BURMA: HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES VISITS BURMA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000164

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP AND IO; PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREF BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES VISITS BURMA

Classified By: Pol Officer Sean O'Neill for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

Summary
--------------


1. (C) UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio
Guterres' March 7-12 visit to Burma was strictly controlled
by the GOB, according to local UN staff. Guterres visited
Nay Pyi Taw, Sittwe (Rakhine State),and Myeik (Thanintharyi
Division). Guterres met with the Ministers for Home Affairs
and Immigration, Foreign Affairs, and Border Areas and
National Races (NATALA) as well as UNHCR staff working in
northern Rakhine State (NRS). The regime allowed him to
brief the UN Country Team, but did not permit him to meet
with any diplomats during his visit; GOB officials also
denied any abuse of the Rohingya population. According to
UNHCR Country Representative Bhairaja Panday, the Minister of
Home Affairs agreed to enter into a new Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the UNHCR, but few specifics were
discussed. Panday reported that Guterres directed UNHCR's
Burma office to expand immediately its presence and
activities in Northern Rakhine State, and Panday expects to
receive the necessary additional funding shortly. End
summary.

UNHCR to expand presence in NRS
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2. (C) In a March 13 briefing to the diplomatic corps, UNHCR
Country Representative Panday reported that a significant
portion of Guterres' trip focused on UNHCR's work in NRS.
Minister of Home Affairs Maung Oo informed Guterres that the
GOB has designated his ministry as the lead agency on all
matters related to the development of NRS. Maung Oo, who
doubles as Acting Minister of Immigration and Population
after a recent Cabinet reshuffle, assured Guterres that UNHCR
would be permitted to continue its activities in NRS. He
reportedly committed to enter into a new six-month, renewable
MOU with UNHCR beginning this summer. Maung Oo identified
infrastructure, education, water, agriculture, and health as
the GOB's five primary development goals in NRS and agreed
with Guterres that UNHCR's work should include an increased
focus on these areas. While Guterres welcomed the news of
the MOU and the expanded scope of activities for UNHCR, he
and Maung Oo did not discuss the specifics of the new
agreement, according to Panday.

Once a "Rohingya," Never a "Rohingya"
--------------


3. (C) Maung Oo acknowledged that "Bengali Muslims" have
been in the country for a long time and could not be "sent
back," but made it clear the GOB does not approve of the use
of the term "Rohingya," which it regards as associated with
an insurgent movement. Maung Oo also recognized that UNHCR's
protection mandate extends to NRS, but denied that the regime
engages in any abuses of the Rohingya population. He
reportedly claimed all residents of Rakhine State are free to
travel at will and criticized the media for reporting what he
described as false allegations of torture and forced labor.
(Note: Foreign Minister Nyan Win reportedly echoed this
criticism of the media, telling Guterres the press regularly
distorted the GOB's record on humanitarian work.) The Home
Minister also claimed that Rohingya in NRS were permitted to
register and vote in the May 2008 constitutional referendum,
but did not indicate whether the same would be true of the
2010 elections.


4. (C) Panday said Guterres appreciated the Home Minister's
acceptance of UNHCR's mandate, but pointed out to Maung Oo
that Burma clearly has "an image problem" and is considered
to be isolationist and an abuser of basic human rights.
Panday told the Diplomatic Corps that Guterres has decided
not to use the term "Rohingya" in his public statements to
avoid "unnecessary confrontation" with the regime. UNHCR
Senior Repatriation Officer Marc Rapoport told Poloff UNHCR

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staff inside Burma have avoided using the term in the past,
but noted he was not aware of a formal UNHCR policy on the
matter.


5. (C) While he was initially denied permission, Guterres
eventually was allowed to travel to Sittwe, the capital of
Rakhine State, where he met with UNHCR staff who traveled
from their base in Maungdaw, NRS. Panday reported that the
staff provided a power point presentation outlining their
activities and a candid assessment of the situation in NRS in
the presence of GOB officials accompanying Guterres.
According to Panday, Guterres chose to allow GOB officials to
attend all of his meetings as a show of openness, and
stressed the importance of communicating clearly and
consistently with the regime. The GOB denied Guterres
request to visit the project site in Maungdaw, citing
security reasons, but allowed him to visit a UNHCR site
approximately two hours from Sittwe. When asked, Panday was
skeptical the regime would permit the diplomatic corps to
visit the area in the near future (note: the last such visit
to NRS was two years ago).

The Thai Border
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6. (C) According to Panday, Maung Oo described the situation
on the Thai-Burma border as "complex." Maung Oo claimed
Burmese residing on the Thai side are "economic migrants" and
not refugees. Foreign Minister Nyan Win reportedly told
Guterres the GOB is working with the Thai Government to
resolve problems related to these "illegal migrants."
Burmese living in Thailand are welcome to return at any time,
Nyan Win told Guterres, but choose not to. The Minister of
Border Areas and National Races Colonel Thein Nyunt described
his mandate as improving the conditions along the border and
invited UNHCR to submit a proposal to strengthen its
activities along the Thai-Burma border.

UNHCR's Take Away
--------------


7. (C) On the basis of his visit, Guterres concluded that
UNHCR must expand the scope of its activities in NRS to meet
current needs, according to Panday. Therefore, Panday
reported, Guterres directed UNHCR's Burma office to
immediately increase its activities in NRS and Panday expects
to receive additional funding shortly. Guterres apparently
sees an opportunity to expand its cooperation with the GOB
and intends to use his visit as a starting point to do so.
Overall, Panday said Guterres regarded his visit as a
success, despite the regime's strict control of his visit and
its refusal to allow him to meet with diplomats or donors in
country or to visit UNHCR's hub in Maungdaw.

Comment
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8. (C) UNHCR local staff were clearly pleased with the
outcome of the High Commissioner's visit, but they had
approached it with extremely low expectations. Since
December, they have on occasion expressed concerns that UNHCR
would be asked to leave NRS entirely so an agreement by the
GOB to allow them to maintain, and even expand, their
presence is seen as an accomplishment. Strict GOB control of
high-level UN visitors is nothing new, but in Guterres case
extended to denial of even an informal meeting with diplomats
-- a troubling precedent. The regime's control of the agenda
also meant Guterres had no unsupervised contact with UNHCR
staff or beneficiaries.
VAJDA