BURMA: ITALY AGREES ADDED PRESSURE IS NECESSARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000159 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS AARON COPE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2018 TAGS: PREL ETRD PHUM BM SUBJECT: BURMA: ITALY AGREES ADDED PRESSURE IS NECESSARY REF: STATE 5276 Classified By: A/Pol M/C Jonathan R. Cohen, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to MFA Southeast Asia Office Director Alberto Vecchi February 4, shared USG concerns over the Burmese regime's continued intransigence, and suggested that it was time to ratchet up the pressure. Poloff urged Italy to press other countries to ban the importation of Burmese-origin hardwoods and gems, and inquired about the status of implementation in Italy of the European Council's October 2007 decision to ban investment and trade with Burma in the mining and logging sectors. Poloff also inquired about the possibility of new EU financial sanctions. ¶2. (C) Vecchi said Italy is committed to maintaining pressure on the Burmese regime, and that given the continued repression of democracy advocates and ethnic minorities, the international community's only choice was to continue to increase the cost of the status quo by toughening sanctions. Vecchi said that implementation of the Council's 2007 decision on Burmese gems and wood was not yet complete, but said this was due to ordinary administrative and bureaucratic delays, and not lack of political will. ¶3. (C) Vecchi agreed that targeting Burma's three state-controlled banks permitted to conduct foreign exchange transactions was a sensible next step, if an all-out EU ban on the export of financial services was not possible. Vecchi said he hoped to talk soon with EU Special Envoy for Burma Piero Fassino about his recent travels in the region, to gauge the willingness of Burma's neighbors to implement their owns sanctions. BORG