US embassy cable - 03RANGOON248

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000248 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV, DRL/CRA, AND DRL/PHD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, PHUM, BM, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: USG HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY FOR BURMA 
 
REF: STATE 13796 
 
1. (SBU)  The following draft report is provided in response 
to tasking contained in reftel.  The text of the report has 
also been sent by e-mail to EAP/BCLTV. 
 
2.  (SBU)  Begin report text: 
 
Embassy Rangoon Human Rights Strategy for Burma 
 
The United States has staked out a position in Burma as a 
resolute advocate of human rights and rapid political change. 
 We have also worked with like-minded countries to maintain 
maximum international pressure on Burma, pending reform. 
That pressure includes continued trade, investment, and 
travel sanctions; the denial of any form of aid support, with 
the single exception of humanitarian assistance; continued 
public criticism of Burma; support for democratic movements 
opposed to the current dictatorship; and public diplomacy 
programs focused on democratic values, human rights, and good 
governance.  It also includes support for international 
efforts to foster change in Burma, through the missions of UN 
Special Envoy Razali and UN Special Rapporteur on Human 
Rights Pinheiro, as well as the efforts of the ILO, the ICRC, 
and other international organizations. 
 
Sanctions: In coordination with the European Union and other 
states, the United States has imposed comprehensive sanctions 
on Burma.  They include an arms embargo; a ban on all new 
U.S. investment in Burma; the suspension of all bilateral 
aid, including counternarcotics assistance; the withdrawal of 
GSP privileges, the denial of OPIC and EXIMBANK programs; 
visa restrictions on Burma's senior government officials; and 
a hold on all new lending or grant programs by the World 
bank, the IMF, the ADB, and other international financial 
institutions.  We have also maintained our representation in 
Burma at the Charge d'Affaires level since 1990. 
 
Public Criticism: The United States has co-sponsored annual 
resolutions at the UN General Assembly and the UN Commission 
on Human Rights that highlight and draw international 
attention to the continued human rights violations in Burma. 
We also support the ILO's unprecedented decision which calls 
on all ILO members to review their relations with Burma in 
view of its "widespread and systematic" use of forced labor, 
as well as the ILO's efforts since then to bring the Burmese 
government in compliance with its obligations.  Annual U.S. 
reports on human rights and religious freedom in Burma have 
also painted a grim picture of continuing violations here. 
 
Public Scrutiny: The United States has encouraged increased 
public scrutiny of the human rights situation in Burma.  We 
have supported the missions of UN Special Envoy Razali, who 
has traveled to Burma eight times since 2000, and the mission 
of UN Special Rapporteur Pinheiro, who has visited Burma four 
times.  Their combined efforts have resulted in the release 
of over 500 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, 
additional freedoms for the political opposition 
(particularly in regard to ability to travel), and the 
re-opening of opposition political party offices.  We have 
also encouraged ICRC's efforts to improve the conditions of 
Burma's prisons, facilitate the release of political 
prisoners, and protect vulnerable ethnic populations.  ICRC 
now has over 40 expatriate staff in Burma and access to many 
previously restricted areas along the Thai border.  In 
addition, we have urged all UN agencies to join UNHCR (now 
active among the Rohingya Muslim minority in northern Rakhine 
State) in providing protection services and advocacy on human 
rights issues in areas where they are active.  Finally, we 
have pushed the Burmese government to accept visits by 
reputed international human rights organizations, such as 
Amnesty International, which completed its first visit to 
Burma in February 2003. 
 
Support for the Democratic Opposition:  The United States 
annually provides $6.5 million in support for the Burmese 
democratic opposition.  These funds are programmed through 
the National Endowment for Democracy, among others, and are 
used for the collection and dissemination of information on 
democracy and human rights, and the support of democratic 
groups, including women's, labor, and ethnic groups, in Burma 
and along Burma's borders.  Specific activities include 
support for newspapers, radio broadcasts, and investigations 
of human rights violations, as reported by refugees and 
exiles. 
 
Advocacy: The U.S. Mission in Burma has been a persistent and 
effective advocate for human rights.  We maintain frequent 
contacts with the political opposition, including the 
National League for Democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi, and 
regularly consult with a range of opposition leaders 
regarding initiatives that will affect the struggle for 
democracy in Burma.  We maintain similar contacts with 
representatives of Burma's ethnic minorities who have been 
struggling for a voice in Burma's government for more than 
half a century.  We have also pressed the government in 
strong and public terms to honestly and effectively 
investigate allegations of human rights abuses.  In 2002, 
when the Burmese government categorically denied that its 
soldiers had been involved in any of the rapes detailed in a 
report entitled "License to Rape," the Mission's Charge' 
called the government to account at a public press conference 
and continued to press for an investigation of the charges by 
an independent international team.  Those efforts resulted in 
continued international attention to the case, continued 
government investigations of the charges, and a government 
invitation to UN Special Rapporteur Pinheiro to investigate 
the case.  The U.S. Mission in Burma has also spoken out 
firmly in support of the political rights of the democratic 
opposition.  When Aung San Suu Kyi was harassed by 
government-affiliated organizations during a tour of Rakhine 
State, the U.S. Mission coordinated statements with Great 
Britain, among others, which called the government to account. 
 
Public Diplomacy: We continue to focus public diplomacy 
programs on democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and 
good governance.  In FY 2002, the Embassy's Public Affairs 
section spent $205,000 on speaker programs, exchange 
programs, and publications and other information outreach. 
In FY 2003, we expanded our international visitors program by 
$105,000 to include six additional grantees from civil 
society organizations active in their communities.  In 
addition, the Public Affairs section's direct teaching 
program offered tuition waivers worth $8,000 to 33 students 
denied the opportunity to study elsewhere because of their 
political beliefs.  These programs target individuals from 
humanitarian aid NGO's, the political opposition, religious 
and ethnic groups, the press, and academia, with the aim of 
assisting civil society organizations in developing their own 
effective advocacy on democracy and human rights issues in 
Burma. 
 
Addendum: USG-funded Human Rights and Democracy Programs in 
Burma (FY 2002) 
 
Burma Earmark -- $6.5 million, including 
 
The New Era Journal; $140,000 
 
Support and Training for Democratic Opposition; implemented 
by the International Republican Institute; $470,000 
 
Building Capacity for a Free Burma; implemented by the 
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; 
$122,535 
 
The Burma Fund; $450,000 
 
The Democratic Voice of Burma radio; $160,000 
 
Promoting Labor's Involvement in Burma's Democratic Struggle; 
implemented by the American Center for International Labor 
Solidarity; $425,033. 
 
End report text. 
Martinez