BURMESE REGIME TALKS RESTRAINT BUT CONTINUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001031

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP AND IO; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: BURMESE REGIME TALKS RESTRAINT BUT CONTINUES
ABUSES

REF: RANGOON 1018 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol Officer Sean O'Neill for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (C) Summary. Embassy contacts confirmed authorities
sentenced four NLD members to prison terms for their alleged
roles in last month's protests, including an 85-year-old man.
NLD sources reported three members of the NLD's youth wing
were arrested in Mandalay on October 14. NLD Spokesman U
Myint Thein's wife has not heard news of her husband since
his arrest and is concerned for his health. The regime
claimed 80 percent of those detained have been released after
pledging not to protest again. Pro-democracy and opposition
activists however remained skeptical of the government's
figures and noted any pledges were likely obtained under
extreme duress. End Summary.


2. (C) Embassy sources reported that in the past week,
authorities sentenced four NLD members from Rakhine State to
lengthy prison terms for their alleged role in last month's
protests. NLD officials told us Kyaw Khine, the 85-year-old
NLD chairman of Taunggok township, and NLD member Ko Min Aung
were each sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on
October 15. Last week, authorities sentenced NLD members Tun
Kyi and Than Pe to four and a half years each, according to
the NLD. The men were reportedly charged with violating the
Emergency Provision Act which allows authorities to imprison
those deemed to be a threat to public order and stability.
Family members reported they were not permitted to attend
their relatives' trials, which were also closed to the
public. A local reporter for Reuters (protect) told us a
fifth party official, Sein Kyaw will be tried later this
week.


3. (C) Mandalay NLD officials confirmed police arrested
three members of their youth wing the night of October 14.
Ko Wunna Aung, Ko Ye Min Zaw, and Ko Soe Khine Win were on
the run and reportedly hiding in Sagaing Division when they
were picked up by authorities. A fourth party member, Shwe
Maung (aka Khamauk Gyi),reportedly managed to evade arrest
that night but was detained the next day near Mandalay. NLD
official Han Thar Myint said he believes close to 300 party
members have been arrested since the latest crackdown began
in September and commented many of those who remain free are
in hiding.


4. (C) The wife of detained NLD spokesman U Myint Thein told
us she has not heard from or about her husband since his
arrest on September 26. Swe Swe Thein said she visited Aung
Tha Pyay detention center near Rangoon on October 5 to
inquire about him but was turned away by authorities. On
October 10, police acknowledged to her that U Myint Thein had
been interrogated at a police barracks in Mingaladown
township, but claimed he had since left and provided no
further information regarding his whereabouts or condition.
Swe Swe Thein informed us her husband suffers from chronic
ulcers and did not take enough medication with him at the
time of his detention. She has tried to give authorities
more medicine to pass to her husband but said so far they
have refused.


5. (C) On October 17, the regime's mouthpiece daily, The New
Light of Myanmar, claimed authorities have released 2459 of
the 2927 persons they claim have been detained since last
month. According to the article, 190 persons from Rangoon
remain in custody while 278 from other parts of the country
are still being held. The New Light claimed that those who
were released had unwittingly joined the demonstrations and
had signed pledges not to do so again.


6. (C) While our contacts said the New Light of Myanmar's
total figure of those arrested may be accurate, they believed
far more detainees remain in custody. They also noted that
any pledges were likely obtained under duress. The
Australian Ambassador told Charge d'Affaires he learned over
100 detainees have been charged with crimes in Mandalay and
that the regime will shortly charge over 1,000 in Rangoon.

RANGOON 00001031 002 OF 002


He expects all will receive sentences ranging from three to
twenty years, partly to remove them from participating in any
national referendum.


7. (C) Comment. The continued arrests and criminal charges
against detainees show that the Than Shwe regime has no
intention of pursuing dialogue or genuine reconciliation.
Instead he is counting on international attention to shift
away from Burma leaving Than Shwe ensconced in power. As
terrible as the videos and photos of the military's brutal
crackdown were, the situation in the prisons and detention
centers must be even worse. Than Shwe appears determined to
silence Burma's pro-democracy movement. End Comment.
VILLAROSA