BURMA'S NATIONAL UNITY PARTY: NIGHT OF THE LIVING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000509

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON BM
SUBJECT: BURMA'S NATIONAL UNITY PARTY: NIGHT OF THE LIVING
IDEOLOGUES

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


1. (C) Summary: Leaders of the pro-regime National Unity
Party (NUP) reveal an outlook on Burma and the world
reminiscent of the bygone days of Ne Win and his "Burmese Way
to Socialism" ideology, which viewed the international
community, and domestic dissenters, as enemies of the state.
The NUP stands firmly behind the current military regime,
which has a similar view of the world but lacks any ideology
or real intellect, thus allowing the party to maintain a
flimsy, but national, political operation. However, we see
little evidence the SPDC has identified the NUP as its
vehicle for any future electoral process. A more likely
vehicle is the regime's mass member organization, the USDA,
which is capable of mobilizing millions of obedient
"volunteers" on short notice. End Summary.


2. (C) P/E chief recently met with leaders of the National
Unity Party (NUP),the pro-regime political party that in
1988 succeeded former dictator Ne Win's Burma Socialist
Program Party (BSPP). The senior member among the NUP
leaders was U Khin Maung Gyi, a member of the party's Central
Executive Committee and a former Minister of Commerce under
Ne Win.


3. (C) Khin Maung Gyi claimed that his NUP party had changed
its philosophical outlook over the past 16 years since the
BSPP and Ne Win were ousted from power. Given Burma's
transformation from a planned economy to a mixed market
economy, he said, the NUP no longer advocated a purely
socialist approach to governance. However, he added hastily,
the NUP's major themes remained the same: "We work for the
people and seek an equitable distribution of income."


4. (C) NUP leaders claim that their party has 500,000 "card
carrying" official members throughout Burma and another 2.5
million "sympathizers and associate members." Khin Maung Kyi
said that the party had lost about half of its membership
after GOB officials, with NUP support, instituted regulations
that bar civil servants from joining political parties.
Furthermore, the Electoral Commission has placed a moratorium
on new membership in all parties, "in order," he said
sympathetically, "to preserve national stability."
Nonetheless, he added, the NUP has over 300 functioning
offices in Burma, "in every township, except those east of
the Salween River (in ethnic minority areas of Shan State)."


5. (C) Khin Maung Gyi said that the NUP had encouraged the
GOB to reconvene the National Convention and declared that
his party would "absolutely" attend in order to "say what is
on our minds." When pressed on the NUP's objectives, he said
the NUP would seek to "bridge gaps" between political
parties, but insisted that the 1993-1996 Convention had
already covered the basic sections and fundamental principles
for a new constitution. "We have just a few minor details to
address," he said, "and the constitution will be complete."


6. (C) When queried about the role of the NLD and Aung San
Suu Kyi, Khin Maung Gyi was dismissive and referred to the
NLD as "undercover communists." He claimed that Burma had
only two truly "national" political parties (the NUP and the
NLD),and the NUP was clearly "the largest and most widely
represented." He claimed that the NUP had garnered half of
the popular vote in 1990 elections and said the NLD no longer
had a national presence. (Note: the NUP came in fourth place
behind the NLD, the SNLD and the ALD and won only ten of 485
seats in Parliament. End Note) We observed that, given the
GOB's closure of NLD offices and persecution of NLD leaders
and members, it was irresponsible to conclude the NLD did not
have a national operations. Khin Maung Gyi replied that the
closure of NLD offices was "superficial" and that NLD members
had ample opportunity to "be active (underground)."


7. (C) Although Khin Maung Kyi allowed that "all political
parties must be at the National Convention, including the
NLD," he said there was no room to be "partisan." The
Convention, he said, "will decide the future of the country
for the next two decades and this is not an opportunity for
disagreement -- we must think of the national interest." We
noted that ASSK remained under house arrest less than a
quarter mile from NUP headquarters and questioned how this
could constitute participation in the process. "NLD leaders
are under arrest," he replied, "because they refuse to leave
home." He added that, while the NLD has a certain courage in
dissenting from SPDC policies, "we, the NUP, follow the rules
and stay in bounds, because these are not normal times."


8. (C) Comment: Khin Maung Kyi and his NUP colleagues were
full of fire and brimstone, eerily reminiscent of the bygone
days of Ne Win and his "Burmese Way to Socialism" ideology,
which viewed the international community, and domestic
dissenters, as enemies of the state. The NUP, ironically,
appears quite comfortable under the thumb of their new
masters, the SPDC military regime, which has a similar view
of the world, but lacks any fundamental political ideology or
intellectual approach to governance. The NUP stands firmly
behind the regime and thus enjoys ample patronage and
resources to maintain a flimsy, but national, network.
However, we see little evidence the SPDC has identified the
NUP as its vehicle for any future electoral process. A more
likely vehicle is the regime's mass member organization, the
Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA),which is
capable of mobilizing millions of obedient "volunteers" on
short notice. End Comment.
Martinez