BURMA: GAMBARI'S VISIT TO MALAYSIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001534

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS AARON COPE AND IO/UNP PAUL WICKBERG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC BM MY
SUBJECT: BURMA: GAMBARI'S VISIT TO MALAYSIA

REF: A. STATE 144434


B. KUALA LUMPUR 1513

C. STATE 137644

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. David B. Shear
for reasons 1.4 (b and d).

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari held talks
in Kuala Lumpur with Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar and
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on October 16 - 17. FM Hamid
announced Malaysia and ASEAN would never suspend Burma or
agree to sanctions against the military regime. Hamid
commented that ASEAN's best option was to support UN efforts
of engagement through Gambari. Hamid supported Gambari's
speedy return to Burma and reportedly called the Burmese
foreign minister on October 17 to encourage the junta to
receive Gambari before the envoy returned to New York.
Visiting EAP DAS Christensen delivered ref A demarche during
an October 17 meeting with MFA Secretary General Rastam Mohd
Isa. Rastam reiterated Malaysia's assertion that Burma is
not an issue of international security and therefore not
suitable for UN Security Council referral. Malaysia supports
"dialogue without conditions" between the Burmese parties and
a gradual transfer of power from the military to
democratically elected civilians. Malaysia would not support
ideas floating around the media calling for "six-party talks"
on Burma but will seek to fully support Gambari's engagement
and speedy return to Burma. End Summary.

UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari's Visit to Malaysia
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2. (U) UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari held talks
in Kuala Lumpur October 16 - 17, meeting with Foreign
Minister Syed Hamid Albar October 16 and Prime Minister
Abdullah Badawi the following day. Gambari told the press on
October 16 that he brought a message from the UN Secretary
General to PM Abdullah concerning "the support that the
United Nations needs from ASEAN and neighboring countries to
address the crisis in Burma at the moment, but more
importantly, the longer term issues of peace, stability,
democratization, and human rights in the country."

Malaysia rules out sanctions or suspension from ASEAN
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3. (U) At a press conference following his October 16 meeting
with Gambari, FM Syed Hamid Albar stated that the UN wanted
Malaysia and other ASEAN member countries to urge Burma to
hasten negotiations and find an amicable solution to its
internal crisis. However, Hamid played down suggestions that
the request was akin to asking Malaysia and ASEAN member
countries to generate pressure on the junta to end the
current crisis. Hamid stated categorically that ASEAN will
never suspend Burma from the 10-nation bloc or impose
sanctions. He explained, "If you want Myanmar to continue to
be engaged, first we should not be talking about suspending.
Nobody can talk when you are threatening with all sorts of
things." Hamid also pointed out that there was "no mechanism
for suspension in ASEAN" and that "ASEAN will never take that
route." Hamid commented that the best option would be to
encourage Burma and its leadership to continue engaging with
the UN through Gambari.


4. (U) Hamid told reporters that Gambari was doing an
excellent job, and that the UN envoy should continue "with
the good work he has done and Malaysia and ASEAN fully
support all his efforts and for him to continue engaging with
the Myanmar leadership to resolve the crisis." He added that
Gambari needs to move further to kick-start the
reconciliation process in Burma and to ensure the UN's role
in bringing together all the affected parties for discussion
is effective. "What is important is ASEAN backs the UN's
efforts. We can request Myanmar to work closely with the UN.
It is the best way and best channel for Myanmar to gain the
support of the international community," Hamid said. In this
context, the Foreign Minister hoped "Myanmar will allow
Gambari to go back soon and be allowed to stay much longer to
enable him to discuss with the various parties."

Malaysia upbeat about developments in Burma

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5. (U) Hamid declared to the press on October 16 that he was
"upbeat" about developments in Burma since Gambari's visit in
early October. He noted that the situation in Burma remained
calm, and it was encouraging that the Burmese government had
appointed a liaison officer to maintain "relations" with
detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The foreign
minister also pointed out that world powers should also not
demand "overnight political change in Myanmar." "You can't
just simply put what is Western democracy into Myanmar
without taking into account their (the junta's) own position.
We don't believe that overnight you can change everything.
It can create more problems. We have seen the examples in
Afghanistan . . .in Iraq," Hamid said.

Gambari meets with PM Abdullah -- calls for real action
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6. (SBU) Gambari met with PM Abdullah on October 17 to
deliver his message from the Secretary General. Following
the meeting, Gambari reportedly told the Malaysian press that
he wants Southeast Asian countries to turn their rhetoric on
Burma into real action to achieve reform. He wanted to see
"what ASEAN governments are really prepared to do to resolve
the crisis in Burma. It is not enough for ASEAN countries to
make statements expressing concern. They must now work
together with the UN, China, and India." Gambari is also
reported to have remarked that ASEAN members should be
persistent and make sure that the discussions between the
Burmese government and the opposition parties actually take
place. He pointed out that "in the past this was all left to
the Myanmar government. This must now change."

DAS Christensen meets with MFA on Burma
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7. (SBU) Visiting EAP DAS Thomas Christensen delivered ref A
demarche during an October 17 meeting with Secretary General
Rastam Mohd Isa. He also reiterated USG hopes that ASEAN
would support an ASEAN envoy to Burma as an additional method
of sustaining and supporting Gambari's mission. Rastam
advised that FM Hamid had called the Burmese FM on the
morning of October 17 to urge the Junta to allow Gambari to
return to Burma during his current trip to the region and not
to wait until he had returned to New York. On the subject of
a possible ASEAN envoy to support Gambari, Rastam reiterated
Hamid's previous position that Malaysia and ASEAN thought it
more important to support Gambari's mission and avoid
distractions. Rastam related Syed Hamid's failed visit to
Burma in March 2006 and admitted that Malaysia was still
stinging from the junta's rejection of their diplomatic
overtures at that time. But, Rastam said, "let him (Gambari)
do his consultations then we can talk further."


8. (SBU) Rastam indicated that the Thai had proposed to
conduct "six-party talks" but Malaysia did not support this
idea. According to Rastam, Gambari was making appreciable
progress in dealing with the Burmese junta, and while his
proposals were not all accepted, the junta had not rejected
them either. Malaysia would continue to support Gambari's UN
mission and would take whatever steps it could to help
Gambari promote trust with the Burmese generals.


9. (SBU) Rastam noted that Malaysia's primary goal in dealing
with Burma was dialogue among the parties without conditions.
"It is more useful for Aung San Suu Kyi to be out of house
arrest, rather than in her current position," Rastam
continued, alluding to calls for Junta conditions to be met
prior to her release. "We need a system for her to be
released, and then broad based consultations can occur."
Rastam reiterated that the world should not simply expect an
immediate, 100 percent hand over of the government to
civilians. "We must find ways to bring the military and
civilian sides together" for a gradual transfer of power to a
civilian democracy, he said, adding that the generals are not
willing to just give in to international pressure. Rastam
noted that Malaysia and China share the same position
regarding a referral of Burma to the UN Security Council,
namely, "this is not an issue of international security --
this is an internal issue for Burma."

Prime Minister's Political Secretary
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KUALA LUMP 00001534 003 OF 003




10. (C) DAS Christensen also delivered ref. a demarche to
Prime Ministerial Political Secretary Vincent Lim, who
appeared well informed on the subject of Burma but who
avoided specific comment on an early Gambari stop in Burma.
We have no doubt, however, that our thoughts on Burma will be
conveyed to the Prime Minister.

Comment
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11. (C) We note with interest Hamid's October 17 effort to
urge the Burmese to welcome Gambari sooner than November, but
it does not appear that Gambari is ready to try for a visit
to Burma as early as this week. Rastam told us he would
depart Kuala Lumpur for Jakarta tonight, and the local news
is reporting that he will visit Japan, India, and China after
that. Malaysia has not yet bought our suggestion that ASEAN
appoint an envoy to support Gambari's mission, although he
avoided rejecting the idea. Rastam told us that the subject
didn't arise in GOM talks with the UN envoy. If Gambari were
to explicitly request support for an ASEAN envoy this should
help in convincing Malaysia to accept and advocate the idea
within ASEAN.
SHEAR