INSTRUCTIONS FOR BURMA BRIEFING AND GROUP OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 027905 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2018 TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC BM SUBJECT: INSTRUCTIONS FOR BURMA BRIEFING AND GROUP OF FRIENDS MEETING Classified By: IO Acting A/S Brian Hook, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) ACTION REQUEST AND SUMMARY: Special Advisor for Burma Gambari will present a report to the Security Council on his latest visit to Burma March 18 at 5:00 PM, preceded by a meeting of the Burma Group of Friends at 3:00 PM. USUN's objective should be to assure that Gambari provides the Security Council a brutally frank assessment of the Burmese regime's behavior towards the democratic opposition, Gambri's mission, and the constitution-drafting and referendum processes. Further, USUN should seek to use the report to lay the groundwork for a Council product which will increase pressure on the Burmese regime as soon as possible. The Friends of Burma meeting should be dealt with in the manner USUN judges best to accomplish our objectives in the UNSC. USUN may draw upon the points in para 2 below as it judges useful and appropriate. End Action Request and Summary. ¶2. (U) Points for U.S. Response -------------- -- The United States wants to thank Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari for his briefing, and for his efforts to continue pressing forward, in the face of the Burmese regime's non-cooperation, with his efforts to achieve a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with leaders of democratic and ethnic minority groups in Burma aimed at national reconciliation. -- We welcome Mr. Gambari's briefing of the Council today. Having expressed its unanimous support for Mr. Gambari's efforts in the October 11 Presidential Statement, it is important that the Council continue to give its attention to this issue, including through regular briefings by the Secretary General's Special Advisor on Burma. SIPDIS -- The United States is deeply concerned by the regime's continued failure to cooperate in any meaningful fashion with the UN good offices mission, as was again demonstrated during Mr. Gambari's to Burma March 6-10, his first opportunity to visit Burma since early November 2007. -- The Council had welcomed the regime,s appointment of a "liaison officer" to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, but that initiative has yielded no results. In a January 30 statement on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy expressed Aung San Suu Kyi,s dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in her talks with "relations minister" Aung Kyi. -- The regime leaders' refusal to meet with Mr. Gambari showed disrespect for the UN, the Security Council and the office of the Secretary-General and the UN itself, abd demonstrated that the regime does not take the good offices mission seriously. -- The regime publicly chastised Mr. Gambari and the United Nations for an alleged bias in favor of Burma,s democracy movement, stated that he had endangered the stability of Burma by releasing a statement on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi; and it continued to arrest democratic opposition activists even in the midst of his visit. Such actions make clear that the regime has no regard for the UN mission and no intention of genuinely supporting a dialogue process that could address Burma,s internal political stalemate and lead to national reconciliation. -- The regime further rejected the notion of opening up the draft constitution for input from democratic and ethnic minority groups as well as Mr. Gambari,s offer to organize technical assistance and international observers for the regime's planned May referendum on its draft constitution. -- The United States and other like-minded countries consider the regime's planned conduct of the referendum and drafting process for the constitution to be seriously flawed, and sees genuine dialogue with Burma,s democratic and ethnic minority groups as the only path to a stable, prosperous, democratic Burma. -- As Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Paulo Pinheiro stated last week, "For a democracy to be sustainable, it has to be inclusive and representative of the views of all the people in Myanmar." Mr. Pinheiro added, "No referendum or elections can be fair, no transition to democracy can be STATE 00027905 002 OF 002 effective, without the release of political prisoners, the authorization of political parties to operate, and the protection of the basic civil and political freedoms, all non-existent in Myanmar;" -- Now that the regime has decided to hold a referendum, it is responsible for conducting that referendum in accordance with international standards for free and fair elections and referenda. Specifically, it should take the following steps: Immediately publish the draft constitution to allow the Burmese people to make an informed decision on whether to vote for or against the constitution, and allow for a full and free public debate about the draft constitution, including in the press and media, and allow unhindered discussion of the regime's "roadmap;" Rescind laws and regulations that prohibit the exercise of basic freedoms of media, speech, association and assembly or at a minimum do not enforce them; Allow members of democratic organizations to participate in the referendum campaign; Ensure universal suffrage by allowing members of religious groups, including monks and nuns, members of democratic and ethnic minority organizations, and current and former political prisoners to vote; Ensure secrecy and security of the ballot; Permit independent domestic and international observers to monitor the referendum process, including the period before the referendum as well as the casting, counting, and tabulating of votes; Establish a neutral and independent commission to oversee the referendum; and Refrain from the use of violence, intimidation, or coercion, either by security forces or civilian organizations controlled by the regime, such as the Union Solidarity and Development Association, to affect the outcome. -- These steps are all in conformity with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Burma is a party, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, from which UN election standards are derived. -- If the Burmese regime takes all these steps, it could result in an open, fair and transparent referendum that the world can recognize as a step towards democracy. -- If, on the other hand, it does not do so and the conduct of the referendum is seen as intentionally subverting the will of the Burmese people in an unfair and non-transparent process, it will be clear that the regime has rejected any form of political solution and that additional Council action will be required. RICE