Section 10(b),
ASSK is not allowed to receive visitors, depart her compound,
or have any written or phone communications with other
parties.


5. (C) The COM expressed concern over ASSK's detention as
well as that of NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo and other
pro-democracy party members. In response to COM's questions,
the Minister said that U Tin Oo is also held under the same
section of the law (Note: Under Section 10(b) the GOB can
hold an individual without trial for up to one year, which
the Minister for Home Affairs can prolong for another year
and the Chairman of the SPDC can extend for an additional
five years. End Note).


6. (SBU) On the basis of the Home Minister's implicit
acknowledgment that the GOB plans to hold ASSK in detention
for at least another year, as well as recent information that
her access to medical care and personal security staff has
been restricted (ref B),the COM stated the United States
holds the Burmese government solely responsible for her
safety and security.


7. (C) Minister Maung Oo replied that ASSK "is well protected
and she even has better security than I do." He said that
the GOB "is in close contact with her and she is able to
inform our security people of all her needs." He further
claimed that ASSK herself had requested the removal of her
entire personal bodyguard. "Although Section 10(b) does not
have a provision for security," he said, "we allowed her to
keep six bodyguards at the compound, but she refused."
(Note: A December 17 Reuter's article also made the claim
that ASSK had removed all of her personal bodyguards, in
protest over the GOB's decision to cut the contingent in
half. An Embassy source who has had contact with ASSK
corroborated this information. End Note.)


8. (C) The COM pressed Minister Maung Oo to specify what
measures the GOB had taken to ensure ASSK's safety and, given
the specific legal charge against her, to explain whether the
ICRC would have access to her, like any other prisoner.
Maung Oo demurred on detailing any GOB security measures, but
reiterated that under Section 10(b) ASSK was not allowed
contact with any outside parties. "The ICRC will not have
access to Aung San Suu Kyi at this moment," he intoned.


9. (C) Comment: Maj Gen Maung Oo's acknowledgment that ASSK
is now detained under Section 10(b) was the first official
GOB word on the topic since the NLD revealed on December 1
that the SPDC had extended her house arrest (ref C).
Further, his information that U Tin Oo is also held under
Section 10(b) is news. Neither development bodes well for
the two democracy activists. The SPDC, hiding under the
veneer of its own Orwellian laws, will claim legal
justification for the indefinite detention of the NLD
leaders, making it unlikely that the regime will bow to
international pressure to free either of the two any time
soon. End Comment.
MARTINEZ