US embassy cable - 02RANGOON1616

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 001616 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
CINCPAC FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2012 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, BM, Human Rights, Ethnics 
SUBJECT: WAR AND PEACE IN KAREN STATE 
 
 
Classified By: COM CARMEN M. MARTINEZ FOR REASON 1.5(D). 
 
1. (U)  Summary:  In a recent visit to the small border town 
of Myawaddy in eastern Karen State, Poloff found some 
residual conflict between regime forces and Karen National 
Union (KNU) forces.  Although the KNU appears to have been 
reduced to hit and run, guerilla-type attacks, the rugged 
mountain terrain has thwarted regime efforts to gain total 
control of the area.  The border with Thailand in this area 
of Karen State appeared quite porous with Burmese workers and 
small shipments of goods moving back and forth to Thailand, 
mostly outside official channels.  Aside from the township of 
Myawaddy, which is closely tied to the Thai economy, the 
areas in this part of Burma are suffering badly from the 
continued fighting and failed economic and social programs of 
the SPDC.  While the local population complained bitterly 
about the regime there was little evidence of support for the 
KNU's continued raids, which disrupt commercial activities. 
The NLD was reorganizing in several towns we visited and its 
leaders said it has more support than ever due to the failed 
policies of the SPDC. End Summary. 
 
The Road Less Traveled..... 
 
2. (U)  Poloff traveled by car from Rangoon to the eastern 
Karen State border town of Myawaddy from November 19-21. 
This was the first time in recent years that the SPDC had 
allowed a foreigner other than International Committee for 
the Red Cross staff to travel to Myawaddy from Rangoon. 
(Ironically, foreigners can freely enter Myawaddy from the 
Thailand side of the border between the hours 6 a.m. and 6 
p.m.)  The drive took a bone rattling 13 hours over two days 
to cover just 290 miles. 
 
Thamanya Sayadaw 
 
3. (U)  The venerable Buddhist Abbot Thamanya Sayadaw is a 
vocal, if slightly eccentric, advocate of political change in 
Burma living near the town of Hpa'an.  Besides seeing to the 
upgrading of local roads, the Sayadaw provides protection and 
support for a growing community of followers near his 
monastery.  The Sayadaw's community appeared to be thriving; 
businesses were active, homes were wooden instead of thatch, 
and there were more cars, trucks, and motorcycles than in 
towns nearer to Bago, thanks to contributions from around 
Burma which the Sayadaw has funneled back into his community. 
 We were told that while the SPDC does not approve of the 
Sayadaw's politics (Aung San Suu Kyi's first trip from 
Rangoon after her May 6 release was to see him) they 
grudgingly accept his community activities because he is so 
popular with the people. 
 
4. (U)  Given the fractious political situation in Burma and 
the lack of government funding for public projects, the 
Sayadaw appears to have carved out a small but healthy patch 
of civil society.  In many ways, he is the epitome of a 
Buddhist saint -- a source of grace and charity for his 
people, who in turn accept his claims of semi-divine status. 
The people, in any case, work hard and share in the benefits 
of a functioning community. 
 
6. (U)  The abysmal condition of the rest of the roads from 
Bago to Hpa'an (at some points it was easier taking the ox 
cart path than to stay on the road) was indicative of the 
generally backward conditions in the area outside the 
Thamanya's safety net.  While the economy is agrarian, it 
appears to be limited to small-scale subsistence farming.  In 
one area there were remnants of what once must have been 
large rubber plantations.  Now, families harvest the rubber 
independently, cure the sheets of rubber in front of their 
huts, and sell them for about fifty cents a piece.  The only 
industries visible along the route were a palm oil plant, a 
sugar mill near Hpa'an and several rock quarries. 
 
Burma Army and DKBA Attempt to Control the Border 
 
7. (U)  Leaving Hpa'an on the road to Myawaddy, the frequency 
of Burma Army encampments and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army 
(DKBA) patrols increased significantly.  The DKBA, a group 
which rebelled from the largely Christian KNU and reached a 
cease-fire agreement with the SPDC in the late 1990's, has 
continued to attract young Karen Buddhists who are looking 
for action.  There are an estimated 5,000 DKBA troops in 
Myawaddy alone and the organization reportedly controls most 
of the economic activity in the corridor from Thailand to 
Hpa'an.  The DKBA's relative wealth was evident as they were 
typically seen in new Ford and Toyota double cab trucks 
carrying five to twelve DKBA "soldiers" in the back.  The 
DKBA soldiers' morale was visibly higher than the Burma Army 
troops, who generally looked sullen and underfed, but it did 
not appear that discipline was high.   Relations between DKBA 
and Burmese Army troops  appeared good, though they did not 
mix forces or appear to socialize together.  We followed one 
DKBA soldier on a motorcycle who was handing out money to 
Burmese soldiers posted along the road.  He told Poloff that 
he was providing "tea money," amounting to about fifty cents, 
to each of soldiers "just to help them out." 
 
8. (U)  DKBA and Burma Army troops were in evidence from a 
checkpoint 30 miles west of the Thai border onward.  As the 
road climbed through the jungle, two or three Burma Army 
soldiers were stationed every few hundred yards.  There were 
signs warning of mines along the roadside and bridges were 
closely guarded and encircled with two sets of bamboo fences, 
presumably to deter KNU attacks on the bridges.  The Burma 
Army had several outposts on the road, each with double 
layers of bamboo fencing that could be closed once traffic 
had passed.  The army troops stationed on the mountain were 
dug-in and remained mostly out of sight.  We were told by 
various sources that there were KNU attacks every week or 
two, mainly by snipers on army troops or ambushes of DKBA 
vehicles on the main road, in addition to skirmishes in the 
jungle.  There were also reportedly villages in the area, 
even within Myawaddy township, that still supported the KNU 
in spite of the government's decade long effort to quash 
them. 
 
Myawaddy - Almost Heaven..... 
 
9. (U)  On the outskirts of Myawaddy a long line of buses and 
trucks queued on the road to process through a checkpoint. 
When Poloff arrived at the checkpoint, officials demanded to 
know why he was there and then attempted to search the 
vehicle.  Once cooler heads prevailed the officials backed 
down, but it was clear that the intimidation level for normal 
travelers was quite high.  On the return trip through this 
checkpoint the following morning, there were approximately 
fifty to sixty heavily laden trucks and buses waiting for 
inspection before their journey over the mountain range. 
 
10. (U)  Once in the town of Myawaddy, the heavy military 
presence of the mountain pass and checkpoints gave way to a 
thriving commercial center more closely linked to the economy 
in Thailand than in Burma.  In fact, the residents and 
merchants used the Thai baht instead of the Burmese kyat in 
all transactions.  Also, virtually everyone, even bicycle 
trishaw drivers, carried a Thai cellular telephone. 
Ironically, with landlines to Rangoon down or of such poor 
quality that calls were almost impossible, the cellular 
phones made it easier to call Singapore from Myawaddy than to 
call Rangoon (international rates to Burma are extremely 
high). 
 
11. (U)  There were also many more new vehicles in Myawaddy 
than in areas further inside Burma.  Locals explained that 
the DKBA controls vehicle imports into Myawaddy but the 
vehicles cannot be registered with the Burmese government or 
taken past Myawaddy (although this appears to be loosely 
enforced, as we saw many DKBA in new trucks and motorcycles 
on the road to Hpa'an).  The prices for these vehicles were 
one-tenth the price of similar vehicles in Rangoon where 
imports are tightly controlled by the SPDC.  One source 
estimated that of the 1,000 vehicles in Myawaddy only 50 were 
registered with the Burmese government.  These fifty, 
however, were said to be the only ones allowed to transit 
freely to Thailand.  Thus, they generated a lot of income for 
their owners by transiting goods and people across the border. 
 
12. (U)  Although Burmese immigration officials prohibited 
Poloff and two accompanying local staff from crossing "the 
friendship bridge" into Thailand ("we cannot allow it without 
instructions from higher authorities"), other Burmese were 
allowed to cross for a fee of about fifty cents.  Just under 
the bridge, right in front of a Burma Army bunkered machine 
gun nest, there was an active trade in illegal crossings by 
boys with inner tubes willing to paddle passengers across the 
shallow river for a few pennies.  The border is quite porous 
in Karen State, with the Burma Army controlling the two 
"official" crossing points, Myawaddy and Three Pagodas Pass, 
while the DKBA controls five other "major" crossings.  The 
KNU or others control many smaller crossings.  Thus, we were 
told, when the Burmese government closed the border earlier 
this year, it diminished the flow of people and goods at 
official crossings but most of the traffic just shifted to 
other crossing points. 
 
13. (U)  Poloff attempted to visit the SPDC reception center 
for the repatriation of Burmese migrants from Thailand but 
was blocked from the facility first by an armed soldier, then 
by a military intelligence (MI) officer.  The only 
information the MI officer was willing to share about the 
facility was that it continued to process repatriations even 
while the border was closed and that most returning migrants 
spend only one night at the center before being transferred 
to Hpa'an for additional processing. 
 
NLD On the Rise 
 
14. (C)  Poloff met with NLD leaders in Hpa'an, Kawkareik, 
and Myawaddy, all of whom were rebuilding their party 
organizations and believed that the NLD enjoyed more popular 
support now than in 1990.  They all said that while most 
people are still afraid to openly support the NLD, 
frustration with SPDC policies and the economy is very high 
and the people want change.  In Hpa'an and Myawaddy, the 
leaders said that MI was aware of their reorganization 
activities and was not blocking them (although harassment of 
their families and business activities continued.) 
 
15. (C)  In Kawkareik, the NLD leader said that he did not 
think MI was aware of his reorganization activities but that 
they would be now that we had visited (MI was closely 
monitoring the entire trip).  He said that this was fine, he 
wanted to tell MI the truth and he did not fear their 
reaction.  In 1998, he had closed the NLD office under 
pressure from MI because "we thought they were going to kill 
us."  Recently, he said he senses that MI, at least in his 
town, no longer wants the conflict and is doing the minimum 
to follow up on orders from Rangoon.  Poloff asked that he 
try to get word to NLD headquarters if he was wrong and there 
was any retribution based on Poloff's visit (the same message 
was conveyed to each NLD leader visited).  Thus far we have 
received no reports of problems. 
 
16. (C)  Asked if the local population supported the KNU in 
its fight against the SPDC, the NLD leaders opined that while 
the people despise the regime, they also are tired of the 
fighting that disrupts their lives.  They said only a small 
percentage of the population still actively supports the KNU 
while the majority want peaceful change through NLD and Aung 
San Suu Kyi.  Asked if the DKBA would support the NLD if it 
there were free elections, the NLD leaders said it might. 
They noted that DKBA support for the SPDC is based only on 
the economic concessions it receives; otherwise it too 
condemns SPDC policies.  The NLD leaders felt that if the 
DKBA had a choice it would join hands with the NLD. 
Martinez