NLD PURSUES PARLIAMENTARY LETTER CAMPAIGN

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000873 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2015 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM BM NLD SUBJECT: NLD PURSUES PARLIAMENTARY LETTER CAMPAIGN REF: A. STATE 100357 ¶B. RANGOON 820 ¶C. RANGOON 646 Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Burma's leading pro-democracy party, the National League for Democracy (NLD),as part of a petition campaign launched on May 27 (ref C),provided Emboffs on July 27 with a list of foreign embassies to which it has delivered copies of its declaration, signed by 114 Members-elect of Parliament. The declaration calls for the unconditional release of all democracy activists (including Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo); a meaningful and substantive dialogue between the NLD and the SPDC (military regime); and the reconvening of Parliament. ¶2. (C) The NLD has requested the diplomatic missions to forward the signed declaration to respective legislative/parliamentary leaders. The U.S. Embassy received the declaration on July 5 and forwarded it to the Department for delivery to Congressional leaders (ref B). We have encouraged counterpart missions to relay the information they have received to their capitals. ¶3. (C) Per the instructions contained in ref A, we are informing the Department of this development. We understand per ref A that the Department intends to request info addressees to follow up with host country Foreign Ministries and urge them to relay the letters per the desire of the NLD. ¶4. (SBU) Begin list of recipients of NLD declaration and letters: --British Embassy for the House of Commons --Indonesian Embassy for the Indonesia Parliamentary Caucus on Burma --Thai Embassy for the Royal Thai Parliamentary Caucus on Burma --Philippines Embassy for the Philippines Parliamentary Caucus on Burma --Singapore Embassy for the Singapore Parliamentary Caucus on Burma --Malaysian Embassy for the Malaysian Parliamentary Caucus on Burma --Malaysian Embassy for the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Burma The NLD delivered similar letters the UN Special Envoy's local liaison in Rangoon (Swiss NGO leader Leon de Riedmatten),for appropriate forwarding: --UN Secretary General Kofi Annan --UNSYG Special Envoy Razali Ismail --Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights Professor Paolo Sergio Pinheiro --The Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva End list. Martinez