BURMESE REGIME CORRUPTS YOUTH AND COERCES SUPPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000003 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI SNAR EAID ECON BM SUBJECT: BURMESE REGIME CORRUPTS YOUTH AND COERCES SUPPORT RANGOON 00000003 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: A/PAO K. Penland for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Charge met on Dec. 22 with NLD women leaders (including four Members-elect of Parliament) representing Rangoon, Mandalay, and Mogok cities; Bago Division; Karen State; Shan State; and Mon State. The NLD matriarchs, some who had snuck out of their homes, covertly boarded trains for Rangoon, and shook the secret Burmese police assigned to tail them, shared their tales of regime activities that destroy their regions. They encouraged the Charge to visit and witness for herself the government's corruption of youth, coercion of party support, and destructive economic policies. The women all pointed to prostitution, gambling, and drugs as the regime's tools for systematically destroying and destabilizing young people. END SUMMARY. NLD Engaged Despite the Odds -------------- ¶2. (C) Senior NLD women leaders readily accepted the Charge's invitation to meet. Some described how they had to sneak out of their homes and shake the Burmese secret police in order to attend. They also demonstrated that they follow developments outside Burma closely, thanking the U.S. for its steadfast support for democracy in Burma and cautiously welcoming increased ASEAN pressure for reform. They also encouraged continued U.S. pressure with ASEAN and at the U.N. But the representative from Mon State stated that the recent ASEAN call for Aung San Suu Kyi's (ASSK) release is not enough. ASSK must also be permitted to take an active role in the nation's politics. "If she is not allowed to participate, it would be a big loss," she said. The Charge assured the women that the U.S. would continue to press for a national reconciliation process that includes ASSK and "all members" of the body politic. "You very much need a government that serves the people, rather than the people serving the government," the Charge said. Regime Encourages Prostitution, Gambling & Drug Abuse -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) The Karen State MP-elect highlighted HIV/AIDS as the most serious problem in her state. She said the Global Fund, which recently terminated its program in Burma, had never reached Karen State. Others added that while the Global Fund was operating, the government blocked funds from reaching persons, and sometimes entire regions, known to be supportive of NLD. The Karen State leader added that the regime attempts to distract the youth from current troubles by throwing street festivals, or "pwes." Pwes are a beloved tradition in Burma, but the regime increases the appeal of the festivities by encouraging the pro-government Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) to supply brothels and prostitutes at the festivals, said the Karen State MP-elect. She said the easy supply and accessibility to prostitutes has caused an explosion of HIV infection. She said of 20 students tested for HIV in Karen State, 12 tested positive for the disease. She stated she personally knew of three people from "good homes" who died in the last month from AIDS. The Charge said she was aware that providing HIV/AIDS medical care in Karen State is extremely problematic, noting that one international NGO, Medicines Sans Frontiers-France, just announced its withdrawal from Burma because it received no government cooperation in accessing Karen and Mon states. ¶4. (C) The NLD leader from Mogok, a mining town in northern Mandalay Division, also said that HIV/AIDS is rampant in her region, though not as bad as in Karen State. She blamed the regime for corrupting youth in her city by encouraging gambling. For 200,000 kyat (less than $200 U.S.),an entrepreneur can bribe or buy a "lease" from the government to operate a gambling facility. She said the gambling dens degrade the morals of the youth, destroy their desire for an RANGOON 00000003 002.2 OF 003 education, and leave no room for thoughts about politics. The women all agreed that gambling was a big problem throughout the country. Lotteries are a pervasive part of Burmese culture, dating from the last King of Burma who created a lottery system in Mandalay to present day department stores offering weekly prizes to their patrons (the more you spend, the more tickets you receive). In downtown Rangoon, gaming rooms accessible by ordinary citizens provide video gambling games at which people can win and lose actual currency. ¶5. (C) Drug abuse is the third distraction the regime uses to steer the youth away from politics, according to the NLD women. The Mogok representative claimed that the regime offers a bounty of 100,000 kyat (less than $100 U.S.) to each person who hooks a youth "from a good family" on drugs. The Mogok leader added that methamphetamine pills confiscated by police immediately return to the streets and are sold by the local authorities at a lower price. The women explained that local authorities promote gambling, drugs, and prostitution to also supplement their own low incomes. The Mogok leader concluded that the regime is "systematically destroying and destabilizing young people." Regime Policies Destroy Farms and Families -------------- ¶6. (C) The Bago representative said that the regime's spate of dam building has seriously damaged farming in the region. During the rainy season, when the dams are not needed to conserve water, the regime opens the dams, flooding surrounding villages and cities. The regime also demands that farmers cultivate two crops of rice. Farmers, however, prefer to plant one crop of rice followed by beans or watermelon, a rotation well suited for the region. To punish the farmers for not following orders, the regime opens a nearby dam and floods the offending crops out. The Bago representative added that the farmers willingly risk the ruination of non-sanctioned crops because rice, which they are instructed to grow, does not provide them sufficient profit -- especially after being forced to buy fertilizer and fuel from the government. ¶7. (C) In Chaung Son, a Mon State coastal island, most families have at least one member who has migrated to Thailand for work, sometimes as commercial sex workers, to raise enough money to support their families. Often, parents leave their children to fend for themselves for seasons at a time, the older siblings looking after the younger. The Mon representative said the government does not address the root cause of the poverty in the region, but simply erects billboards discouraging trafficking and migration into Thailand. The representative suggested an unspecified domestic cottage industry program would be extremely helpful in assisting the Chaung Son residents become self-sufficient. USDA Strong Arms Tactics to Gain Members -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The regimes' mass-member organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA),has begun calling itself an NGO, though according to the NLD women, the public is far from fooled. During a recent fire in Rangoon in which an estimated 2,000 homes burned to the ground, USDA encouraged concerned citizens to donate through USDA. Unsuccessfully, said the NLD leaders, because the people knew the funds would likely be diverted. (NOTE: As an example of the poor state of public services, according to one Burmese observer, fire trucks were first seen responding to the scene without water, then had to leave and bring water back to begin fighting the flames with an old-fashioned "bucket brigade.") ¶9. (C) The Bago representative said that the USDA recently RANGOON 00000003 003.2 OF 003 offered micro-credit loans to the public. However, she said, as soon as people became organized to accept the loans, USDA wanted applicants to become USDA members and pay a fee for accepting the loan. Although this scheme failed, USDA successfully coerces membership in other ways. According to the NLD, USDA waives school fees for poor people who join the regime organization. In addition, the USDA forces the top ten students of each school to join the organization. These students receive an assortment of privileges, such as domestic scholarships. The organization also forced its members to pay for USDA member uniforms that were never provided. The NLD leaders did not criticize local citizens who felt obligated to join, saying, especially for poor people and civil servants, that it was a matter of basic survival. Notwithstanding the regime's attempts to portray the USDA as a legitimate organization representing the people, the NLD leaders doubted USDA has any popular support. NLD Cut Off From NGOs and Social Life -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The NLD leaders described the sacrifices they made for their political activism. Their family businesses had been destroyed and they were forbidden to teach. NLD is not allowed to form NGOs, and any NGO or religious association that invites the participation of an NLD member can guarantee regime scrutiny and trouble, said the NLD women. Therefore, NLD members are shunned by NGOs and religious associations. If an NLD member attends a wedding or a funeral, the most basic of social functions, the regime often makes trouble for the relatives of the wedded couple or of the deceased. The Karen representative said that although NLD cannot work openly with NGOs, the NGOs quietly keep her informed. Another women explained her willingness to persevere in the face of steady harassment: "The Burmese people are patient people. I will continue to struggle in the hope that my children or grandchildren will see change." ¶11. (SBU) COMMENT: The NLD women painted a harsh picture of a so-called government destroying people's livelihoods, corrupting the youth, and demanding that citizens join an organization formed to control the people rather than represent the people. In Rangoon, an observer sees few overt signs of this oppressive control, probably a combination of a better-informed and relatively better-off population and an international presence. The levels of education and prosperity decline dramatically outside Rangoon and a few other cities. Government restrictions keep vast expanses of this country off limits to foreigners. Thus the regime and its strong-arm organization have free rein to impose arbitrary measures intended to fill their own pockets and maintain control rather than deliver better services to the public. Is there any wonder that this regime has no public support and ASSK remains popular despite 10 years of detention? A few brave NLD members are willing to defy the regime to keep hopes alive in the people for a better future. END COMMENT. VILLAROSA