BURMA FORCED RELOCATION DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO BRUNEI

UNCLAS BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000178 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS & EAP/MLS:COPE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREL BM BX SUBJECT: BURMA FORCED RELOCATION DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO BRUNEI Ref: A) State 59122 B) Bandar Seri Begawan 144 ¶1. (SBU) Charge delivered ref A points on June 4 to Joanna Hj Daniel, Assistant Director of the Political I Department (ASEAN member countries) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT). She had no immediate response to our points but said that she would ensure that our message received due attention with her ministry. ¶2. (SBU) Joanna reviewed GoB humanitarian assistance provided to Burma to date. In addition to the B$100,000 the GoB has provided directly to the Burmese government (ref A),Brunei pledged an additional B$1 million at the Rangoon donor meeting last week. As with the previous donation, the GoB intends to channel the funds directly to the Burmese government and not/not through the UN or non-governmental relief agencies. In addition, a public fund was established to allow private donations to be channeled into relief efforts. She did not have data as to how much had been donated to date or where those funds had been directed. FRIEDMAN