BURMA: MEETING WITH MINISTER OF LABOR -- AUNG SAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000321

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP, IO, G/TIP, AND DRL
PACOM FOR FPA
US MISSION GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE
NSC FOR LIZ PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2019
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL PHUM CASC BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: MEETING WITH MINISTER OF LABOR -- AUNG SAN
SUU KYI; LABOR ISSUES

REF: A. RANGOON 193

B. RANGOON 302

C. RANGOON 254

D. RANGOON 111

Classified By: CDA Larry Dinger for reasons 1.4 (b and d).

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


1. (C) In a meeting on May 29, Burma's Labor Minister,
Major General Aung Kyi, who is also the regime's point of
contact for "relations" with Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK),
signaled that he continues to believe ASSK only wants
dialogue with Senior General Than Shwe. Aung Kyi said that
if ASSK wants to meet him, he is willing. When the Charge
conveyed a message from the National League for Democracy
(NLD) seeking unconditional dialogue, the Minister asked for
clarification: at what level? Aung Kyi argued that the
current trial against ASSK will go ahead "fairly;" and he
emphasized the regime's view that all Burmese citizens must
obey the law, especially those who aspire to lead. When the
Charge raised forced-labor and child-labor issues, Aung Kyi
acknowledged continuing problems, said other developing
countries have similar problems, and accented his ministry's
efforts to educate the public about labor rights, including
in unsecure parts of the country. He defended using
administrative rather than criminal penalties for military
officers who break labor laws. The Charge noted the
disconnect between the regime's approach to military officers
as compared to its handling of the ASSK criminal case. End
Summary.

GOB relations with ASSK
--------------


2. (C) When the Charge raised USG concerns about the ASSK
trial, Minister Aung Kyi, who is the regime's formally
designated agent for "relations" with ASSK, responded by
recalling the Charge's push during a meeting in March (Ref A)
for the Minister to offer to resume dialogue with ASSK and
the opposition. He said he has thought seriously about the
matter; but the last time he made an effort, ASSK clearly was
interested only in talking "with the decision maker." In
that light, "it would be a burden to offer again." The
Minister said the recent Yettaw incident is "unfortunate,"
and could delay any future dialogue. But, he concluded, "If
she wants to meet me, I'm ready to do so." Regarding
top-level dialogue, he reiterated that the regime's
pronouncement 1/2007 laid out the conditions under which
Senior General Than Shwe would meet with ASSK. (Note: She
would have to disavow a series of allegations related to
subverting the regime. ASSK thus far has declined to disavow
views she says she has never held.)

NLD request for dialogue, but at what level?
--------------


3. (C) The Charge conveyed a message from NLD Central
Executive Committee (CEC) member Khin Maung Swe that the NLD
genuinely wants to engage in an unconditional dialogue with
the regime with all issues on the table. (Note: per Ref B,
Charge conveyed the same message to the Home Affairs Minister
on May 21 - Ref B). Aung Kyi's immediate response was: "at
what level" of the regime? The Minister said he reads the
NLD's Shwegondaing Declaration issued at its recent national
conference (Ref C) as confirming an interest to meet only
with "the decision maker." The Charge agreed to go back to
the CEC to seek clarification, but he noted the NLD's clear
statement in February of willingness to engage in
unconditional dialogue (Ref D),responding to a call from the
UN Secretary General. The Minister suggested that two
parties, if they are to have productive discussion, both
"need the same vision to an extent. The government is trying

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to improve the situation, but she always criticizes, is
negative." The Charge urged the government to pursue talks
with the aim to build bridges, just like the Charge is
talking with government ministers.

The ASSK/Yettaw trial
--------------


4. (C) The Minister declined to speculate how the ASSK
trial will turn out. He noted that the process "is far from
the Ministry of Labor." He said Yettaw "was not created by
the government," and suggested the incident was motivated by
"internal disturbers or something else." He said the trial
will go ahead "fairly under the law," and he emphasized that,
in the regime's view, "citizens must be disciplined."
Anybody like ASSK who aspires to the role of political
leader, "must abide by the law." He expressed hope that the
Charge "can improve bilateral relations." The Charge
emphasized that the international community, including the
USG, doesn't buy the regime's argument. The charges against
ASSK are flimsy, and surely prosecutorial discretion could,
and should, be invoked.

Forced and Child Labor
--------------


5. (C) When the Charge turned the conversation to the
Minister's labor portfolio, noting continuing international
concern about reports of extensive forced labor and child
labor, including by the military, the Minister responded that
Burma is still a developing country, still struggling. There
may be forced labor in some areas, but as the ILO notes in a
report prepared for its governing body, that situation is
true in other countries, too. The Minister believes the
issue is not worse in Burma. The Minister said the world
cannot expect developed-country levels of performance; that
takes time. The Charge observed that many observers of the
forced labor and child labor issues consider the situation in
Burma to be among the worst in the world.


6. (C) Aung Kyi said his ministry is trying as much as it
can to raise people's knowledge of labor rights and
responsibilities, even in unstable border areas. The Charge
acknowledged those important and useful efforts, as attested
by the ILO's Burma representatives; but he also urged that
the GOB punish those who break labor laws, including taking
military officers to criminal trials under the penal code,
not just invoking administrative punishments. The Minister
stated that the GOB takes action against anyone whom it
determines recruited child soldiers. It has taken action
against about 50 officers, including a Lieutenant Colonel,
Majors, and Captains. But, the Minister said, it would be a
waste of effort to take such people to trial. That could
cause "pressure or depression." Thus, the preferred course
is to "educate" them to become "cooperative." The Charge
noted the disconnect between the relatively gentle approach
the regime takes toward military officers who break serious
child-labor laws and the zero-tolerance approach thus far
toward the ASSK trial.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Minister Aung Kyi, along with the Foreign Minister
and Information Minister, met with then-DAS John in Beijing
in June 2007, the last effort at formal U.S.-Burma dialogue
beyond the Embassy Rangoon channel. Aung Kyi seems genuinely
interested in bridge building; however, he acknowledges that
he is not the regime's "decision maker." We will continue to
convey messages between the NLD CEC and the regime, ever
hoping that a useful, direct conversation can commence. Of
course, the ASSK trial further complicates what was already a
low-odds proposition.
DINGER