DIET LEAGUE TO PROPOSE RESOLUTION ON BURMA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 005021 SIPDIS SIPDIS EAP/MLS - AARON COPE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM BM JA SUBJECT: DIET LEAGUE TO PROPOSE RESOLUTION ON BURMA REF: SECSTATE 146862 TOKYO 00005021 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer, reasons 1.4(b),(d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Lawmakers from a nonpartisan group supporting the democratization of Burma plan to submit a resolution to the Diet over the next few weeks to condemn the recent crackdown on peaceful protesters and urge dialogue between the Burmese government and the opposition. The Diet members met at the Diet offices on October 24 to discuss Japan's response to the recent events in Burma. They listened to presentations by Embassy Political Minister Counselor and other third-country diplomats, as well as representatives of Burma-related nongovernmental organizations. They also challenged a MOFA representative to reject a recent article by a former Japanese ambassador to Burma that blamed the protesters for the outbreak of violence and denigrated Aung San Suu Kyi. End summary. ¶2. (C) Sixteen lawmakers from the nonpartisan League to Support Democracy in Myanmar convened a meeting on October 24 to discuss the situation in Burma. The Diet members in attendance included senior figures from both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),and the small Social Democratic Party (SDP) including, LDP Diet Affairs Chair Tadamori Oshima and DPJ "Next Foreign Minister" Yoshio Hachiro. The League has 68 Diet members. U.S. and third-country diplomats, along with a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various Burma-related nongovernmental organizations, rounded out the program. ¶3. (C) The Diet members grilled the MOFA representative on a recent article in one of Japan's weekly journals by former Ambassador to Burma Yoichi Yamaguchi that was extremely sympathetic to the Burmese regime. The article, which was distributed to all attendees, defends the crackdown on protesters and places blame for the violence on the monks and other protesters. Describing Aung San Suu Kyi as "not very smart," the article charges that she lost support in Burma after receiving aid and advice from the United States. MOFA Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Director General Chihiro Atsumi tried to dodge a question from League General Secretary and DPJ member Yoshinori Suematsu as to whether SIPDIS �0A;Yamaguchi's opinion represents the views of MOFA, saying the former Ambassador is a private citizen. As the questioning grew more hostile, Atsumi relented only slightly, responding to Hachiro that he "regretted that the article and Ambassador Yamaguchi's position invited misunderstanding." Only after further questioning from Suematsu did he finally admit that Yamaguchi's position does not represent the views of MOFA. LDP member Takeshi Iwaya referred to Yamaguchi's position as "unacceptable." ¶4. (C) Democracy, rule of law, and human rights are the foundation of Japan's diplomacy, Iwaya added, and should be better reflected in Japan's Burma policy, beyond merely scaling down economic assistance. He decried Japan's "vague stance" on the issue, and expressed concern that Japan could lose the confidence of the international community. SDP member Kiyomi Tsujimoto also emphasized the importance of greater clarity in Japan's position, and suggested that the League propose a Diet resolution on the subject. DPJ Upper House member Tomiko Okazaki, recounting her work on Burma issues over the past 17 years, denounced the regime's treatment of women, and called for consideration of some sort of peace-keeping operation for Burma. ¶5. (C) DPJ International Bureau Chair Tetsundo Iwakuni reported on the success of Japan's delegation to the October 6 to 11 meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in TOKYO 00005021 002.2 OF 002 Switzerland in gaining approval of an emergency resolution calling for "necessary and effective measures" to deal with the Burma issue. The adoption of this resolution, he said, demonstrates the significantly high level of interest in Burma and the need to act now to promote democratization. He lamented that representatives from China and India had forced Japan's delegation, of which he was a part, to remove the word "sanctions" from the final language of the resolution. ¶6. (C) Embassy Political Minister-Counselor, using points contained reftel, joined his counterpart from the Norwegian Embassy and the British Ambassador in briefing the Diet members on their respective countries' positions. Japan-based Burmese emigrees from various anti-junta nongovernmental organizations presented a slide show detailing the regime's "reign of terror." ¶7. (C) At the end of the session, Suematsu announced that the League has begun the process of drafting a Diet resolution to express the opinion of the Japanese Diet as a whole. The draft will denounce the regime's recent crackdown on peaceful protests, request the release of detained protesters, and call for dialogue between the government and the opposition. He also noted that the League's executive members would be meeting with UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on October 25, and promised to deliver a strong message. SCHIEFFER