CAPITAL MOVE UPDATE: ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001325

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BM
SUBJECT: CAPITAL MOVE UPDATE: ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE

REF: A. RANGOON 1295 AND PREVIOUS

B. RANGOON 1294

Classified By: P/E Chief W. Patrick Murphy for Reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary: The regime's absurd relocation of Burma's
capital to remote Pyinmana continues apace, three weeks into
"Phase I" of the move. Evidence that the GOB has constructed
a massive capital complex belies foreign press speculation
that Pyinmana is a mere village. The new capital city,
however, lacks essential infrastructure; relocated government
offices can not function normally; and thousands of civil
servants who have been ordered to move face considerable
personal hardships. The armed forces, however, have ensured
that their relocated soldiers are comfortable. Oddly, the
man behind the move, SPDC Chairman Than Shwe, remains
ensconced in Rangoon with no apparent plans to relocate,
raising questions about the sustainability of this bizarre
and illogical relocation. End Summary.

ROAD TRIP THERE, "EXPRESS" TRAIN BACK


2. (U) The Burmese military regime's bizarre and sudden
relocation of the country's administrative capital from
Rangoon to remote Pyinmana has continued apace, nearly three
weeks after commencing on November 6. Embassy personnel have
witnessed numerous GOB convoys, loaded with civil servants
and government furniture, heading north on an almost daily
basis.


3. (U) Myanmar Railways, a division of the Ministry of Rail
Transportation, announced in mid-November that it had
launched a daily service between Rangoon and Pyinmana (which
formerly served as a way station on the Rangoon-Mandalay
train route). The new "express" train takes nine hours each
way. The railway office's deputy director general, U Chit
Maung, told a local newspaper that about 130 passengers ride
the daily train from Rangoon to Pyinmana, while "return
trains are carrying about 330 passengers." He did not
explain why more than twice the number of passengers return
to Rangoon than depart for the new capital.


4. (U) The regime's official media have all remained entirely
mute on the relocation. Several local newspapers,
independently owned but subject to GOB censorship, have
reported on the move, but with no details nor coverage of
events in Pyinmana. Information Minister Brig Gen Kyaw Hsan
explained the move to the press by saying, "With the
expansion of the government's national development activities
to border regions and remote villages, it was necessary to
move the government's administration to a location which is
more centrally located and placed strategically on major
transportation networks." Such networks, however, do not
appear to exist at this time.

A HELL OF A LOCATION


5. (C) According to Embassy sources, the move to Pyinmana has
been rocky, at best, and relocated government offices have
almost no ability to function. Contrary to foreign press
reports, the new capital site is hardly a tiny village. The
regime had quietly constructed a massive complex of ministry
and military buildings, with a capacity to house the entire
GOB, and additional construction is underway. The new
capital town, however, lacks essential infrastructure to
absorb the sudden arrival of thousands of civil servants. It
suffers from insufficient housing, poor communications,
limited water and sewer networks, and scarce food supplies.
No schools exist for family members.


6. (C) The GOB has not provided any new telephone numbers for
relocated offices and the entire Pyinmana region reportedly
has less than a dozen phone lines to the outside world.
Authorities instructed government workers to avoid
complaining about conditions in Pyinmana and warned they
would monitor phone calls to ensure compliance. As a result,
the frequency of phone calls back to families in Rangoon has
reportedly slowed to a trickle.


7. (C) The regime threatened to impose harsh prison sentences
on, or deny pensions to, civil servants who refused to
relocate; there have been reports of several arrests. Yet it
appears the lack of basic infrastructure in Pyinmana may
force the GOB to reassess its initial plan for relocating
government workers. Some offices will permit early
retirement in lieu of relocation or not require the eldest
workers to make the move. Roughly one third of the civil
service is female, but the GOB has to date instructed very
few women to relocate. In fact, one week after the
relocation got underway, over 100 women were allowed to
return to Rangoon due to a lack of sanitary conditions in
Pyinmana.


8. (C) Civil servants face considerable personal hardships as
a result of the relocation. Malaria and other diseases are
prevalent in Pyinmana. Rumors of snakebites abound.
Minister of Home Affairs Maj Gen Maung Oo fell ill there
during a recent inspection visit and was medevaced to
Singapore. Government workers must now, at considerable
personal cost, maintain two households, one in Pyinmana and
one in Rangoon for family members prohibited from relocating.
There are reports that GOB subsidies for the Rangoon housing
will soon cease. Living quarters for rank-and-file civil
servants in Pyinmana consist of dormitories and
military-style barracks segregated by gender; even tandem GOB
couples can not co-habitate at this point.

TAKING CARE OF THE TROOPS


9. (C) The armed forces have provided generous housing for
their own relocated troops and have constructed vast
recreation facilities exclusively for military use, including
ubiquitous military golf courses. Local sources claim that
the SPDC has created a new military command in Pyinmana,
bringing to 13 the number of regional military commands in
Burma. Although an MOD official would neither confirm nor
deny the existence of a new command when queried by an
Embassy military attache, Rangoon's regional commander, Lt
Gen Myint Swe, told the Charge on November 9 that he would
relocate to Pyinmana in his capacity as Chief of Military
Affairs Security, the regime's military intelligence branch
(ref B). The SPDC will reportedly name the new regional
command, and the capital area, "Naypyidaw," which means "Seat
of the Royal Kingdom" in Burmese language.

COMMENT: THAN SHWE STAYS PUT


10. (C) Although genuine motives for the capital relocation
remain unclear and thus subject to wide speculation (ref A),
Senior General Than Shwe's role in making the final decision
is indisputable. Oddly, however, despite talk that the
regime has created a new War Office in Pyinmana, there are no
signs that the SPDC Chairman has plans to move soon to the
remote town. To the contrary, Than Shwe has been conducting
business as usual in Rangoon, chairing routine SPDC meetings
and receiving new ambassadors and other visitors. That he
may choose not to move to malaria-infested Pyinmana raises
the question of sustainability of the absurd relocation. It
will take months, if not years, for the GOB to resume basic
functions at its new location. If, in the interim, Than Shwe
loses power for any reason, we wouldn't be surprised to see
the GOB relocate -- back to Rangoon. End Comment.
STOLTZ