US embassy cable - 05RANGOON873

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000873 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, KDEM, BM, NLD 
SUBJECT: NLD PURSUES PARLIAMENTARY LETTER CAMPAIGN 
 
REF: A. STATE 100357 
 
     B. RANGOON 820 
     C. RANGOON 646 
 
Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
1. (C) Burma's leading pro-democracy party, the National 
League for Democracy (NLD), as part of a petition campaign 
launched on May 27 (ref C), provided Emboffs on July 27 with 
a list of foreign embassies to which it has delivered copies 
of its declaration, signed by 114 Members-elect of 
Parliament.  The declaration calls for the unconditional 
release of all democracy activists (including Aung San Suu 
Kyi and U Tin Oo); a meaningful and substantive dialogue 
between the NLD and the SPDC (military regime); and the 
reconvening of Parliament. 
 
2. (C) The NLD has requested the diplomatic missions to 
forward the signed declaration to respective 
legislative/parliamentary leaders.  The U.S. Embassy received 
the declaration on July 5 and forwarded it to the Department 
for delivery to Congressional leaders (ref B).  We have 
encouraged counterpart missions to relay the information they 
have received to their capitals. 
 
3. (C) Per the instructions contained in ref A, we are 
informing the Department of this development.  We understand 
per ref A that the Department intends to request info 
addressees to follow up with host country Foreign Ministries 
and urge them to relay the letters per the desire of the NLD. 
 
4. (SBU) Begin list of recipients of NLD declaration and 
letters: 
 
--British Embassy for the House of Commons 
--Indonesian Embassy for the Indonesia Parliamentary Caucus 
on Burma 
--Thai Embassy for the Royal Thai Parliamentary Caucus on 
Burma 
--Philippines Embassy for the Philippines Parliamentary 
Caucus on Burma 
--Singapore Embassy for the Singapore Parliamentary Caucus on 
Burma 
--Malaysian Embassy for the Malaysian Parliamentary Caucus on 
Burma 
--Malaysian Embassy for the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus 
on Burma 
 
The NLD delivered similar letters the UN Special Envoy's 
local liaison in Rangoon (Swiss NGO leader Leon de 
Riedmatten), for appropriate forwarding: 
 
--UN Secretary General Kofi Annan 
--UNSYG Special Envoy Razali Ismail 
--Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights 
Professor Paolo Sergio Pinheiro 
--The Inter-Parliamentary Union, Geneva 
 
End list. 
Martinez