US embassy cable - 04RANGOON1507

S E C R E T RANGOON 001507 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KDEM, PGOV, BM, Human Rights, NLD 
SUBJECT: STATUS OF NLD DEPUTY CHAIRMAN U TIN OO 
 
 
Classified By: COM Carmen M. Martinez for reason 1.4 (b) 
 
1.  (S) SUMMARY:  NLD deputy chairman U Tin Oo, 77, remains 
under house arrest, although has been allowed to visit a 
private clinic for medical diagnosis.  He is undergoing 
medical treatment and may need surgery.  His wife, Dr. Tin 
Moe Wai, met with DCM November 26 to delivered a personal 
note from U Tin Oo thanking the Embassy for its ongoing 
support.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) Conditions of Detention:  Former Burmese defense 
minister and NLD deputy chairman U Tin Oo, arrested in May 
2003 at the Depeyin attack, was imprisoned near the Indian 
border until his February 2004 transfer to house arrest in 
Rangoon.  He is confined to his home, may not have visitors, 
and his telephone line has been cut.  His wife, grandson, and 
daughter-in-law also live in the house, but may come and go 
as they please.  Security at the house has become less strict 
with the demise of Khin Nyunt's Military Intelligence (MI) 
apparatus; currently only four men (two police Special Branch 
and two regular police) guard the house.  Heretofore MI had 
checked all bags and packages, but now the security personnel 
only note the times Tin Oo's relatives come and go. 
 
3.  (S) A Message From U Tin Oo:  Emboffs have been smuggling 
National Geographic Magazines, messages, and some personal 
items to Tin Oo via relatives since his arrest in 2003.  DCM 
met November 26 with his wife, who delivered a handwritten 
note from U Tin Oo.  Excerpts follow: 
 
-- Thank you so much for your kind wishes and compliments. 
I'm doing well now.  The only trouble is a very tiny 
gallstone, about the size of 8mm in diameter, which I could 
stay under the prescription of the specialist. 
 
-- Thanks again sending me some reading materials ... I had a 
good appetite, devouring all the National Geographic 
Magazines given ...  It was great entertainment, great pleasure 
and gaining many knowledge, as if I was visiting all parts of 
the world, especially U.S.A. 
 
-- I'm looking forward seeing you all in very near future. 
 
4.  (S) Life Under House Arrest:  Dr. Tin Moe Wai (aka Aunty 
Shwe) said her husband has suffered from colitis and other 
abdominal pains and will likely need surgery for his 
gallstones.  He was taken for diagnosis at a private clinic 
last month and is currently on medication.  Aunty Shwe 
described his daily routine as encompassing morning prayers 
and meditation, a light lunch, afternoons spent writing his 
autobiography, early evening exercise in the garden, supper, 
and then TV news.  She said she did not think he was in any 
unusual danger from the regime at this time, but he 
acknowledged he was completely at their mercy. 
 
5.  (S) Request for Assistance:  When DCM asked if there was 
anything we could do for her husband, Dr. Tin Moe Wai 
mentioned two things.  She said U Tin Oo's greatest wish was 
to have their 18-year old grandson attend a university 
abroad. (His father, Tin Oo's only child, is a political 
asylee in Japan.) Unfortunately, the regime will not issue 
the young man a passport, Aunty Shwe lamented.  Second, she 
admitted they were nearly broke and needed money for food and 
utilities.  She explained that her husband did not receive 
his military pension and their sole source of income was rent 
from a house they owned.  The house was previously rented to 
Russian diplomats and then Western NGO workers, but the 
regime last year cut off the house's phone line, making it 
unrentable to normal tenants.  Dr. Tin Moe Wai asked if the 
embassy could rent the house, "for only $300 per month, or 
$250 if that is too much." 
 
6.  (S) COMMENT:  U Tin Oo's note and his wife's attitude 
were chipper in tone.  Both expressed gratitude at not being 
forgotten by the American Embassy.  Dr. Tin Moe Wai was 
unwilling to venture political insights on her husband's 
behalf, commenting only "time will tell," to several queries 
raised.  Indeed, time will tell, and it will also take its 
toll on the geriatric senior leadership of the NLD, whose 
median age is now 80, (a figure that includes the relatively 
sprightly Aung San Suu Kyi, 59).  End Comment. 
 
MARTINEZ