BURMA: AUTHORITIES THWART PLANNED PROTEST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000041

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP AND IO; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: AUTHORITIES THWART PLANNED PROTEST

REF: RANGOON 27

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


1. (C) Summary. Police in Taunggok, Rakhine State disrupted
a scheduled protest yesterday morning. No violence or
arrests were reported and local residents said the situation
in town was calm. We have seen nothing to confirm UK
Ambassador Mark Canning's account of a 40-person protest in
downtown Rangoon this week. The Myanmar Times' News Chief of
Staff has resigned following his demotion for having
published a story about new satellite TV fees. It is not
known whether he resigned in protest or was forced out. The
regime's Press Scrutiny Board has advised two local
newspapers to alter the content of their stories. End Summary.


2. (C) Rakhine State NLD member Ni Ni May Myint told us
authorities preempted a scheduled protest in Taunggok the
morning of September 17. At least 70 people, including
approximately 10 monks, had planned to stage a demonstration
at the town market to protest the government's purchase of
rice at artificially low prices and to demand the release of
political prisoners. However, police got word of the plan
ahead of time and were on the scene at 7:00 a.m. to disperse
protestors, according to local NLD officials. Authorities
also closed the town's market, schools, roads, and water
travel routes yesterday to prevent any further gatherings.
All were reopened today. Ni Ni May Myint said there were no
arrests or violence and reported that business in town had
returned to normal. However, local residents continued to
see small groups of police, USDA, and Swan Arr Shin around
town, and speculated their presence was meant to discourage
any additional protests.


3. (C) In a January 17 interview, UK Ambassador Mark Canning
told the Guardian newspaper that approximately 40 persons
staged a protest in downtown Rangoon this week. The UK's
political officer told us two of their contacts reported the
protests took place in front of the normally-bustling Sule
Pagoda on Tuesday or Wednesday. She went on to note,
however, that the absence of any exile news coverage called
these reports into question. Similarly, none of our
diplomatic or local contacts witnessed or reported any
demonstrations in Rangoon and everyone we spoke with doubted
that any took place.


4. (C) A reporter at the Myanmar Times confirmed press
reports that Win Kyaw Oo had resigned his position as the
paper's News Chief of Staff. Win Kyaw Oo was one of four
editors demoted to administrative jobs after the regime
criticized their decision to report the recent increase in
satellite TV fees (reftel). Our source did not know whether
Win Kyaw Oo had been forced out or resigned in protest
following his demotion. In an interview with the BBC,
Australian Editor-in-Chief Ross Dunkley denied that
authorities forced him to demote the four editors. He went
on to add, however, that he wanted to reform his newsroom
anyway and said the regime's criticism just prompted him to
do so sooner. Our media contacts regarded Win Kyaw Oo as a
strong advocate for a free press and noted that he had
frequently written articles the regime subsequently censored.



5. (C) The senior editor of the Myanmar Tribune, Min Naing
Soe, told our PD assistant that on January 10, the Press
Scrutiny Board summoned him and the senior editor from the
Action Times to discuss the content of their newspapers.
According to Min Naing Soe, the director of the board
criticized them for carrying too many hard news stories and
advised them instead to include more coverage of celebrities
and pop culture.


6. (C) Comment. The lengths to which local authorities went
to preempt the planned protest in Taunggok demonstrates how
seriously the Than Shwe regime takes the threat of further
demonstrations, and how determined they are to prevent them.
Their paranoia extends to the press, resulting in the
intimidation of journalists and reporters who have not

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criticized the regime. While the Myanmar Times likes to call
itself an independent newspaper, the Editor-in-Chief has
repeatedly shown his cravenness when questioned by the
regime. The heavy-handed tactics by the regime to prevent
dissent do nothing to address the underlying grievances of
the people. These tactics only increase the likelihood of
another eruption of popular anger against the regime. End
Comment.
VILLAROSA