BURMA: ENCOURAGING COOPERATION ON TIP WITH CHINA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 RANGOON 000575

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL/HSTC; EAP/MLS; G/TIP
DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB
GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE
BANGKOK FOR LABOR/TIP OFFICER
PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2018
TAGS: PHUM KWMN KCRM KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB SMIG BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: ENCOURAGING COOPERATION ON TIP WITH CHINA
AND THAILAND

REF: A. RANGOON 158

B. RANGOON 113

C. BANGKOK 1588

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Classified By: Economic Officer Samantha A. Carl-Yoder for reasons 1.4
(b and d)


1. (C) Summary. Recognizing that the majority of Burmese
trafficking victims cross Burma's long, porous borders into
China and Thailand, the Burmese Government, in conjunction
with several international NGOs, is working with the Chinese
and Thai Governments to establish bilateral liaison offices
(BLOs) at key points on the Burma border. The Chinese
Government and GOB agreed in February to open a BLO on the
border of Lwe Je, Kachin State; the BLO should be operational
by the end of 2008. According to Police Colonel Sit Aye, the
Thai Government continues to drag its feet on negotiations of
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for bilateral cooperation
on trafficking issues. The Thai Government will not consider
opening BLOs along the Burmese border until said agreement is
finalized. Despite the lack of an MOU, the Burmese and Thai
Governments have worked together on TIP issues, including the
recent case of smuggled Burmese migrants into Ranong
Province. GOB offices, including the Anti-Trafficking Unit
(ATU),local police, and Department of Social Welfare,
assisted with the repatriation of 57 Burmese citizens. The
ATU is conducting joint investigations with the Thai police
to find the brokers. Col. Sit Aye informally responded to
the 2008 TIP Report, inquiring why the USG did not recognize
the ATU's efforts in 2007 to combat trafficking. End
Summary.

Promoting Cooperation on the Border
--------------


2. (SBU) According to officials from UNIAP and Save the
Children, the Burmese Government, particularly the police,
has taken steps in the past six months to address the
international trafficking of Burmese people. Col. Sit Aye,
head of the police-lead Anti-Trafficking Unit (ATU),
underscored that despite the lack of official statistics on
the trafficking of Burmese into China and Thailand, the ATU
has ramped up efforts to monitor the movements of people over
these borders. However, the ATU has a limited number of
staff who cannot cover the entire porous border, he admitted.
Consequently, the GOB has made it a priority to establish
bilateral liaison offices (BLOs) along the borders of China
and Thailand, which would enable the governments to share
information about trafficking, narcotics, and other
transnational crimes (Ref A). The Chinese and Burmese
Government established the first BLOs in Muse, Burma and
Ruili, China in July 2007. Staff from these BLOs
successfully cooperated to assist more than 25 Burmese women
and children last year, Col. Sit Aye stated.


3. (SBU) The Burmese Government remains committed to
expanding the BLO program, he commented. During a meeting
with the Chinese Government in February, the Minister of Home
Affairs proposed opening a new bilateral liaison office in
Lwe Je, Kachin State - another key border crossing. Although
the Chinese initially resisted, noting that Lwe Je was only a
one and half hour drive from Ruili (a 15-hour drive from Muse
on the Burma side),the Chinese Government agreed to open the
BLO. The number of trafficking victims traveling from Kachin
State to China increased in 2007; the Chinese and Burmese
Governments coordinated to repatriate 14 Burmese citizens

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last year. Col. Sit Aye explained that it will take several
months to establish the BLO: first, the Ministry of Home
Affairs must select 3-4 ATU staff to man the new BLO;
officials from the UN and the Australian Counter-trafficking
Program will train both the Burmese and Chinese on TIP
issues; and the Burmese staff will receive training on
counter narcotics operations and Chinese language in Beijing.
He predicted the BLO would open by December 2008.

Thais Still Hesitant
--------------


4. (C) While the number of Burmese trafficked to China
increases annually, Thailand continues to be the primary
destination for Burmese trafficking victims, Col. Sit Aye
emphasized. As a result, the GOB wants to open BLOs in
Tachilek, Myawaddy, and Kauthaung - the three main crossing
points for Burmese into Thailand. However, the Thai
Government continues to drag its feet and will not open any
BLOs until the Burmese and Thai Governments sign a formal
memorandum of understanding outlining the BLO procedures, he
noted. The Burmese and Thai Governments have been
negotiating a memorandum of understanding since May 2007;
during a meeting in April, the Thai Government made
additional changes to the document, delaying formalization of
the MOU. The Minister of Home Affairs received the Thai
Government's final version in May, which was submitted to the
Senior General for approval, Col. Sit Aye explained.
According to Col. Sit Aye, once the Senior General approves
the document, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Thai
Minister for Social Development and Human Security will sign
the MOU, perhaps as early as August. (Note: Embassy Bangkok
sources confirm that the Government of Thailand is ready to
sign the MOU but is waiting for the appointment of a new
Foreign Minister before doing so. End Note.)

Informal Coordination Occurs
--------------


5. (C) Despite the lack of an MOU, the Burmese and Thai
Governments have informally coordinated on anti-trafficking
issues in 2008, ATU member Major Nyunt Hlaing told us. The
Burmese police assisted the Thai police in the investigation
of the April 2007 case involving 122 Burmese who were
smuggled to Thailand (Ref C). Major Nyunt Hlaing explained
that the Burmese police assisted with the repatriation of the
57 survivors, working with the Ministry of Social Welfare to
provide them with temporary shelter, medicines, and food in
Kauthaung (directly across from Ranong Province). Save the
Children TIP Director Guy Caves told us that the local police
and social welfare officials treated the victims well,
contacting their families immediately upon their return to
Burma and providing them with transport to their villages two
weeks later. Caves lauded the GOB's decision to not keep the
victims in the local shelter for an extended period of time,
noting that after the traumatic experience, they needed to
return to a safe environment where the victims felt at home.
Social welfare officials continue to check on the 57 victims
to ensure their welfare, Major Nyunt Hlaing noted.


6. (C) According to Col. Sit Aye, the police continue to
work with the Thais, establishing an investigative team in
Kauthaung to track down the trafficking offenders. ATU
officials believe that hotel operators in Kauthaung and Dawei
are running a smuggling ring, assisting Burmese who want to
cross the border into Thailand. Based on information

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received from the Thai police, ATU and local police officers
are investigating several people, including hotel owners U
Saw Mu and U Thone Bein, but have yet to make an arrest, Col.
Sit Aye told us. In June, the Thai police arrested one
Burmese citizen living in Phuket, suspected of involvement in
the Ranong case. Because the suspect violently resisted
arrest, he will remain in Thai custody. GOB officials have
yet to interrogate him, but are working with the Thai
Government to ascertain whether he has connections to the
alleged smuggling ring in Kauthaung and Dawei.

Enhancing Coordination with the NGOS
--------------


7. (C) Officials from Save the Children and World Vision,
the two international NGOs working on trafficking issues in
Burma, emphasized that the Anti-Trafficking Unit has taken
steps to improve cooperation with NGOs. Cave informed us
that the Ministry of Home Affairs invited both Save the
Children and World Vision to participate in the meetings with
the Chinese and Thais earlier this year. The younger, more
inexperienced police officials often seek assistance from the
Save the Children office in Muse, sharing information on
suspected trafficking cases, he noted. Dr. Ivan Saw,
Trafficking Coordinator for World Vision, highlighted that
the ATU has involved the NGOs in repatriation cases, seeking
assistance on how to best help trafficking victims. Both
Cave and Saw noted that the ATU, which is committed to
working on cross-border trafficking issues, lacks the staff,
capacity, and resources to expand its mandate to internal
trafficking. The NGOs believe that opportunities also exist
to work with the ATU sta
ff, particularly the younger police officers, about the need
to address domestic trafficking and forced prostitution
issues.

Responding to the 2008 TIP Report
--------------


8. (C) During our meeting with Col. Sit Aye, he raised the
issue of the 2008 TIP report, noting that the Minister of
Home Affairs had received our June 6 Diplomatic Note and copy
of the report. The Minister of Home Affairs questioned why
Burma was still listed as a Tier III country, since the ATU
had worked hard to address trafficking issues in 2007,
coordinating with its neighbors on cross-trafficking issues.
While we acknowledged the efforts of the ATU, we explained
that the Burmese Government needed to do more to prevent
domestic trafficking, as well as address the root causes of
forced labor and military perpetration of force labor. Col.
Sit Aye said he understood the need for the Burmese military
to prevent the use of forced labor, but noted that the TIP
report regretfully had become "politicized" on both sides.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) The GOB has long recognized the importance of
addressing cross-border trafficking issues, and has recently
begun to address domestic trafficking. We view their efforts
as sincere, which could benefit from more training. Cyclone
Nargis, which devastated Burma in early May, displaced
hundreds of thousands of people, making them vulnerable to
trafficking (to be reported septel). UN agencies have
predicted that Burmese domestic and international trafficking
rates will increase in the aftermath of the cyclone, as

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people look for new opportunities and ways to earn a living.
NGOs and UN agencies continue to monitor the movement of
people, looking for ways to ensure cyclone victims regain
their livelihoods as quickly as possible, so they do not
become trafficking victims as well. We should encourage
closer coordination of the GOB with NGOs and UN agencies,
including through the provision of training to prevent the
further trafficking of women, men, and children within and
across Burma's borders.


10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Bangkok.

VILLAROSA