FORCED RELOCATION AND MORE DEATH IN BURMA'S DELTA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000434

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO
PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM EAID
SUBJECT: FORCED RELOCATION AND MORE DEATH IN BURMA'S DELTA


RANGOON 00000434 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: P/E Chief Leslie Hayden for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (C) Summary: Over the last week, Embassy Rangoon has
received increasing reports the regime is forcing Cyclone
Nargis victims to leave government-run and private shelters
and return to their villages. Local sources and UN employees
confirm that forced relocation by the military in storm
affected areas is systematic and wide-spread. Political
activists traveling to the Delta to perform relief work
report that inaccessible villages outside population centers
remain out of reach. They report seeing fresh corpses of
those they believe died recently of starvation. End summary.



2. (C) Pol/econ chief met with 88 Generation leader Toe Kyaw
Hlaing and the comedian/activist Zarganar, who have teamed up
to deliver relief aid to the area surrounding Bogale in the
Irrawaddy Delta. They have made several trips to Bogale and
report that, even though UN international staff and INGOs
have a presence in Bogale Township, the outlying areas
accessible only by boat are in dire need and not being
reached. Many of the residents in these townships were
forced out of government-run camps, monasteries, and schools
where they first took shelter. The villagers recounted being
forced by the military to return home to villages so they
could "plant their rice crops," although they have no seeds,
tools, or draft animals, according to the pair. The
villagers were forced to sign documentation stating they
received 35 relief items such as tents, blankets, and
mosquito nets, though they received nothing other than small
sums of money or some clothing items. The surviving
residents of one village were given one bag of rice and one
bag of beans and informed they were on their own.


3. (C) Toe Kyaw Hlaing reported that cyclone victims he
spoke with reported the military was instructing people to
tell international UN and NGO staff that only 37,000 people
had died in the cyclone. Zarganar and Toe Kyaw Hlaing
reported that the Delta was becoming increasingly
militarized, with a large and visible presence of troops and
police. Military units reportedly told victims that the
relief phase was over, and that private donors would not be
permitted to enter the Delta after June 3. Although Zarganar
and Toe Kyaw Hlaing reported seeing UN staff in Bogale
Township, and a boat operated by crony Tay Za's Htoo trading
company passing out rice, they emphasized that many remote
villages accessible only by boat were not getting sufficient
food or water. They reported seeing a number of corpses that
were fresh and surmised the cause of death was starvation
rather than the cyclone.


4. (C) In a separate meeting, NLD Youth leader and HIV/AIDS
activist Phyu Phyu Thinn informed pol/econ chief she had come
out of hiding to take part in cyclone relief efforts and had
made three trips to Dedaye and four trips to Bogale since the
cyclone hit one month ago. She echoed Toe Kyaw Hlaing's and
Zarganar's concerns, and also reported seeing bodies of those
who appeared to have died recently. Phyu Phyu Thinn reported
visiting a monastery in Kungyangon from which local
authorities forced 26 families to return to their villages,
even though no preparations for proper food and shelter had
been made for them.


5. (C) Phyu Phyu Thinn, Zarganar, and Toe Kyaw Hlaing all
spoke repeatedly of the psychological devastation suffered by
the survivors they encountered. They reported that many
residents from remote villages which suffered major loss of
life appeared to be in psychological shock. Some refused to
eat or speak, and community members were at a loss as how to
help them. The situation was getting much worse, they
asserted. Assistance only reached large population centers
regularly, and the most remote areas were being neglected.
They all feared that the forced return of victims to their
villages would only exacerbate the problem.


6. (C) The Embassy has received other reports of forced
relocation as well. An Embassy locally-employed staff member
reported that Rangoon commander Hla Htay Win visited her

RANGOON 00000434 002.2 OF 002


church at a Karen Baptist Convention (KBC) compound in
Rangoon on Thursday, May 29, and asked to meet cyclone
victims who were being provided shelter and food there. The
Commander ordered the cyclone victims to return to their
native villages near Labutta, and only allowed five pregnant
women and some children to remain behind.


7. (C) UNHCR staff member Christiane Blessing-Win (PROTECT)
told pol/econ chief that UNHCR had received multiple reports
from its local staff in the Delta that authorities were
forcing storm victims from government camps, schools, and
monasteries. UNHCR had sent a team of international staff to
Bogale and Labutta to investigate the reports last Thursday.
The officials confirmed several of the reports; they would
return to Rangoon this evening with details. Blessing-Win
added that her husband was helping cyclone victims at a
monastery in South Dagon Township in Rangoon where local
authorities had ordered all cyclone victims being sheltered
in the monastery to return to their villages.


8. (C) Pol/econ chief spoke to UN OCHA staff member Rebecca
Richards who told her that the UN had instructed all of its
field staff to gather information on forced relocations and
report it back to headquarters in Rangoon. She was compiling
a report for UN Humanitarian Coordinator John Holmes on the
growing problem. Richards was reluctant to speak with
pol/econ chief about the forced relocations. She explained
that the UN was concerned that "coming out strong" on forced
relocation at this time could jeopardize the access to the
Delta the regime had recently granted UN international staff.



9. (C) Comment: Although the regime has made some
concessions by granting access to the Delta for international
staff, it is not enough and many cyclone victims continue to
be out of reach. The increased militarization of the Delta
and increasing reports of cyclone victims being forced to
return to their villages without adequate support are
troubling. Above all, the regime wants to preserve its
control and save face. It has become ever more urgent that
the international community gain much greater access to the
Delta in order to prevent further tragedy. While the UN and
donors want to help get farmers back on their land, they
understand that these people will only return willingly if
they can be assured of adequate support to help them back on
their feet. The GOB does not seem to be providing that
support. The international community is willing, but still
does not have access to the remote areas most in need of
support. Slowly access has opened, but not nearly enough.
We must alert ASEAN and the UN at the highest levels that
they must insist on greater access now to prevent a greater
tragedy from occurring. End comment.
VILLAROSA