FM NAKASONE MEETS BURMESE COUNTERPART

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 001181 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019 TAGS: PREL BM JA SUBJECT: FM NAKASONE MEETS BURMESE COUNTERPART REF: A. TOKYO 1143 ¶B. TOKYO 1103 ¶1. (C) Summary: FM Nakasone met with Burmese FM Nyan Win in Hanoi May 25 and expressed "strong concern" about the ongoing trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. Nakasone predicted a harsh international reaction to a guilty verdict and called on the Burmese authorities to allow Suu Kyi and others to participate fully in the democratization process. The Burmese FM responded that Suu Kyi's trial is a legal, not political, matter, and that anyone who meets the requirements of the new Election Law will be able to run in the 2010 election. End Summary. ¶2. (C) On May 25 in Hanoi, FM Hirofumi Nakasone met with Burmese FM Nyan Win for 35 minutes on the margins of the ASEM Ministerial. FM Naksone opened the meeting by expressing his government's "strong concern" about Aung San Suu Kyi's trial, MOFA Southeast Asia Principal Deputy Director Shogo Yoshitake told Embassy Tokyo. Nakasone welcomed the Burmese authorities' granting Suu Kyi access to her doctor and attorney, as well as members of the Rangoon diplomatic community. Nevertheless, in the event of a guilty verdict, Nakasone predicted that the international community will "harshly criticize" the Burmese government. This is a critical time for Burma, and it would be in Burma's interest to pay attention to the will of the international community. This includes advancing the democratization process to allow the participation of all, including Suu Kyi, Nakasone said. ¶3. (C) FM Nyan Win responded that the incident in question was not the Burmese government's making, but rather "someone else's." Burma seeks better relations with the international community, but there are elements that are trying to prevent an improvement in Burma's relations with the United States, EU and Japan. As for the 2010 election, should Suu Kyi or anyone else meet the requirements of the new Election Law, they can run, the FM said. The ongoing trial is a "legal matter" and not a political or economic one, the FM said. ¶4. (C) Turning to the September 2007 shooting death of Japanese videographer Kenji Nagai in Rangoon, FM Nakasone said that this issue remains of great concern to the Japanese people. The FM called for the Burmese government to make the facts of Nagai's case known and to search for and return his personal effects (including his camera). The Burmese FM called the case "extremely regrettable," adding that Nagai was "in the wrong place at the wrong time." As for his personal effects, the Burmese authorities had checked, but could not find them anywhere. ZUMWALT