US embassy cable - 05RANGOON1325

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001325 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, BM, Pyinmana 
SUBJECT: CAPITAL MOVE UPDATE: ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 1295 AND PREVIOUS 
     B. RANGOON 1294 
 
Classified By: P/E Chief W. Patrick Murphy for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
1. (C) Summary:  The regime's absurd relocation of Burma's 
capital to remote Pyinmana continues apace, three weeks into 
"Phase I" of the move.  Evidence that the GOB has constructed 
a massive capital complex belies foreign press speculation 
that Pyinmana is a mere village.  The new capital city, 
however, lacks essential infrastructure; relocated government 
offices can not function normally; and thousands of civil 
servants who have been ordered to move face considerable 
personal hardships.  The armed forces, however, have ensured 
that their relocated soldiers are comfortable.  Oddly, the 
man behind the move, SPDC Chairman Than Shwe, remains 
ensconced in Rangoon with no apparent plans to relocate, 
raising questions about the sustainability of this bizarre 
and illogical relocation.  End Summary. 
 
ROAD TRIP THERE, "EXPRESS" TRAIN BACK 
 
2. (U) The Burmese military regime's bizarre and sudden 
relocation of the country's administrative capital from 
Rangoon to remote Pyinmana has continued apace, nearly three 
weeks after commencing on November 6.  Embassy personnel have 
witnessed numerous GOB convoys, loaded with civil servants 
and government furniture, heading north on an almost daily 
basis. 
 
3. (U) Myanmar Railways, a division of the Ministry of Rail 
Transportation, announced in mid-November that it had 
launched a daily service between Rangoon and Pyinmana (which 
formerly served as a way station on the Rangoon-Mandalay 
train route).  The new "express" train takes nine hours each 
way.  The railway office's deputy director general, U Chit 
Maung, told a local newspaper that about 130 passengers ride 
the daily train from Rangoon to Pyinmana, while "return 
trains are carrying about 330 passengers."  He did not 
explain why more than twice the number of passengers return 
to Rangoon than depart for the new capital. 
 
4. (U) The regime's official media have all remained entirely 
mute on the relocation.  Several local newspapers, 
independently owned but subject to GOB censorship, have 
reported on the move, but with no details nor coverage of 
events in Pyinmana.  Information Minister Brig Gen Kyaw Hsan 
explained the move to the press by saying, "With the 
expansion of the government's national development activities 
to border regions and remote villages, it was necessary to 
move the government's administration to a location which is 
more centrally located and placed strategically on major 
transportation networks."  Such networks, however, do not 
appear to exist at this time. 
 
A HELL OF A LOCATION 
 
5. (C) According to Embassy sources, the move to Pyinmana has 
been rocky, at best, and relocated government offices have 
almost no ability to function.  Contrary to foreign press 
reports, the new capital site is hardly a tiny village.  The 
regime had quietly constructed a massive complex of ministry 
and military buildings, with a capacity to house the entire 
GOB, and additional construction is underway.  The new 
capital town, however, lacks essential infrastructure to 
absorb the sudden arrival of thousands of civil servants.  It 
suffers from insufficient housing, poor communications, 
limited water and sewer networks, and scarce food supplies. 
No schools exist for family members. 
 
6. (C) The GOB has not provided any new telephone numbers for 
relocated offices and the entire Pyinmana region reportedly 
has less than a dozen phone lines to the outside world. 
Authorities instructed government workers to avoid 
complaining about conditions in Pyinmana and warned they 
would monitor phone calls to ensure compliance.  As a result, 
the frequency of phone calls back to families in Rangoon has 
reportedly slowed to a trickle. 
 
7. (C) The regime threatened to impose harsh prison sentences 
on, or deny pensions to, civil servants who refused to 
relocate; there have been reports of several arrests.  Yet it 
appears the lack of basic infrastructure in Pyinmana may 
force the GOB to reassess its initial plan for relocating 
government workers.  Some offices will permit early 
retirement in lieu of relocation or not require the eldest 
workers to make the move.  Roughly one third of the civil 
service is female, but the GOB has to date instructed very 
few women to relocate.  In fact, one week after the 
relocation got underway, over 100 women were allowed to 
return to Rangoon due to a lack of sanitary conditions in 
Pyinmana. 
 
8. (C) Civil servants face considerable personal hardships as 
a result of the relocation.  Malaria and other diseases are 
prevalent in Pyinmana.  Rumors of snakebites abound. 
Minister of Home Affairs Maj Gen Maung Oo fell ill there 
during a recent inspection visit and was medevaced to 
Singapore.  Government workers must now, at considerable 
personal cost, maintain two households, one in Pyinmana and 
one in Rangoon for family members prohibited from relocating. 
 There are reports that GOB subsidies for the Rangoon housing 
will soon cease.  Living quarters for rank-and-file civil 
servants in Pyinmana consist of dormitories and 
military-style barracks segregated by gender; even tandem GOB 
couples can not co-habitate at this point. 
 
TAKING CARE OF THE TROOPS 
 
9. (C) The armed forces have provided generous housing for 
their own relocated troops and have constructed vast 
recreation facilities exclusively for military use, including 
ubiquitous military golf courses.  Local sources claim that 
the SPDC has created a new military command in Pyinmana, 
bringing to 13 the number of regional military commands in 
Burma.  Although an MOD official would neither confirm nor 
deny the existence of a new command when queried by an 
Embassy military attache, Rangoon's regional commander, Lt 
Gen Myint Swe, told the Charge on November 9 that he would 
relocate to Pyinmana in his capacity as Chief of Military 
Affairs Security, the regime's military intelligence branch 
(ref B).  The SPDC will reportedly name the new regional 
command, and the capital area, "Naypyidaw," which means "Seat 
of the Royal Kingdom" in Burmese language. 
 
COMMENT: THAN SHWE STAYS PUT 
 
10. (C)  Although genuine motives for the capital relocation 
remain unclear and thus subject to wide speculation (ref A), 
Senior General Than Shwe's role in making the final decision 
is indisputable.  Oddly, however, despite talk that the 
regime has created a new War Office in Pyinmana, there are no 
signs that the SPDC Chairman has plans to move soon to the 
remote town.  To the contrary, Than Shwe has been conducting 
business as usual in Rangoon, chairing routine SPDC meetings 
and receiving new ambassadors and other visitors.  That he 
may choose not to move to malaria-infested Pyinmana raises 
the question of sustainability of the absurd relocation.  It 
will take months, if not years, for the GOB to resume basic 
functions at its new location.  If, in the interim, Than Shwe 
loses power for any reason, we wouldn't be surprised to see 
the GOB relocate -- back to Rangoon.  End Comment. 
STOLTZ