THAI HOUSE MEMBERS PUBLICLY CALL ON BURMA TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 001374 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV TH BM SUBJECT: THAI HOUSE MEMBERS PUBLICLY CALL ON BURMA TO RELEASE AUNG SAN SUU KYI REF: BANGKOK 1315 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. James F. Entwistle, reason 1.4 ( d) ¶1. (SBU) Twenty-two Thai women members of the House of Representatives issued an open letter to the media on June 3 calling on Burma to unconditionally release Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK) and other political prisoners. All but one of the 22 MPs are members of the Democrat Party. MP Pusadee Tamthai led the drafting of the open letter while MP Anik Amranand acted as the co-sponsor, rounding up signatories to support the statement. ¶2. (SBU) The MPs expressed regret over ASSK's predicament and stated that the intrusion of a foreigner into her compound did not warrant trial and detention. The letter welcomed the GOB's commitment to hold elections in 2010 and urged that they be inclusive; the letter also called for the release of all political prisoners. ¶3. (SBU) A mix of House and Senate committee representatives met in the Thai Parliament on June 2, led by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate and the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB),to discuss the organized agenda of "Roles of Thailand and ASEAN in Democracy Development in Burma; a case of Aung San Suu Kyi." The seminar was attended by approximately 60 participants with the goal to inform them, the media, and the public on the situation in Burma and set the direction for Thai parliamentarians to prepare information for potential petitions in the future. ¶4. (C) Comment: To our knowledge, this is the first time that Thai House members have made such a statement on Burma. This open letter comes on the heels of the recent letter of 30 Thai Senators to Senior General Than Shwe (reftel). We hope the increased willingness of Thai politicians to speak out on conditions in Burma will be sustained. It is unclear whether the politicians are hoping to shape public opinion on the issue, or whether they believe they are relfecting growing public sentiment against the Burmese regime. Regardless of their motivation, though, this is a positive development. End Comment. ¶5. (SBU) The following is the text of the body of the letter as submitted in its original English form. BEGIN TEXT: -We, women members of the Thai Parliament, welcome the commitment of the Leadership of Myanmar to hold general elections in 2010. This process will be a major and significant development for democracy: and which in turn could bring about national reconciliation in Myanmar. -We urge that the elections be all inclusive and that the release of all political prisoners should be a prerequisite to democratic development and national reconciliation. -As a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and as a long standing democracy advocate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been an inspiration not only for the women MPs in Thailand but also for all adherents and participants of democratic ideals worldwide. We duly regret what has recently happened to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We believe her action, if committed, was an act out of mercy and out of her concern for a fellow human being. The incident warrants no trial and detention. Lastly, ASEAN has entered into a new phase with its Charter. As a result, it is hoped that Myanmar, as a signatory to the ASEAN Charter, ensure its implementation. Therefore, we, the undersigned women members of the Thai Parliament, strongly urged the unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political detainees. END TEXT. ENTWISTLE