Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08RANGOON415
2008-05-27 09:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rangoon
Cable title:
GOVERNMENT DECLARES CONSTITUTION APPROVED; ASSK
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C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000415
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO
PACOM FOR FPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT DECLARES CONSTITUTION APPROVED; ASSK
SUPPORTERS ARRESTED
Classified By: Poloff Chelsia C. Wheeler for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000415
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO
PACOM FOR FPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT DECLARES CONSTITUTION APPROVED; ASSK
SUPPORTERS ARRESTED
Classified By: Poloff Chelsia C. Wheeler for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
1. (SBU) State-run media reported today that Burma's new
constitution had been approved by 92.4 percent in the
nation-wide referendum that concluded May 24. Voters we
spoke with reported wide-spread election irregularities
including distribution of pre-marked ballots with the
approval mark checked on them; people being allowed to vote
multiple times for family members; polling booth workers
instructing confused or illiterate voters to fill out their
ballots indicating a "yes" vote; voters appearing to vote
advised advised that their votes had already been recorded;
and ballot boxes being forwarded to central election
commission officials without being counted in front of ten
neutral witnesses as required by the referendum law.
2. (SBU) Additionally, NLD Spokesman U Nyan Win confirmed
that plain-clothes police detained 15-20 supporters of Aung
San Suu Kyi, including NLD members, while they marched from
NLD headquarters to her home on May 27. He did not have the
names of the detainees or where they had been taken. The
march began at the NLD headquarters where a ceremony was held
today commemorating the NLD victory in the 1990 elections.
3. (SBU) Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since
May 2003, in addition to her previous periods of detention.
Her term officially expired on May 25, but the GOB has made
no indication that it will release her, according to U Nyan
Win. Security around her home was increased this morning
with extra barricades visible and Swan-ar-Shin thugs deployed
around the area. Security was stepped up even further after
the regime arrested the demonstrators.
4. (C) Comment: While Cyclone Nargis appeared to
temporarily disrupt the regime's political thugs and Special
Branch Police, they are now back to business as usual. The
politically charged anniversaries of ASSK's house arrest, the
May 30 attack on her at Depayin, and her June 19 birthday,
will refocus attention on the Than Shwe regime's sham roadmap
and its determination to crush all political dissent. We
agree that assistance to the victims of Cyclone Nargis should
not be politicized. However, we can comment separately on
Than Shwe's continued defiance of the international
community's demands for a political dialogue leading to
national reconciliation and the release of all political
prisoners. With international attention focused on relief
efforts, we do not expect much comment on the referendum
outcome outside of Burma. End comment.
VILLAROSA
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO
PACOM FOR FPA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT DECLARES CONSTITUTION APPROVED; ASSK
SUPPORTERS ARRESTED
Classified By: Poloff Chelsia C. Wheeler for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
1. (SBU) State-run media reported today that Burma's new
constitution had been approved by 92.4 percent in the
nation-wide referendum that concluded May 24. Voters we
spoke with reported wide-spread election irregularities
including distribution of pre-marked ballots with the
approval mark checked on them; people being allowed to vote
multiple times for family members; polling booth workers
instructing confused or illiterate voters to fill out their
ballots indicating a "yes" vote; voters appearing to vote
advised advised that their votes had already been recorded;
and ballot boxes being forwarded to central election
commission officials without being counted in front of ten
neutral witnesses as required by the referendum law.
2. (SBU) Additionally, NLD Spokesman U Nyan Win confirmed
that plain-clothes police detained 15-20 supporters of Aung
San Suu Kyi, including NLD members, while they marched from
NLD headquarters to her home on May 27. He did not have the
names of the detainees or where they had been taken. The
march began at the NLD headquarters where a ceremony was held
today commemorating the NLD victory in the 1990 elections.
3. (SBU) Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since
May 2003, in addition to her previous periods of detention.
Her term officially expired on May 25, but the GOB has made
no indication that it will release her, according to U Nyan
Win. Security around her home was increased this morning
with extra barricades visible and Swan-ar-Shin thugs deployed
around the area. Security was stepped up even further after
the regime arrested the demonstrators.
4. (C) Comment: While Cyclone Nargis appeared to
temporarily disrupt the regime's political thugs and Special
Branch Police, they are now back to business as usual. The
politically charged anniversaries of ASSK's house arrest, the
May 30 attack on her at Depayin, and her June 19 birthday,
will refocus attention on the Than Shwe regime's sham roadmap
and its determination to crush all political dissent. We
agree that assistance to the victims of Cyclone Nargis should
not be politicized. However, we can comment separately on
Than Shwe's continued defiance of the international
community's demands for a political dialogue leading to
national reconciliation and the release of all political
prisoners. With international attention focused on relief
efforts, we do not expect much comment on the referendum
outcome outside of Burma. End comment.
VILLAROSA