US embassy cable - 03RANGOON1025

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 001025 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2013 
TAGS: MARR, PGOV, PREL, PHUM, BM 
SUBJECT: BURMA: PEOPLE'S MILITIA TO THE RESCUE? 
 
 
Classified By: COM CARMEN M. MARTINEZ FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) According to local military and civilian contacts, the 
ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has ordered 
the formation of a "People's Militia" ("Pyi-thu-sit" in 
Burmese) in the administrative division of Rangoon.  Military 
commanders allegedly issued written instructions ordering 
local authorities to provide at least 200 persons from each 
of the division's 45 townships, which includes the capital 
city of Rangoon, to begin service by the end of August.  The 
instructions also stated that military officials would 
provide each of the division's roughly 9,000 "volunteers" 
with meals, a daily wage of 200 Kyat (about 20 cents), basic 
military training "to protect (Burma) from subversive dangers 
such as a U.S.-led invasion." 
 
2. (C) Local sources also claim that since July the Myanmar 
War Veterans Organization (MWVO) has played a leading role in 
training female members of the regime's so-called "social 
associations," such as the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare 
Association (MMCWA), in basic defense techniques.  Former 
military officers apparently equip the women members with 
bamboo poles for attack exercises and instruct them to defend 
their families against "external forces."  Emboffs have 
witnessed ragtag platoons of women, armed with assorted poles 
and sticks and dressed in assorted uniforms, drilling in the 
Rangoon area in recent weeks (Note: SPDC Adjutant-General Lt. 
General Thein Sein chairs the Central Organizing Committee of 
veteran's organization (MWVO) and SPDC Chairman Senior 
General Than Shwe is the official patron.  Dr. Khin Win Shwe, 
wife of SPDC Secretary-1 General Khin Nyunt, chairs the 
maternal and child welfare organization (MMCWA).  End note) 
 
Comment: The Enemy Within 
------------------------- 
 
3. (C) The creation of a People's Militia would be the next 
logical step in the militarization of a country whose 
governing and economic functions are almost wholly 
administered by military authorities.  Local officials in 
Rangoon Division reported to our contacts that the formation 
of the Rangoon "Pyi-thu-sit" is an exercise designed to 
prepare the local population for an invasion of enemy forces 
from outside of the country.  Such propaganda is expected 
from the regime, particularly in the wake of new U.S. 
sanctions and in unison with SPDC opposition to U.S.-led 
action in Iraq, and is also indicative of rising 
anti-American sentiment propagated by some senior officials. 
 
4. (C) It is uncertain whether SPDC Chairman Than Shwe, Vice 
Chairman Maung Aye, and other regime leaders truly believe 
military action against Burma is realistic.  However, the 
SPDC is quite capable of creating and training a militia as a 
pretext for more aggressive tactics aimed at internal 
opponents of the regime, including the NLD and its 
supporters.  End Comment. 
Martinez