US embassy cable - 04RANGOON1456

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001456 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS USAID (CHRISTINE WEGMAN) 
EAP/PD FOR ANNE SESHADRI 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, KPAO, EAID, PREL, BM, Ethnics 
SUBJECT:  CAPACITY-BUILDING PROGRAM FOR RISING ETHNIC PARTY 
LEADERS 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Embassy Rangoon's Public Affairs Section 
(PAS) recently initiated a leadership capacity building 
program (called the "Global English" Program) for 23 
representatives from nine ethnic democratic political 
parties.  The program's nine-month curriculum, targeted at 
rising or current party leaders and modeled on the NLD- 
oriented Professional Development Program (PDP), includes 
the study of democracy and human rights, economic 
development and globalization, social indicators, gender, 
environment, and the role of international organizations. 
The "Global English" Program is funded through an ESF grant 
to the instructor of the PDP program. End Summary. 
 
Ethnic PDP? 
----------- 
 
2. (SBU) Recognizing both the success of the PDP program 
with rising members of the NLD and the lack of similar 
training opportunities for ethnic democratic political 
parties, Embassy Rangoon in the summer of 2004 began to 
explore the possibility of offering a PDP-style program to 
ethnic political parties extant during the 1990 elections 
and still currently dedicated to non-violent democratic 
change in Burma.  Given the USG's support for democratic 
reform in Burma, this program would necessarily exclude 
participation from ethnic minority-based armed opposition 
groups, whether on cease-fire or not, and those political 
parties aligned with the SPDC. 
 
3. (SBU) Dubbed the "Global English" Program (to enable the 
participants to blend in with the American Center's hundreds 
of regular English students), this initiative targets rising 
or current ethnic party leaders and will cover democracy and 
human rights, economic development and globalization, social 
indicators, gender, environment, and the role of 
international organizations, among other subjects.  In 
collaboration with PAS Rangoon, the program coordinator will 
also recruit relevant foreign experts to lecture to program 
participants.  Similar to the PDP program, the objective of 
the "Global English" Program is to provide rising ethnic 
leaders with the knowledge and skills to better advance 
their democratic goals in both local and international 
contexts.  The program will be funded by an ESF grant 
awarded directly to the instructor of the PDP course. 
 
Ethnic groups enthusiastic to learn 
----------------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) In early September, Embassy officers briefed 
leaders of 15 ethnic democratic political parties about the 
program.  Notably, only two of the 15 parties attending the 
briefing (the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy and 
Shan State Kokang Democratic Party) have legal standing with 
the Burmese government.  The others have been deregistered 
by the military regime.  As a result, some of the ethnic 
parties have only minimally functioning party structures. 
 
5. (SBU) The ethnic party response to Embassy solicitation 
to participate in the program was overwhelming; post 
interviewed 50 candidates from 11 ethnic democratic parties 
during late September and early October.  PAS Rangoon 
screened candidates for their potential or current 
leadership roles in their respective parties and their 
English-speaking ability.  To the extent possible given the 
sometimes minimal qualifications of individual candidates, 
we tried to ensure that each ethnic group (if not each 
ethnic political party) was represented in the program.  In 
fact, because of the strong interest in the program, PAS 
Rangoon organized two sections, dividing chosen participants 
into senior leadership and junior party member groups. 
 
6. (SBU) A total of 23 candidates from the following nine 
ethnic political parties (number of individual party 
participants in parenthesis) are currently participating in 
the "Global English" Program: Shan Nationalities League for 
Democracy (2); Arakan League for Democracy (4); Kachin State 
National Congress for Democracy (1); Chin National League 
for Democracy (3); Kayin (Karen) National Congress for 
Democracy (2); Mon National Democratic Front (3); National 
Democratic Party for Human Rights (Rohingya) (4); United 
Nationalities League for Democracy (mixed ethnic) (2); and 
Zomi (Chin) National Congress (2). 
 
7. (SBU) Program participants range in rank from chairman 
and general secretary to youth wing leader to general 
member.  Though PAS Rangoon actively encouraged ethnic 
parties to nominate women for the program, only three women, 
one a Muslim, are currently participating. 
 
8. (SBU) Attendees have participated enthusiastically in 
initial class sessions, which began in mid-October, and in 
fact, post continues to receive additional nominations for 
the program.  We hope that such enthusiasm continues over 
time, and that the "Global English" Program will avoid many 
of the participation restraints that affected NLD PDP 
students.  In that context, the October 19 removal of PM 
Khin Nyunt and the further consolidation of power by Senior 
General Than Shwe has to date had no effect on participant 
attendance to the "Global English" course. 
 
9. (U) In parallel with the ongoing coursework, PAS Rangoon 
plans to obtain Burmese translations of the classroom texts, 
funding this task through a separate grant mechanism.  Such 
translations would allow for even greater dissemination of 
the program's substantive content. 
 
MCMULLEN