US embassy cable - 02RANGOON1250

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001250 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
CINCPAC FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, BM 
SUBJECT: REGIME FEEDS ON ITS OWN 
 
REF: RANGOON 602 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  On September 26, the regime sentenced 
ex-dictator General Ne Win's son-in-law and three grandsons 
to death by hanging for attempted treason.  The son-in-law, 
one of the grandsons, and some business associates were also 
sentenced to varying lengths of hard labor for economic 
crimes.  The verdicts culminate highly publicized trials that 
began in early May.  A lack of hard evidence did not appear 
to hinder the court, and most believe the attack on the Ne 
Win family was orchestrated to quash any doubts about Senior 
General Than Shwe's ultimate authority in Burma.  Most 
observers believe the Senior General will now step in to 
commute the death sentences, balancing his display of 
strength with one of compassion.  However, there is the 
possibility that the four will indeed be hanged.  The general 
public views the whole affair as a power play between the 
elite, with little or no bearing on their daily lives.  End 
Summary. 
 
Guilty On All Counts... 
 
2. (SBU)  The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) 
handed down death sentences for high treason to the 
son-in-law and three grandsons of ex-strongman General Ne Win 
in a hearing on September 26.  Culminating trials that began 
in early May (reftel), the hearing, which was open to family 
members, journalists, and diplomats, lasted from early 
morning into the evening as the judges summarized evidence 
that the four men had conspired to overthrow the government 
and illegally imported cars and cellular telephones.  The 
first phase of the hearing summarized evidence of economic 
crimes by grandson Kyaw Ne Win, a locally renowned gang 
leader and thug, son-in-law Aye Zaw Win, and a handful of 
their local business partners.  For these crimes, Kyaw Ne Win 
received 49 years of hard labor, while the others received 
lesser sentences of hard labor. 
 
3. (SBU)  The second phase of the trial listed evidence of 
high treason against the grandsons and son-in-law, focusing 
primarily on the testimony of a military officer, a letter 
from the son-in-law to the court appealing for mercy (which 
was interpreted as an admission of guilt), and items seized 
from the houses and businesses of the four such as radios, 
flashlights, and guard uniforms.  Although the evidence 
appeared weak, the judge sentenced the four to death by 
hanging for attempting to seize State power and life 
imprisonment for enticing the military to betray the State. 
(Note:  We have been told that, bizarrely, in verdicts 
entailing death and life imprisonment, the hangman's rope is 
removed from the corpse and kept in prison to serve the life 
sentence after the execution.  End Note.) 
 
4. (SBU)  Although family members in attendance cried as the 
verdicts were announced the four defendants appeared resigned 
to their fate.  When told they had seven days to file an 
appeal, the father brusquely stated, "if the State wants to 
kill us, we will not fight it," and the boys nodded their 
agreement.  It is up to the Supreme Court to set the date and 
time of the executions.  The wife and mother of the 
defendants, Ne Win's formerly powerful daughter Sanda Win, is 
reportedly still under house arrest with the ex-strongman at 
the family's lakeside compound.  We have no information yet 
on how she or Ne Win reacted to the verdicts. 
 
5. (SBU)  Comment:  The verdicts have generated only mild 
public interest in Burma.  While there is no love lost for 
the Ne Win clan, most average Burmese see the trial and 
verdicts as the end of a struggle among the elite, which will 
have little or no effect on their lives.  With economic 
conditions continuing to spiral downward and prices 
skyrocketing, most citizens are focusing on their next meal 
rather than the travails of the power elite.  Among our 
contacts, most do not believe the regime will carry out the 
death sentences.  The arrest and trial of the family members 
have already demonstrated the regime's power and its 
intolerance of dissent, even among those previously 
considered "untouchables."  In this view, the Senior General 
could now demonstrate his compassion by commuting the death 
sentences and leaving the four to serve life sentences.  A 
minority view is that with the publicity attached to the 
public trial and verdicts, the Senior General must let the 
sentences stand to demonstrate that the military is resolute 
in its undertakings. End Comment. 
Martinez