BURMESE MUSLIMS BRACE FOR FALLOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000470

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV; USPACOM FOR FPA
COMMERCE FOR ITA JEAN KELLY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2014
TAGS: PREF PHUM PTER PGOV PINS KISL MY BM
SUBJECT: BURMESE MUSLIMS BRACE FOR FALLOUT

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 1368


B. RANGOON 255

Classified By: COM Carmen M. Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Rangoon-based Muslim leaders are advising
Muslims to expect a severe GOB reaction following the April 7
attack on the Burmese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (ref A). The
Foreign Ministry publicly condemned the attack, though
avoiding mention of the attackers' ethnicity and religion,
and convoked the UNHCR Representative April 8 demanding an
explanation for the UNHCR documents allegedly found on the
attackers identifying them as "Rohingya Muslims from
Myanmar." The UNHCR Rep expects there will be some fallout
for the Muslims in Arakan (Rakhine) State, though no reaction
has been seen yet. END SUMMARY.

MUSLIMS EXPECT RETRIBUTION


2. (C) A Rangoon-based Arakan (Rakhine) politician and two
Arakan Muslim leaders told us April 9 that they expect a
severe reaction against Muslims in Arakan State sooner or
later, following the attack on the Burmese Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur by several Arakan Muslim refugees on April 7. They
fear the GOB, which already represses the Muslim population,
will further restrict National Registration Card issuance,
passport issuance, domestic travel, and property ownership.
The Arakanese Muslim clerics will instruct followers during
Friday prayers to take precautionary measures when dealing
with the authorities.


3. (C) The Arakan leaders all agreed the motive of attack
was personal, not political, gang, or terrorist related --
evidenced by the home-made weapons used in the attack. If
they had been terrorists, our interlocutors pointed out, the
attackers would have done much more damage. The Muslim
Arakan leaders said the attackers were not related to
al-Qaida, and they felt that "al-Qaida will not target
Burmese interests overseas because they (al-Qaida) won't get
any profit from destroying Burmese properties."

UNHCR ALSO EXPECTS TROUBLE


4. (C) The UNHCR Representative to Burma, Rajiv Kapur,
related to the COM April 8 that the MOFA Director General for
International Organizations had convoked him to demand an
explanation for a UNHCR letter allegedly found on the
attackers identifying them as "Rohingya Muslims from
Myanmar." Kapur told the DG that when UNHCR in Malaysia
denies refugee status to a Muslim from northern Arakan State,
UNHCR issues them a a rejection letter simply identifying
them as such. Kapur expects there will be negative
consequences for the Muslims in Arakan State, but as yet,
UNHCR officers and NGO partners have not detected any
incidents.

THE TWO-TIME LOSER


5. (C) GOB contacts told us today that the Burmese
Ambassador to KL is none other than U Hla Maung, who was also
the Burmese Ambassador to Thailand in 1999 when former
Burmese students raided and occupied the Burmese Embassy. U
Hla Maung was formerly commander of a special OCMI unit
responsible for handling Political Detentions,
Interrogations, and Security Affairs for GOB VIPs.


5. (C) COMMENT: That the GOB treats overseas Arakan Muslims
with contempt is no surprise, considering the GOB's
restrictive policies against the Bengali-speaking Muslims in
northern Arakan State (ref B). However, it is noteworthy
that, just before the biggest Burmese Buddhist holiday of the
year when latent inter-religious tensions could suddenly
flare, the GOB in its press release avoided inflaming
tensions by not mentioning the ethnicity or religion of the
attackers. END COMMENT.
Martinez