Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06RANGOON1170
2006-08-14 10:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rangoon
Cable title:  

BURMA: 11 AIDS ACTIVISTS AND 20 MONKS ARRESTED

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KHIV PREL BM 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001170 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KHIV PREL BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: 11 AIDS ACTIVISTS AND 20 MONKS ARRESTED

REF: RANGOON 1123

RANGOON 00001170 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: P/E Chief Leslie Hayden for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001170

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KHIV PREL BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: 11 AIDS ACTIVISTS AND 20 MONKS ARRESTED

REF: RANGOON 1123

RANGOON 00001170 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: P/E Chief Leslie Hayden for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Eleven HIV/AIDS activists close to the 88
Students Generation Group were arrested August 13 for not
properly registering to spend the night at a monastery where
they were preparing a ceremony for HIV/AIDS victims. Members
of Min Ko Naing's Students Group and the NLD gathered at the
jail and court to show support for their colleagues and the
activists were released without being charged late afternoon
on August 14. The arrests come on the heels of the widely
attended 8-8-88 commemoration ceremony organized by Min Ko
Naing at another monastery. The arrests appear intended to
discourage further demonstrations by political activists,
rather than a move against HIV/AIDS workers.


2. (SBU) Around 2:00 a.m. on August 13, local police
arrested eleven members of the "Tear Group" an organization
that assists those infected with HIV/AIDS and educates the
Burmese public about the disease. The eleven arrested are
NLD members and activists close to the 88 Generation Students
Group. The activists had gathered at the Maggin Buddhist
Monastery, just outside of Rangoon, to hold a ceremony for
approximately 40 HIV/AIDS sufferers. When they arrived at
the monastery the night before the ceremony, the activists
were asked by the local township warden to leave their names
and register for permission to stay overnight at the
monastery. The group turned in their names but did not
receive a receipt from the warden to prove they had
registered. USDA members who were organizing a separate,
government sponsored event at the monastery, assured them
they had met the requirements and there would be no problems.


3. (SBU) At approximately 2:00 a.m., local police raided the
monastery and arrested all eleven activists for not
registering properly at the local warden's office. When
those who planned to participate in the ceremony arrived at
the monastery later in the morning and learned of the arrest,

they quickly gathered at the jail, where the eleven were
being held, to show their support. 88 Generation Student
leader Min Ko Naing heard about the arrest and brought others
from the 88 Generation Group to show support. When the crowd
gathered at the station, the police quickly split up the
eleven and moved them to three separate jails to disburse the
crowd.


4. (SBU) A hearing for all eleven activists was scheduled
for the morning of August 14, but when Emboffs arrived at the
courthouse it was announced the hearing had been postponed.
Min Ko Naing's group and the NLD had shown up in force to
support their colleagues during the hearing and appeared to
startle the court officials, making them nervous. The
officials decided to check with their superiors before
proceeding with such a high-profile event. Late afternoon
August 14, all eleven activists were released without being
charged.


5. (SBU) Additionally, Min Ko Naing informed us that 20
Buddhist monks had been arrested August 13 at a village
monastery in the Toung Gout township in Rakhine State. The
monks are known as "activists" who oppose the regime and also
have ties to the 88 Students Generation Group. Min Ko Naing
emphasized that Burmese authorities try to bribe and pressure
monks known to have connections to activists. In fact, the
Maggin Buddhist Monastery has already come under regime
pressure to choose a senior abbot supportive of the SPDC.
The Maggin Monastery was the original site of the Group's
August 8 commemoration ceremony (reftel) until close scrutiny

RANGOON 00001170 002.2 OF 002


by the SPDC forced the Students to change the venue at the
last minute.


6. (C) Min Ko Naing told us the police officers had not
wanted to arrest the activists, but that military
intelligence had forced them to act. He speculated that the
arrests were part of an ongoing power struggle between the
police and the military.


7. (C) Family members of the arrested activists told us the
local warden and the district chairman opposed any
humanitarian activities in their area. They spread rumors
that AIDS would spread to residents through the patients'
urine and feces and had threatened to shut down the Dutch
INGO AZG (MSF Holland),which operates AIDS clinics in the
area. The AZG Country Director, however, told us he has
heard no such threat.


8. (C) COMMENT: The arrest of the HIV/AIDS activists comes
on the heels of heightened activity by the 88 Students
Generation Group and their successful and widely attended
commemoration of the 8-8-88 uprising (reftel). The Maggin
Monastery has recently been under scrutiny and pressure due
to their connection to the Students Group. It appears these
arrests were intended to intimidate activists in general and
not HIV/AIDS workers specifically. The regime was caught by
surprise by the size of the crowds Min Ko Naing mobilized
last week and likely moved against the HIV/AIDS activists,
especially given their NLD ties, to discourage further large
demonstrations. END COMMENT.
VILLAROSA