BURMA: CENSORSHIP AND SOLITARY, BUT NO CONSTITUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000208 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP AND IO; PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: BURMA: CENSORSHIP AND SOLITARY, BUT NO CONSTITUTION REF: RANGOON 195 Classified By: Pol Officer Sean O'Neill for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Detained monk U Gambira has been placed in solitary confinement, apparently as punishment for his recent statements urging Burmese to reject the draft constitution. The All Burma Monks Alliance issued a statement urging monks to boycott upcoming state-sponsored religious exams but did not call for a boycott of the referendum as some media have reported. Authorities have charged another eleven people, including five monks, with crimes that could result in up to five years imprisonment. All eleven were arrested for their alleged participation in September's demonstrations. Last night, police raided the offices of a weekly newspaper in retaliation for a recent article which made light of ONE of the police's more unorthodox criminal investigation techniques. U GAMBIRA -------------- ¶2. (C) On March 14, authorities placed detained monk U Gambira in solitary confinement although family members reported that he remains in good health. Supporters speculated officials placed him in solitary confinement in retaliation for his recent statements urging Burmese to vote against the regime's constitution (reftel). U Gambira has been charged with three offenses, although so far authorities have only proceeded with ONE of the three, violations of the Emergency Provisions Act. Family members are scheduled to visit him again on March 24 and hope to know more about his legal situation then. MONKS' STATEMENT -------------- ¶3. (C) The All Burmese Monks Alliance released a statement on March 18 urging Buddhist monks to boycott upcoming state-sponsored religious exams. The statement also reminded monks of September's crackdown and called for a continuation of a boycott against alms-giving from the regime. We have obtained and translated a copy of the Burmese-language statement. Contrary to some media reports it does not call on citizens to boycott the May referendum. MONKS, ACTIVISTS CHARGED -------------- ¶4. (C) Opposition lawyer U Aung Thein reported that on March 17, authorities charged five monks and six laymen with public mischief, unlawful assembly, and sale of obscene materials. If convicted, the eleven people could receive as much as five years in prison. The five monks were members of the Sasana Theik Pan monastery in Rangoon and were arrested along with the six laymen last fall for their alleged role in September's pro-democracy protests. PRESS HARASSMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Police raided the offices of the "7 Daily News Weekly" last night and threatened to arrest ONE of its reporters, Ma Nyein Nyein Naing, a 2007 Jefferson Fellow. Additionally the Press Scrutiny Board has banned the publication of the paper for at least ONE week. The Deputy Editor in Chief believed authorities were retaliating for a recent article that made light of some of the more unorthodox investigatory techniques the police have used to investigate the recent multiple homicide on University Avenue, near the U.S. Embassy. In particular, the article poked fun at the fact that detectives attended the funeral of ONE of the victims and read aloud an order instructing her soul to help them solve the crime, as is apparently common practice in murder investigations. RANGOON 00000208 002 OF 002 COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) More of the same from the Than Shwe regime. While the international community and the Burmese people wait to finally see a copy of the draft constitution, authorities busy themselves with retaliating against an imprisoned monk and a weekly tabloid. We are not surprised by the overwhelming pessimism of most of our Burmese contacts that political reform is likely soon. VILLAROSA