PRESIDENT RAMOS-HORTA EXPECTED TO MAKE STATEMENT ON BURMA

UNCLAS DILI 000204 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS LAURA SCHEIBE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM BM TT SUBJECT: PRESIDENT RAMOS-HORTA EXPECTED TO MAKE STATEMENT ON BURMA REF: STATE 83598 ¶1. Political Officer delivered reftel demarche on Aung San Suu Kyi's conviction to Constancio Pinto, MFA Director for External Relations and Ambassador-Designate to the United States, on August 12. Political Officer provided texts of the statements by President Obama and Secretary Clinton and urged the GOTL to express publicly its concern about developments in Burma. ¶2. Ambassador Pinto indicated his government would soon issue a statement calling for Aung San Suu Kyi's immediate release. He expected the statement would come from President Jose Ramos-Horta. He anticipated the President would decry Burma's defiance of the international community and underscore its disregard for the rule of law. Ambassador Pinto characterized Burma as a matter of principle for Timor-Leste, one given particular salience by his country's own lengthy struggle for political freedom. ¶3. Ambassador Pinto expressed his belief that Malaysia was doing the right thing in calling for a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers. Timor, as a "special guest" of ASEAN, would look to participate as appropriate. He assessed that there had been some positive change in the stance taken by ASEAN countries toward Burma since the adoption of the ASEAN Charter, as well as increasing awareness that Burma's poor human rights practices were a problem for all of ASEAN. HENICK