US embassy cable - 05RANGOON507

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000507 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV; PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, PINS, BM, Ethnics 
SUBJECT: SPDC TO SHAN SECESSIONIST: SEE YOU IN COURT, BUDDY! 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 469 
     B. RANGOON 460 
     C. RANGOON 332 
 
Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Embassy sources say that the GOB has lodged a 
case against the exile leaders of the self-proclaimed 
Federated Shan States.  The GOB will likely confiscate any 
property the exiles hold in Burma, revoke their citizenship, 
and ultimately sentence them to death, although in this case 
the potential results would be largely symbolic.  The court 
process will provide yet another opportunity for the SPDC to 
showcase itself as vital to the preservation of the Union. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (C) According to Embassy sources, on April 27 a deputy 
divisional judge accepted a government petition to lodge a 
case against the exile president of the self-proclaimed 
Federated Shan States, Sao Hkam Hpa (aka Sao Hso), and other 
leaders of his "provisional government."  Reports say the 
case file is titled "State vs. Sao Hkam Hpa and Accomplices." 
 Preliminary hearings are reported to be underway. 
 
3. (C) Legal sources say that Sao Hkam Hpa will likely be 
tried in absentia for treason and conspiracy against the 
state, charges that could carry the death penalty.  In 
addition, the GOB is likely to confiscate any property held 
in Burma by Sao Hkam Hpa and the other Shan leaders in exile 
and strip them of Burmese citizenship. 
 
4. (U) In a similar instance in 1989, the GOB lodged a case 
against Sawbwa Sao Hkun Hkio for allegedly supporting an 
anti-GOB organization.  The Sawbwa did not appear in court 
and he was prosecuted in absentia.  The GOB confiscated all 
of his property, revoked his citizenship, and banned him from 
ever visiting Burma. 
 
5. (U) On May 1, the GOB published a 42-page pamphlet as an 
insert to the official regime newspaper making the case 
against "the renegade Sao Hkam Hpa and his cohorts."  The 
pamphlet contained a transcript of the Home Affairs 
Minister's April 22 "press conference" (ref A) and some 30 
statements from political parties and cease-fire groups 
denouncing the separatist effort.  Ironically, one such 
statement was issued by the Shan Nationalities League for 
Democracy (SNLD), which the SPDC accuses in its pamphlet of 
conspiring with Sao Hkam Hpa and others to secede from the 
Union. 
 
6. (C) Comment: As Sao Hkam Hpa has been living in Canada for 
decades, it is unlikely that he still owns property in Burma 
or carries a Burmese passport.  Trying him in absentia would 
thus have minimal impact on him personally.  Such action, 
however, would signal the regime's intolerance of even 
quixotic secession movements, provide an additional excuse 
for the ongoing crackdown on Shan groups, and bolster the 
SPDC's fatuous claim that continued military rule is 
necessary to preserve the Union.  End Comment. 
Martinez