MAE SOT: REFUGEES BEMOAN BURMESE EXILES; HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHIANG MAI 000179

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2017
TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM BM TH
SUBJECT: MAE SOT: REFUGEES BEMOAN BURMESE EXILES; HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
GROWING; BORDER QUIET

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CLASSIFIED BY: Alex Barrasso, Chief, Pol/Econ, CG Chiang Mai.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Political infighting among the exiles in Thailand came
as a surprise to recent arrivals fleeing the violent crackdown
in Burma. The number of Burmese crossing into Thailand since
the regime cracked down on demonstrations in September remains
steady, but several contacts pointed to signs the humanitarian
crisis inside Burma is worsening. During a November 8-9 visit
to Mae Sot, in Thailand's Tak Province, exile groups appealed to
Rangoon and Chiang Mai poloffs for funding to promote democratic
change, but most were unable to specify precisely how they would
use the money. Our visit did not provide evidence that exile
groups in Thailand directed recent protests in Burma. Though
political change is the only long-term solution to Burma's
humanitarian crisis, Washington may want to consider augmenting
humanitarian aid until Burma has a government that is willing
and able to address the needs of the Burmese people. End
Summary.

Burmese Student Leaders Shocked and Dismayed over Exile Groups'
Divisions
--------------


2. (C) On November 9, National Council of the Union of Burma
(NCUB - an umbrella organization of Burmese political groups)
officials took us to the Mae Sot headquarters of the National
League for Democracy Liberated Areas (NLDLA) political party to
meet with Burmese who recently fled to Thailand. We expected a
low-key meeting. Instead we arrived to find approximately
thirty of the escapees seated in rows in the courtyard of the
complex. At least half a dozen NCUB officials, many with
digital cameras, stood by watching and photographing the event
as we tried to speak with the new arrivals.


3. (C) While reluctant to speak at first, the new arrivals told
us most of them had participated in the September demonstrations
and subsequently fled out of fear they would be arrested or
killed by the regime. They described how the initial exuberance
of the demonstrations gave way to sheer terror as the regime
violently suppressed the protests and methodically hunted down
those who had participated. Most said they had not been
politically active in the past but spontaneously joined the
protests in the wave of excitement and optimism that surrounded
them. All but a handful said they did not know of plans for the
demonstrations ahead of time and only learned of them when they
first saw protestors hit the streets. Most reported they had
seen the authorities beat and arrest protestors and some
reported seeing their fellow citizens killed. About half said
they had been able to get messages to their loved ones in Burma
by phone or e-mail, but all were worried for their families'
well being and told us they would like to return home as soon as
possible.


4. (C) Not everyone was happy with the arrangements the NCUB
had made for the meeting. After the group discussion broke up,
two recently-arrived political activists told us in private that
they were shocked and dismayed with the infighting in the NCUB
and exile community in general. The two, one of whom is known
to Embassy Rangoon as a pro-democracy activist, told us they had
actively participated in the demonstrations since August and
escaped to Thailand in October. Despite what they described as
their commitment and experience, they told us the NCUB rebuffed
their offer to continue their work from within Thailand. They
complained they had not been told about our visit and questioned
why the NCUB would have kept them in the dark. "It's not like
this in Burma," one of them said, "there we all work together."
Both expressed an interest in resettling to the U.S., and at
least one has already made contact with Embassy Bangkok.


5. (C) We met separately with three Buddhist monks who said
they had participated in the September demonstrations and had
fled shortly after the crackdown began. They told us there was
little planning involved in the monk-led demonstrations. They
described how they only learned of the demonstrations the
morning they first took place. There were no planning meetings,
no master plan, they said. Monks from their monasteries decided
on their own to attend the processions, often against the advice
of more senior monks.


6. (C) The regime targeted those monasteries that had
participated in the demonstrations, according to the monks we
met. All three monks reported their monasteries had been nearly
emptied during the crackdown. They told us they were forced to
flee their monasteries and return to their native villages to
avoid arrest. But even then they did not feel safe, they said.
One monk from a monastery in Rangoon told us that authorities
approached him after he had returned to his village in Shan
State to warn him that he could be arrested at any time for what
he had done. It was then, he said, that he decided to flee to

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Thailand.

Steady Stream of Refugees Crossing
---


7. (C) Separately, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Protection Officer Alexander Novikau told us on November 9 that
approximately 80 Burmese have crossed the border into Mae Sot
since the crackdown began, claiming that they participated in
the demonstrations. Novikau said that UNHCR can do little more
than provide them with Provincial Admission Board (PAB) slips,
and wait for the PABs to consider their cases. UNHCR is not
thoroughly screening them, he said, leaving that task to the
PABs when they eventually convene. Novikau characterized
Thailand's posture towards the new arrivals as "wait and see,"
noting that the PABs have not operated regularly for some time
now, and that the Royal Thai Government (RTG) still has not
formally entered into an agreement with UNHCR to accord it the
same status as other UN bodies with a presence in Thailand.


8. (C) According to Dr. Cynthia Maung, who runs the well-known
Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot providing medical services to
displaced Burmese, the humanitarian crisis is worsening. The
biggest problems, she said, were malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS, an
increase in injuries caused by landmines, and significantly
higher numbers of Burmese school-aged children now living in the
Mae Sot area. According to Terry Smith, one of the doctors who
helps staff the clinic voluntarily on a rotating basis, the
clinic diagnoses approximately 8,000 cases of malaria, 300 TB,
and 200 HIV cases annually. The clinic treats the malaria
patients on its own, Smith said, while MSF France provides
treatment for the TB patients. Dr. Cynthia told us the clinic
recently entered into an agreement with a public hospital in Mae
Sot to provide Anti-Retro Viral treatment to HIV positive
patients, but that only 12 had so far been able to take
advantage of the program since all participants had to commit to
remain in Thailand for the entire course of treatment, which
many of her patients were unable or unwilling to do. Regarding
the increase in school-aged children being served by the clinic
and Burmese community-based organizations in Mae Sot, Dr.
Cynthia said that the number of children needing assistance had
risen from 5,000 in 2006 to 8,000 this year. Additionally, she
told us that her clinic treated 38 landmine victims in the first
six months of this year as compared to 30 during all of 2006.


9. (C) In addition to services the clinic provides in Mae Sot,
Dr. Cynthia told us about care the clinic is able to offer to
people inside Burma. In areas where there is still ongoing
conflict between ethnic groups and the Burma Army, she said the
clinic has small teams (three to five people) of back-pack
medics who test for and treat malaria, provide basic maternal
care services, and teach school children about basic hygiene.
Teams in these areas also build latrines and help protect the
population's drinking water supply. She said the clinic has
about 90 such teams deployed to Karen, Karenni, Shan and Rakine
States. In areas where fighting is not ongoing, Dr. Cynthia
said her teams are able to work with the ethnic groups to set up
labs and basic obstetrics facilities. When we asked what the
clinic's most pressing needs were, Dr. Cynthia noted the lack of
an appropriately-equipped training room, pharmacy storage space,
sleeping accommodations for her staff, proper facilities for a
new school, and the fact that most of the clinic's staff do not
have legal residence in Thailand.


10. (C) Contacts at the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen
People (CIDKP) echoed Dr. Cynthia's sentiments regarding the
humanitarian situation. They told us that over 1,000 Karen had
been displaced this year alone and that in response to the sharp
increase in landmine injuries this year, they were preparing to
initiate a landmine removal program next month with the help of
an Austrian foundation. The CIDKP's main objectives, they told
us, are to raise awareness about the plight of the Karen, seek
humanitarian assistance for IDPs, and disseminate information
about the regime's human rights violations. In addition to the
landmine removal program, the CIDKP also produces a newsletter
with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, runs a
program to raise awareness about the dangers of landmines, and
supports 30 mobile medical clinics throughout Karen State.
(Note: These clinics are in addition to the teams Dr. Cynthia's
clinic has on the ground there. End Note.) The CIDKP appealed
to us for funding to support its work, and we encouraged them to
submit a specific proposal to us while at the same time
suggesting that they consider other funding sources.

Political Groups Overstate Their Role and Aimlessly Seek Support
--------------


11. (C) At a November 8 dinner, Kyaw Kyaw of the Political
Defiance Committee told us he knew of the Rangoon demonstrations
at least a week before they took place, and intimated they were

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organized by the NCUB and other exile groups. Unfortunately,
when pressed, he was unable or unwilling to provide any
specifics regarding what role they played or what future plans
they have. We made sure Kyaw Kyaw had our contact information
and urged him to inform us in advance next time demonstrations
were planned, which he agreed to do. Similarly, at a November 9
meeting with the NCUB, members spoke of a significant role for
the group in orchestrating the protests, and appealed for USG
funding to support their efforts and those of political parties
inside Burma. As in the case of the CIDKP, we encouraged the
NCUB to draft a proposal and submit it to us.

Comment
--------------


12. (C) We were particularly struck, but not surprised, by the
newly arrived activists' disappointment with the exile groups'
failure to work in concert for change in Burma. Although the
NCUB sees itself as a significant political player, our trip did
not generate evidence that it orchestrated or had advance
knowledge of recent protests in Burma. Most participants, we
noted, told us that the protests, and their own decisions to
participate, were spontaneous. This trip also highlighted the
excellent work being done by some organizations to provide
much-needed humanitarian relief to Burmese living in the border
area. We would support Department efforts to increase
assistance to address the humanitarian needs of the growing
number of Burmese refugees in Thailand. End Comment.


13. (U) This cable was co-drafted by CG Chiang Mai and Embassy
Rangoon, and was coordinated with Embassy Bangkok.
MORROW