FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER DIES IN BRUTAL ATTACK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000384

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BM NLD
SUBJECT: FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER DIES IN BRUTAL ATTACK

Classified By: Poloff Dean Tidwell for Reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: A former political prisoner and student
activist during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, Thet Naing
Oo, died on March 17 following a public beating by police and
fire brigade officers. His family placed a death
announcement in local newspapers and on March 20 held a
funeral attended by over 1,000 mourners, including members of
the political opposition. At a funeral earlier on the same
day for a recently deceased NLD MP-elect, an unstable person
with connections to the regime attempted, without success, to
assault former student leader and political prisoner Min Ko
Naing. The recent increase in threats and violent action
against political opponents portents ominous developments.
END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Local police officers beat up former political
prisoner Thet Naing Oo on March 17, claiming he was guilty of
"public indecency," after he left his friends at a Rangoon
teashop and urinated on a nearby corner, apparently on
municipal property. Thet Naing Oo, who served four years in
prison for his role as a student activist during the 1988
pro-democracy uprising and other political activities, became
angry over the beating and returned to the scene with a
knife.


3. (C) According to eyewitnesses and opposition party
members, police officers and members of a local city fire
brigade removed their uniforms and beat Thet Naing Oo
severely in public view before detaining him and removing him
from the scene. He died the next morning, following
emergency surgery in the neurological unit of Yangon General
Hospital. Embassy officers obtained photos from local
activists, which indicate that Thet Naing Oo suffered massive
head trauma. Authorities reportedly arrested Thet Naing Oo's
two friends for "obstructing government officials in the line
of duty" and continue to detain them incommunicado.


4. (U) Thet Naing Oo's family posted his death notice in
local newspapers on March 19, without reference to the
beating, and held his funeral on March 20. An estimated
1,000 mourners, including members of the pro-democracy
movement and former political prisoners, attended the
funeral. Former student activist leader and political
prisoner Min Ko Naing, who attended the funeral, criticized
the brutal attack and told international journalists that
authorities have no right to beat citizens and should follow
legal procedures if someone breaks the law.


5. (C) Thet Naing Oo's family has filed a complaint at a
local police precinct and requested action against the
officers for what the family has characterized as murder.
According to NLD party officials, police officials have
registered the complaint for possible follow-up.


6. (C) In a separate incident, Min Ko Naing attended a
funeral earlier on March 20 for NLD MP-elect Dr. Thein Win,
who recently died of cancer. At the funeral, an unstable man
attempted to punch Min Ko Naing and shouted that he was doing
so on behalf of the NLD. An elderly member of the "Veteran
Politicians" chased off the would-be attacker with a walking
cane. The assailant fled in his car, but NLD party members
identified him as the son of a regime-selected delegate to
the National Convention. The attacker did not injure Min Ko
Naing, who later attended the Thet Naing Oo funeral without
incident. Police later questioned Min Ko Naing about the
attempted assault.


7. (C) COMMENT: Although the GOB is notorious for its
egregious abuse of detainees, public beatings have generally
been rare. According to NLD, however, the fatal beating of
Thet Naing Oo is not an isolated incident. In recent months,
NLD members and opposition activists have suffered an
increase in beatings and violent actions at the hands of
authorities and GOB-backed organizations in Rangoon and in
other parts of Burma. NLD sources in Mandalay told us
recently that members of the regime's mass member
organization, the USDA, deliberately target them with
motorcycles when they crossed the street. The
government-controlled press has reported plans to arm the
USDA and fire departments in the interests of "public
safety." These ominous events could portend harsher action
from government thugs unleashed against the political
opposition. END COMMENT.
VILLAROSA