AMERICAN CENTER HELPING NLD EDUCATE ACTIVISTS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000253 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EAP/PD; PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KPAO BM NLD SUBJECT: AMERICAN CENTER HELPING NLD EDUCATE ACTIVISTS AND GET ITS MESSAGE OUT Classified By: PAO Todd Pierce for Reasons 1.4 (b.d) ¶1. (C) Summary: our American Center (AC) in Rangoon has attracted extra attention from both pro-democracy activists and the ruling regime as our programs reach more people. Representatives from Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD) contact the AC daily and regularly use our Information Resource Center to learn more about what is happening inside and outside the country. Last week, the GOB ordered several local papers to run articles naming course participants and accusing them of being traitors for attending AC classes. Despite this unwanted attention, the courses continue and post works closely with NLD in establishing a new distance education course for 120 activists living outside Rangoon. Post also offers badly needed media training to the NLD's Information Committee to help them get their message out to broader audiences. End summary. Under Pressure -------------- ¶2. (C) During the week of February 13-17, two private weekly journals (The Yangon Times and 7-Day Weekly) had to run articles from the Information Ministry which assailed NLD members for attending courses in "human rights and political English" at the American Center and British Council. The articles identified NLD attendees by name. The editors of both papers called the PAO on February 16 to apologize for the articles, saying that the government insisted that they be run. ¶3. (C) The courses in question cover democracy, human rights, and current affairs and have been a bee in the ruling generals' bonnet for several years. They began at both the AC and British Council in 2003 at the behest of Aung San Suu Kyi. In July 2005, the GOB abruptly cancelled the visa of the Amcit teacher running the AC course as she left Rangoon airport for a brief vacation. She made regular personal visits to NLD headquarters, which is under constant GOB scrutiny. An Embassy spouse with a diplomatic visa now serves as the course instructor. ¶4. (C ) The recently planted articles understandably spooked the older NLD members, some of whom saw them as a harbinger that they would be arrested again. They have decided to lay low for a few weeks and not attend AC activities. But the articles have had no effect on younger party members, who continue to visit the American Center in droves, or on the crowds of students and other library patrons without close political ties. The AC's open house in January drew almost 1,000 Burmese eager to learn about what we have to offer. Distance Education Courses on Democracy and Human Rights -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) NLD Deputy Spokesman U Myint Thein told PAO in December that NLD members who have taken the course at the American Center now use the class materials, particularly the StreetLaw publications "Democracy for All" and "Human Rights for All," to develop two three-month-long correspondence courses for NLD activists living outside Rangoon. One of the better English speakers at NLD translated the materials from English to Burmese on his own, and several others added examples from recent Burmese political history. Several graduates of the AC course act as teachers, and the modules are mailed to students spread out throughout Burma via the Burmese postal service. ¶6. (C ) This new correspondence class demonstrates NLD's continuing ingenuity at circumventing the regime's restrictions, and provides a great way for us to get material on post's priority issues to NLD activists throughout the country. The NLD has a much greater knowledge of who's who outside of Rangoon than we do, and they can spread our democracy and human rights information much more discreetly than we can. The AC course we offer to NLD leaders has, almost accidentally, now become a very effective "train the trainers" exercise (UNAIDS provides NLD with material for a similar course on HIV/AIDS prevention which then gets disseminated to many of the same people via the postal system). ¶7. (SBU) We also try to reach out to political activists in other ways. Former political prisoners eagerly signed up for a newly launched political science book club. Eleven bright students with no hope of admission to a Burmese university or studying abroad due to their political ties are now earning degrees through an Indiana University distance education program, funded by ESF funds and hosted at the center. Meet the Press -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Post has also helped NLD reach the international media more effectively. The GOB has allowed a few more foreign journalists to visit Burma this year than in the past, when almost all were denied visas. In the past four months, Amy Kazmin of "Financial Times" and Alan Sipress of the "Washington Post," received 10-day journalist visas. These correspondents, and others visiting the country under tourist visas, told us that they had trouble meeting with senior NLD spokesmen and leaders, and when they did speak to them, they got contradictory messages. Amy Kazmin told the PAO that NLD officials refused her request for a meeting "because it was on a weekend." Some felt that the NLD had missed opportunities to make effective statements when the Global Fund withdrew funding for Burma and when the GOB suddenly announced its move to Pyinmana. ¶9. (SBU) Given the advanced age of many senior party officials and the regime's tight restrictions on NLD activities, it is not surprising that they sometimes have trouble getting their messages into international media. Recognizing this problem, NLD senior spokesman U Lwin recently set up an Information Committee with four able members, all eager to do a better job of informing the world about NLD activities. In January, the PAO led a three-hour workshop on "Working with Western Media" for the committee, asking them to come up with press statements about various past and future events. The workshop covered the Global Fund announcement in August 2005, and hypothetical future scenarios such as a strengthening of international sanctions, the death in custody of NLD members, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi or U Tin Oo, and other themes. ¶10. (C) The workshop was the first time committee members had ever had such training. At the end of the program, the PAO presented them with an email distribution list of all Western electronic and print media correspondents based in Bangkok and Singapore, and another list with email addresses of NGOs working on the Burma issues in Asia, Europe and America. Over the past month, NLD has used these lists to get their message out much more quickly and to much wider audiences than ever before. The NLD spokesman made more focused comments in late January when the ruling regime's sham National Convention adjourned than those the party had made in the past. Post plans to run the workshop again in the near future to address additional scenarios and to test whether the mailing work well. The GOB blocks access to many web-based email service providers, but savvy computer users in Burma can get around most obstacles using proxy servers. ¶11. (C) COMMENT: Despite the unwelcome recent attention from the regime, the AC's course for NLD's current and future parliamentarians advances, and our work with the NLD remains robust. We can take some credit for the quality and usefulness of what we provide, but real credit goes to the rank-and-file NLD party members who continue to attend our lectures, visit our library, take our English classes, and spread information to wider circles in Burma in the face of regime threats and harassment. Yet we must turn away many more who are interested in our programs. To meet the demand, we have proposed expanding our programs to Mandalay, where we already own property, and ultimately moving the current American Center into larger premises. While expanding our programs, we must also do so quietly to avoid additional scrutiny or harassment. End comment. VILLAROSA