BURMA: RELIEF COORDINATING GROUP STRUGGLES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000448 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM EAID SUBJECT: BURMA: RELIEF COORDINATING GROUP STRUGGLES TO SOLVE KEY ISSUES REF: A. RANGOON 441 ¶B. RANGOON 427 ¶C. RANGOON 417 RANGOON 00000448 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: P/E Chief Leslie Hayden for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Tripartite Core Group (TCG) has met twice since its formation to work out difficult issues related to Nargis relief efforts. According to the UN and ASEAN representatives, discussions have been frank and open. While some progress was made on procedures for access, visas, and a comprehensive assessment, Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu referred the matters of helicopters and forced relocations to his Prime Minister for a decision before the next TCG meeting on June 9. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) UN Acting Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator Dan Baker and UN Resident Coordinator Bishow Parajuli briefed UN donors on the first two meetings of the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) (reftels). Baker reported that the TCG had met twice in the last week, and agreed to meet at least twice each week to thrash out operational issues and problems with delivering assistance to the Delta. Baker noted that formal minutes would be published reflecting decisions made by the TCG as well as matter referred to more senior GOB officials. Baker and Parajuli will be the UN representatives along with the relevant UN agency heads depending on the issues to be discussed. Any problems which could not be resolved would be referred to the Central Coordinating Body, made up of senior officials from each of the ten ASEAN member countries. Baker characterized the TCG's two initial discussions as open, frank, and good. He noted that difficult issues had been raised, such as better access, forced relocation (ref B),the comprehensive assessment, and UN helicopter operations. Some had been resolved, while others would require further consideration. ¶3. (SBU) Access: Baker reported that the GOB's TCG co-chair, Kyaw Thu, confirmed a simplified procedure for requesting permission to travel to the Delta that had been previously agreed by the Ministry of Social Welfare. Confusion persists as some ministries continue to insist on more advance notice and a government liaison must accompany. UN agencies and NGOs should request access through the Ministry of Social Welfare and allow for two days for the request to be processed. International staff would not be required to travel with government representatives. Parajuli pushed Kyaw Thu to drop the requirement for travel permission, but Kyaw Thu would not agree. The UN had an officer designated to coordinate travel requests for INGOs, facilitate approvals, and manage any political issues that arose. He added that 50 international staff had received permission to travel to the Delta on short trips, and a WFP staff member received permission to travel there for sixty days. Baker noted that while the waiting period for travel approval was officially two days, the Social Welfare Ministry was taking up to six days to process some requests because so many had been submitted. ¶4. (SBU) Visas: Baker said that international staff were still receiving visas with two-week validities. He added that requests for visa extensions should be submitted to the Ministry of Social Welfare, indicating they would routinely get renewed. When donors mentioned visas that had not been renewed, Baker requested specific information on those denied so he could raise them with the Ministry or TCG. ¶5. (SBU) WFP Helicopters: The operation of WFP helicopters remained a serious issue. The WFP contracted the helicopters for prolonged periods of flying, but the GOB had permitted one to operate two flights a day for three days. If additional helicopters entered Burma, they would face the same restrictions. Without a possibility of renewals or some other permit to fully utilize the helicopters, it made no financial sense to bring them in. Kyaw Thu agreed to refer the issue to the Prime Minister for resolution. RANGOON 00000448 002.2 OF 003 ¶6. (SBU) Assessment: Baker and Parajuli characterized the discussions on the comprehensive assessment as the most productive with terms of reference quickly drafted and already approved by the TCG. They explained that the Post Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) would cover both relief and early recovery needs through a village tract assessment for food, water, and shelter needs, and a damage and loss assessment to calculate infrastructure damage and longer-term reconstruction and development needs. Fourteen assessment teams would be formed totaling approximately 150 people: 54 experts from GOB ministries and the remaining from UN national staff and the ASEAN Emergency Rapid Assessment Team. Training for the assessment teams was being conducted this week with assistance from the World Bank, and an advance team would travel to the Delta on June 5 to identify sites for the teams to visit. ¶7. (SBU) Baker elaborated that the teams would visit thirty townships in the cyclone affected areas including villages selected scientifically to form a representative sample. Several donors voiced concern about small, inaccessible villages south of Bogale that were not being reached, and were not even located on Burmese maps. Baker asked donors to share this information with the UN and assured them that if assessment teams came across villages needing urgent assistance, the teams would request it immediately. ¶8. (SBU) Baker predicted initial assessments would be completed in time for an ASEAN roundtable chaired by ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan on June 24 to discuss relief and reconstruction needs. The UN would rely on this preliminary assessment to release a revised flash appeal around the same time. Baker said that assessment data would be shared with the entire TCG. He noted the UN would need to bring in outside analysts to process the data given the fast turnaround needed and that the World Bank agreed to provide some analysts for the effort. Two World Bank staff would also be embedded into the assessment teams. Charge offered the assistance of OFDA to help analyze the data. Baker noted the GOB agreed to share its own data as part of the assessment. The ultimate goal of the assessment was to develop a full picture of ongoing relief efforts to close the gap on delivering assistance to cyclone victims, Baker said. ¶9. (C) In a separate meeting with the CDA, TCG ASEAN co-chair Singapore Ambassador Robert Chua emphasized the TCG was not a policy-making body, but rather a troubleshooting, operational group designed to free up bottlenecks in the relief system. Chua provided us a positive impression of Kyaw Thu's effectiveness, saying he believed the Deputy Foreign Minister understood the urgency and gravity of helicopter and forced relocation issues. He said Kyaw Thu had drafted a memo to the Prime Minister himself so the PM could make a decision before the TCG's next meeting on Monday, June 9. ¶10. (SBU) He elaborated on the assessment procedures explaining that the assessment teams would be modeled along the lines of the UN cluster groups. The teams would fan out to the Delta, including areas not yet reached, to compile a comprehensive relief and damage assessment. An advance team was expected to launch on May 5, and the assessment teams would launch on May 9. ¶11. (C) Chua characterized the TCG as a positive step of regular UN and ASEAN engagement with the GOB for the first time. He expressed confidence that this "quiet diplomacy" was worth trying. Issues that could not be resolved by the TCG would be forwarded to the Central Coordinating Body of more senior ASEAN officials. Chua said the ASEAN Task Force would meet on June 25 to review GOB progress on the Nargis relief efforts. By this time, Chua concluded, "we would know what ASEAN means to Myanmar and what Myanmar means to ASEAN." Chua stated that Singapore medical teams had completed their work and returned to Singapore. During their two-week mission, the teams enjoyed full access and initiated mobile medical teams that traveled widely to treat approximately RANGOON 00000448 003.2 OF 003 5,000 people. Teams from other neighboring countries had been sent as the first teams departed. ¶12. (C) Comment: By late next week we should have a good idea if the GOB will take the actions needed to make the TCG work. Decisions on the procedures for the assessment team and information sharing were made in record time compared to the usual glacial pace of the GOB. While Kyaw Thu may understand the problems and what it takes to solve them, his masters in Nay Pyi Taw may not be as accommodating. Fast resolution on the difficult issues of helicopter operations and forced relocations will indicate if the generals are serious about their commitment to cooperate. Many tough issues remain to be resolved in order to get disaster experts throughout the Delta to set up effective distribution systems to deliver relief to all the victims and support them as they try to get back on their feet. These decisions will not come quickly, so we can only hope that persistent prodding will ultimately work. End comment. VILLAROSA