USING ESF TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY IN BURMA

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000525

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, DRL, RM, L, AND H
PASS TO USAID

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2014
TAGS: EAID PREL PHUM KDEM BM NLD
SUBJECT: USING ESF TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY IN BURMA

REF: A) RANGOON 424 B) STATE 81570

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

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SUMMARY
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1. (S) The paramount U.S. policy interest in Burma is
promoting democracy, a objective predicated on the legitimacy
of the 1990 elections in many U.S.-sponsored UN resolutions
and policy statements. Congress has earmarked millions of
dollars in Economic Support Funds to specifically foster this
top policy goal. Twelve democratic parties that participated
in the 1990 elections have requested support from the United
States (ref A and previous). As a once-off event, we propose
to provide $150,000 in financial assistance to the National
League for Democracy's social welfare programs and to the
eleven ethnic minority parties of the United Nationalities
Alliance (UNA) to help them maintain cooperation and
viability in the face of increased repression.


2. (S) This proposal would provide $10,000 worth of kyat to
each of the eleven UNA member parties and to each of four
NLD-affiliated social welfare programs. As nine of these
twelve parties have been outlawed since 1990 by the military
regime and the three remaining legal parties are forbidden by
the junta from receiving foreign assistance, any U.S.
assistance in response to the parties' requests must be
provided in kyat and in exchange for a nominal cover good or
service. This proposal tracks with ref A and previous; the
only change is one additional party added to the UNA member
list and dropping of the request to provide support to the
NLD's Vice Chairman, U Tin Oo. End Summary.

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THE NEED
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3. (SBU) Fifteen years after stunning Burma's military regime
with their overwhelming electoral victory, the twelve
democratic parties in question have suffered tremendous
setbacks and repression. Apart from the NLD, most functions
of the other parties are handled by a small number of
individuals on a face-to-face basis. In most cases the party
chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary, and/or MPs-elect
bear most of the financial burden in addition to the personal
risks of attempting to sustain the organizations, provide
member support, and further Burma's broader democratic
agenda. The party leaders, often fired from professional
positions or hindered in their occupations because of their
pro-democracy affiliation, are generally poor.


4. (SBU) Of the 485 candidates elected in 1990, as of
February 2005, 83 have passed away. Of these, three died in
prison, three died shortly after being released from prison,
and two have been assassinated. Twelve MPs-elect are
imprisoned and 29 are in exile (twelve in Thailand and nine
in the U.S.). 182 have been dismissed or forced to resign
from their parties. A further sixteen MPs-elect are from
parties aligned with the ruling junta. The NLD's Vice
Chairman, U Tin Oo, remains in house arrest.


5. (S) NOTE: U Tin Oo's wife approached the embassy seeking
financial assistance; the family's only source of income has
been a rental house, but since the regime has cut the
telephone connection Tin Oo has been unable to rent the
property. We have previously requested $3,000 to help U Tin
Oo buy food and pay his utilities (ref A) by leasing his
rental house for storage, but for simplicity's sake we have
dropped it from this updated proposal. END NOTE

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RECIPIENTS
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6. (C) The UNA member parties and their regional bases of
support follow:

Arakan League for Democracy (western Burma, Rakhine State)

Chin National League for Democracy (western Burma, Chin State)

Democratic Organization for Kayan National Unity (eastern
Burma, Kayah State)

Kachin State National Congress for Democracy (northern Burma,
Kachin State)

Kayah State Nationalities League for Democracy (eastern
Burma, Kayah State)

Kayin National Congress for Democracy (eastern Burma, Karen
State)
Mara People's Party (western Burma, Chin State)

Mon National Democratic Front (SE Burma, Mon State)
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (NE Burma, Shan State)

Shan State Kokang Democratic Party (NE Burma, Shan State)

Zomi National Congress (western Burma, Chin State)


7. (C) The NLD provides very modest social services to its
members and supporters by means of social welfare programs
(SWP) run by party members but organizationally distinct from
the party itself. The SWPs provide services at the NLD party
headquarters and on a limited outreach basis. Like the
ESF-funded and exile-based Association for Aid to Political
Prisoners, an NLD SWP provides very modest support to
political prisoners and their families. Other SWPs fund
modest assistance in the areas of health, education, and
infant and mother care.

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WHAT WOULD THE ASSISTANCE BE USED FOR?
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8. (S) The ethnic parties, for the most part based in the
horse-shoe of mountains that rings the Burman heartland of
the country, are isolated from one another and far away from
the NLD headquarters in Rangoon. The United Nationalities
Alliance and the broader Committee Representing the Peoples
Parliament serve as coordinating organizations for the
pro-democracy movement; the UNA is the ethnic parties' forum
and the CRPP joins the UNA, NLD, and other pro-democracy
MPs-elect. The proposed funding would be used by the party
leadership for transportation expenses between their home
regions and Rangoon to attend coordination meetings at
pro-democracy fora, for communication expenses between party
headquarters and district offices and constituents, for youth
wing training programs, stipends, and scholarships; to
promote any social welfare programs the party may run, such
as those serving mother and infant health needs of members,
and to help allay costs of office space and equipment. In
short, keeping a party together as a cohesive organization
takes resources (ask any U.S. politician); this proposal
seeks a modest amount of money to help Burma's courageous
democrats to keep the flame of democracy alive.


9. (S) Assistance to the NLD's SWPs would fund nutritional
and medicinal supplements for political prisoners, help cover
travel expenses of their family members visiting prisons,
provide immunizations and vitamins to infants and their
mothers, provide education expense monies for the very
poorest children of NLD members, and help cover emergency
medical expenses of party leaders and other members,
including released political prisoners.

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DELIVERY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
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10. (S) Depending on availability and suitability, post would
provide the assistance to a party's chairperson, vice
chairperson, secretary, MPs-elect, or a designee of a senior
party leader. The recipient would provide an agreed-to
nominal cover good or service that would vary from party to
party depending on the circumstances.


11. (S) As stated, nine of the twelve parties have been
deregistered, or banned, by the regime. They thus operate
unofficially and with minimal written records that, if seized
by the police, would land the leaders in prison for many
years. Even the NLD purposefully keeps scant records for
security's sake. It has, officially, stopped enrolling new
members, maintaining party membership lists, or issuing new
party membership cards. Most of the party leaders have been
in prison at least once and many have suffered severe torture
at the hands of the regime. They are a hardened and
determined bunch. They also know how dangerous written
records, correspondence, and even telephone calls can be.
Most party business is conducted face-to-face in small
groups. Thus, accountability will be limited to a signature
of receipt of the assistance and follow-up verbal reports on
how the assistance has been used to support party activities.



12. (C) Post suggests Department provide fiscal data in an
advice of allotment similar to Ref B, "Advice of Allotment
ESF Funding" in which ESF funding was provided to support an
ongoing, stealth pro-democracy training program. Operative
text of AOA cable could be similar to Ref B, para 10, "This
increase provides funds for (the purpose of promoting
inter-ethnic cooperation among democratic political parties
in Burma."


13. (U) Please advise soonest.
Martinez