BURMA: OPPOSITION MEMBERS BRIEFLY DETAINED ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000452

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP, IO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: OPPOSITION MEMBERS BRIEFLY DETAINED ON
MARTYR'S DAY; AUNG SAN SUU KYI MEETS LAWYERS

Classified By: P/E Chief Jennifer Harhigh for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

Forty NLD Marchers Questioned, Released Amid Tight Security
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1. (C) National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan
Win confirmed that Burmese police detained approximately
forty NLD members for questioning July 19 as they marched
from NLD Headquarters to nearby Martyr's Mausoleum in Rangoon
to commemorate Martyr's Day, which marks the July 19, 1947
assassination of independence hero General Aung San (father
of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi). All forty detainees, many
of whom sported t-shirts with the image of Aung San, were
released after approximately 90 minutes; none remain in
custody.


2. (C) Police maintained tight security and blocked roads
around the Mausoleum July 19; no other security incidents
were reported. Both the English and Burmese July 20 versions
of the regime-run New Light of Myanmar offered scant coverage
of the holiday, compared with past years. (Note/comment:
Until 2008, Martyr's Day was a national holiday, with a major
commemoration in Rangoon for which diplomats received
invitations. Starting last year, the regime downgraded the
day to a local holiday with the Mayor of Rangoon as chief
guest and without diplomatic representation. Many presume
the downgrade is a regime attempt to reduce the aura of Aung
San, and thus of his daughter ASSK.)

NLD Commemorates Memory of Aung San; Calls for Prisoner
Release
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3. (SBU) Meanwhile, the NLD marked Martyr's Day with a
ceremony at NLD HQ. Charge and EMBASSY officers, along with
other Western diplomats, attended the event, during which a
packed house of supporters enthusiastically applauded calls
for the immediate release of ASSK, NLD Vice-Chair U Tin Oo,
88 Generation leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, and other
political prisoners. NLD leaders recounted quotes by Aung
San extolling the virtues of participatory democracy and
emphasizing the need for parliamentary control of the
military.


4. (SBU) Interestingly, one statement called for immediate
dialogue between the SPDC and the NLD, with inclusion of
ethnic minority parties to follow, rather than a concurrent
tripartite dialogue, as party leaders have consistently
insisted on in past statements. As usual, NLD-allied ethnic
party leaders attended the ceremony as guests of honor. Two
notable no-shows at the NLD ceremony were party chair U Aung
Shwe, who is in deteriorating health at age 92, and NLD
Central Committee member U Win Tin, who is reportedly
recovering successfully from cataract surgery.

Aung San Suu Kyi Meets Lawyers, Prepares Final Arguments
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5. (C) ASSK lawyer Nyan Win confirmed he and his co-counsel
met with ASSK for two hours on July 17 to consult on final
arguments in the ASSK/Yettaw trial which is to resume at 2
p.m. on Friday, July 24. According to Nyan Win, ASSK
assisted with the preparation of a twenty-page statement
which lead attorney Kyi Win (aka Neville) will read in court.
Neville told us July 14 that he drafted the initial
statement and then presented it to ASSK to edit. Neville
added, "I am confident we have the laws on our side, but I am
not sure we have the judges on our side." Nyan Win said that
during the meeting July 17, ASSK stressed that the security
services, not she, should be held accountable for Yettaw's
intrusion onto her property.


6. (C) Nyan Win is doubtful closing arguments will conclude
on July 24; he predicts the court session will be extended to
the week of July 27. He added that ASSK is in good health

RANGOON 00000452 002 OF 002


and that attorneys are scheduled to meet with her again
today, July 20. He added that ASSK marked Martyr's Day by
donating oats and cake to prisoners in the Insein Prison
Hospital.
DINGER