BURMA: TOP OPPOSITION LEADERS DETAINED BY REGIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001432 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BM SUBJECT: BURMA: TOP OPPOSITION LEADERS DETAINED BY REGIME ON NLD ANNIVERSARY RANGOON 00001432 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: P/E Chief Leslie Hayden for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: At 6:30 a.m. on September 27, Police Special Branch officers came to the homes of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students -- Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kway -- and NLD MP elect U Hla Theing, and took all four to separate locations for questioning. SB questioned U Hla Theing about NLD's activities planned to mark the September 27 NLD anniversary, although he was released shortly before noon and served as emcee at NLD events at the party's Rangoon headquarters, which emboffs and other diplomats attended. The three student leaders remain in GOB custody, although Embassy Special Branch contacts have told us they were called in for "discussions" only and that they will be released this evening. Special Branch also informed us that labor activist and NLD member Su Su Nwe, who was recently released from prison, is being watched closely. End Summary. ¶2. (C) At 6:30 a.m. on September 27, Special Branch officers came to the houses of top 88 Generation Student Leaders Min Ko Nigh, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kway and took them to separate locations for questioning. According to activists who were with the three when they were detained, Burmese authorities treated them politely and indicated they were being called in for "discussions" with Special Branch. We have learned that the three leaders are being held at three separate locations: Min Ko Naing at the 45th Street Special Branch Office, Ko Ko Gyi at the Ministry of Home Affairs' Rangoon office, and Htay Kway at a local passport office. ¶3. (C) Embassy contacts told us the three were picked up this morning by the Special Branch's Special Operations Unit operating on the orders of the Minister for Home Affairs. Until now, our source claimed, Special Branch had a "hands-off order" telling them to take no action against the three activists. Our contact said the Minister issued the order after members of the regime's puppet political organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA),informed the Home Affairs Ministry that labor activist and former political prisoner Su Su Nwe held a closed NLD meeting in her township and was planning to lead several supporters to attend the NLD's 18th anniversary ceremony today. Our contact noted that Su Su Nwe is also under close surveillance, although there is no indication she would be taken in for questioning. Su Su Nwe was at the NLD ceremony today and told Pol/Econ chief that she was doing well, although she continued to face the usual regime harassment. ¶4. (C) Pol/Econ chief last met with Min Ko Naing and Htay Kway on September 25. Both indicated that the 88 Generation Students were planning to attend the NLD anniversary and other events with NLD members this week. Despite the detention of their leaders, several members of the students' group showed up at the NLD ceremony today. They were in good spirits and told us they had also heard from their contacts at Special Branch that the three leaders could be released this evening. According to one of them, Htay Kway was allowed to call his family and told them the regime had not questioned him yet but made him watch a video. However, other students told us late today that Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kway had used their cell phones to call friends and ask them to clear out their homes, which they see as a bad sign signaling longer detention. Many student activists have told us that if the three are not released, their members are ready to take to the streets and demonstrate. ¶5. (C) Comment: It is likely the regime detained the three prominent leaders out fear that they would draw a larger and broader crowd than usual to the NLD's anniversary ceremony, RANGOON 00001432 002.2 OF 002 and initiate broader demonstrations against the government. The regime was on alert today, and as usual on NLD occasions, the road in front of Aung San Suu Kyi's house was closed. The 88 Generation leaders have recently stepped up their activities, and their status has grown since their widely-attended ceremony marking the anniversary of the August 8, 1988 uprising. Min Ko Naing has been working to unify the pro-democracy groups, both inside and outside of Burma, to strengthen the actions and unify the message of the opposition. During Pol/Econ chief's recent meetings with exile groups based in Chiang Mai and on the Burma-Thai Border, his name was mentioned repeatedly as the leader who had the most potential to reinvigorate the pro-democracy movement inside Burma. In the past, any signs of unification among the pro-democracy opposition has resulted in swift arrests and crackdowns by the regime. The strength of reaction to these detentions, both within Burma and internationally, may influence whether the regime is able to get away with this tired pattern of repression once again. End Comment. STOLTZ