BURMA: REGIME ARRESTS MORE DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000487 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: BURMA: REGIME ARRESTS MORE DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS Classified By: P/E Chief Leslie Hayden for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: 88 Generation leader Myat Thu was arrested June 13. His colleague and close Embassy contact, Toe Kyaw Hlaing, has gone into hiding to avoid being taken into custody. The regime also arrested activist and journalist Zaw Thet Htwe, who had collaborated with activist/comedian Zarganar's cyclone relief efforts. The leader of Human Rights Defenders and promoters, U Myint Aye, also worked with Zarganar and has gone underground to avoid arrest. On June 12, the regime closed a Rangoon monastery closely associated with the September 2007 protests. The regime is determined to prevent the opposition from capitalizing on its slow and inept response to Cyclone Nargis, and tightening security in anticipation of Aung San Suu Kyi's June 19 birthday. End summary. ¶2. (C) On Friday, June 13, Special Branch police arrested 88 Generation leader Myat Thu, a key link with in-hiding 88 Generation leaders Soe Tun, Nilar Thein , and Tun Myint Aung. In addition, journalist/activist Zaw Thet Htwe, who worked closely with recently arrested comedian/activist Zarganar to provide relief to storm victims in the Delta, was also arrested on June 13. Zaw Thet Htwe was editor of the "Sport Lover Weekly" and was one of the founders of the popular journal "First Eleven Weekly." He had been arrested in 2003 for sending reports of forced labor to the ILO and allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. The regime sentenced him to death but later commuted his sentence to life in prison. Under international pressure, the regime released him in 2005. ¶3. (C) Two other pro-democracy activists who worked closely with Zarganar have gone into hiding. 88 Generation leader Toe Kyaw Hlaing had been traveling to the Delta with Zarganar. He contacted pol/econ chief on June 16 to report that his house had been searched several times, so he had gone underground to avoid arrest. The leader of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, U Myint Aye, has also gone into hiding to avoid arrest. He too had cooperated with Zarganar's relief efforts and reported to us that he and several members of his organization were being closely watched by Special Branch Police. ¶4. (C) Toe Kyaw Hlaing told pol/econ chief that shortly before Zarganar was arrested, an activist working with him had dropped a VCD while going through customs at Yangon International Airport on his way to Thailand. The VCD, which contained records of overseas donations to Zarganar for cyclone relief efforts, was seized by customs along with several others that contained images of the storm-ravaged Delta and villages which had not yet been reached with relief supplies. Shortly afterward, Zarganar was arrested. More arrests were likely to follow, Toe Kyaw Hlaing predicted. ¶5. (C) In another indication of regime security concerns, Thar-tha-na Theik-Pan Monastery, well known for its monks' participation in the September 2007 protests, was closed by the police on June 12. Authorities told the monks they would need to apply for permission to reopen the monastery from the government-backed central executive committee for monks, the State Sangha Maha Nakaya. ¶6. (C) Comment: The regime is determined to prevent the pro-democracy opposition from capitalizing on Nargis relief efforts, or gaining support by publicizing the regime's slow and inept response. As Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday approaches on June 19, the regime is determined to avoid additional public protests and will take whatever measures it needs to do so. Myat Thu had begun to show potential for leadership, so his arrest will further hinder efforts by the activists to organize and offer alternatives to the regime. Toe Kyaw Hlaing rightly feared arrest. He has effectively kept the 88 Generation Students active since the massive arrests of the movement last year. End comment. VILLAROSA