US embassy cable - 05RANGOON1345

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001345 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, PINS, BM, National Convention 
SUBJECT: BURMA: DIPLOMATS BRIEFED ON NATIONAL CONVENTION 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 1233 
     B. RANGOON 380 
     C. RANGOON 201 AND PREVIOUS 
     D. RANGOON 1321 
     E. RANGOON 1332 
 
Classified By: Poloff Dean Tidwell for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: The GOB held a briefing on December 1 for 
diplomats to share plans for the National Convention (NC), 
scheduled to reconvene on December 5.  The GOB blamed the NLD 
and its supporters in the West for the delay in the NC, 
originally convened in 1993, from completing its long-awaited 
work.  After describing the agenda for the upcoming session, 
GOB officials stated that the next session was an interim 
one; there would be several more sessions before the NC 
process is finally over.  We do not expect the GOB to get to 
home plate for a long time to come.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited heads of 
diplomatic missions to attend a briefing on December 1 about 
the regime's National Convention, scheduled to reconvene on 
December 5.  The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the 
Attorney General lead the brief and answered questions 
afterwards.  The Chief Justice read a prepared text tracing 
the history of the NC process since it began in 1993.  The 
GOB blamed the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the 
West for the delay in achieving multi-party democracy in 
Burma.  Referring to the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK), the 
statement claimed they had "completely ignored the interests 
of the nation and the people, but gave priority to the 
interests of its own and the wish of an individual." 
 
3. (U) After detailing the 16 "basic principles" that were 
approved in the last session (ref B), the Chief Justice 
listed the three agenda items for the upcoming session: 
 
--Discussion, coordination, and approval of principles for 
the sharing of administrative and judicial powers; 
--Discussion on principles for relations among "Hluttaws" 
(Regional Councils); 
--Discussions on principles on the role of the Tatmadaw 
(Burmese Armed Forces). 
 
4. (U) The prepared text noted that "more NC sessions are to 
be held," listing eight more agenda items for consideration 
in future sessions, including: 
 
--Fundamental rights and responsibilities of citizens; 
--Elections; 
--Political parties; 
--Procedures for a state of emergency; 
--Amendments; 
--State flag, emblem, national anthem, and capital; 
--Procedures during the transition period. 
 
A BRIEFING WITH MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS 
 
5. (C) In the panel Q & A session, the U.K. ambassador said 
that the ethnic cease-fire groups were frustrated with 
previous sessions at which the GOB's "handpicked delegates" 
did not accept proposals from other participants.  She asked 
what assurance the ethnic groups had of the right to use 
their own languages and to be involved in local 
administration.  The officials responded that there is no 
discrimination against the more than 100 races in the country 
and the state was committed to developing their language, 
literature, and culture. 
 
6. (C) The French ambassador asked how long the NC process 
would last, and how many ethnic races would be represented 
among the delegates.  Responding that "we don't handpick our 
delegates," the officials noted that there are over 400 
ethnic delegates at the NC.  The German DCM asked whether the 
GOB did not want to invite international constitutional 
experts to help in drafting the new constitution.  The 
officials said they would study the constitutions of other 
countries, but stated that they understand their own needs 
best and they do not need foreign experts. 
 
7. (C) Another diplomat asked whether the GOB planned to 
invite the NLD to this session.  The officials responded that 
they last invited the NLD in 2004 and the party declined to 
attend, after initially saying it would.  They said NLD 
attendance at the NC was "a matter for them (NLD leaders) to 
decide."  The government did not plan to issue them new 
invitations.  The officials avoided connecting the detention 
of ASSK with the NLD decision to boycott the NC process. 
 
8. (C) The Australian ambassador noted that in the lead up to 
the NC the GOB had slapped "very punitive sentences" against 
ethnic Shan leaders (ref D) and only this week had extended 
the detention order for ASSK (ref E).  He contrasted this to 
the GOB's repeated calls for "national reconciliation."  He 
reminded the officials that "international attention is 
closely focused on these issues," and noted the discussions 
about Burma that are now taking place at the U.N.  The 
officials, including the Chief Justice and the Attorney 
General, replied that such "legal matters are outside our 
purview...so you should discuss them with the authorities 
concerned."  The Attorney General added that "these people 
have committed crimes...but they have the right to appeal" 
and again claimed "this is not our concern" in the NC 
process. 
 
COMMENT: THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION 
 
9. (C) The military regime feels no great pressure to alter 
the status quo at present and seems to be in no hurry to 
complete the first step of their seven-step "road map to 
democracy."  The generals clearly have no intention to hand 
over the reins of power to a democratically elected 
government.  It now seems clear that the NC process is 
unlikely to move forward any more quickly in 2006.  The 
drafting of a final constitution and its ratification will 
not be completed soon.  The earlier rush to wrap this up 
before Burma chaired ASEAN has been deferred, so the 
seven-step "road map to democracy" remains a long and winding 
road.  End Comment. 
STOLTZ