US embassy cable - 03RANGOON370

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000370 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2012 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, BM, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: PINHEIRO SEEKING SPDC APPROVAL FOR HR ASSESSMENT 
TEAM 
 
Classified By: COM CARMEN M. MARTINEZ FOR REASON 1.5(D). 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary:  On March 20, UN Special Rapporteur 
Pinheiro briefed the U.S., EU, Japanese, and Australian 
Ambassadors on his current visit to Burma.  Pinheiro said the 
6-day visit is to update information prior to his March 31 
presentation to the UN Human Rights Committee and to request 
government approval for a human rights assessment team to 
visit Burma.  Pinheiro stated that his impression was that 
since his last visit in November, there has been no real 
progress on basic freedoms in Burma and, in fact, there had 
been some negative developments.  He told COM privately after 
the meeting that he was increasingly frustrated with the lack 
of progress on human rights and that he does not have any 
indication that the regime is sincere about reforms.  End 
Summary. 
 
Overall Assessment - Poor 
 
2. (C)  UN Special Rapporteur briefed the U.S., EU, Japanese, 
and Australian Ambassadors on March 20 on his current visit 
to Burma, asking for their impressions of recent developments 
on human rights in the country.  Pinheiro said his impression 
is that there has been no progress on basic freedoms since 
his last visit in November 2002 and, in fact, he believes 
there have been some negative developments.  He cited as 
examples the increase in harassment of the NLD and Aung San 
Suu Kyi, the lack of cooperation with the ILO on forced 
labor, and the failure to release any political prisoners 
until just days before his visit.  Pinheiro said it is 
becoming increasingly apparent to him that the SPDC does not 
want dialogue with the NLD at this time.  Meanwhile, he said, 
the SPDC's recent diplomatic achievements, such as the recent 
visit of the Thai Princess and the Bangladeshi Prime 
Minister, help mitigate international pressure for reform. 
 
3. (C)  Pinheiro said he was seeking current information on 
conditions in Burma for his presentation to the UN Human 
Rights Committee on March 31.  In addition to obtaining the 
views of the gathered Ambassadors, he said he would be 
meeting with SPDC Secretary One Khin Nyunt, the Home 
Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, Aung San Suu 
Kyi, ethnic leaders, and "all the usual suspects."  He also 
planned to visit Insein prison, a labor camp, and the tomb of 
U Thant (the only Burmese UN Secretary General).  Pinheiro 
said the short length of this visit did not allow any field 
visits.  He would be staying in Rangoon, but on his next 
visit he hoped to travel to Rakhine State. 
 
Proposed Human Rights Assessment Team 
 
4. (C)  Pinheiro said he would also seek SPDC approval of his 
proposal for a human rights assessment team to visit Burma, 
hopefully later this year.  Following up on the need for an 
independent assessment of the Shan rape allegations, Pinheiro 
said he has been back and forth a great deal with the Burmese 
on a mutually acceptable assessment.  He is now proposing a 
five-person team to conduct a 3-5 week assessment looking at 
human rights issues including rape, child soldiers, and the 
treatment of civilians in areas of conflict.  He does not 
know how the regime will react to this latest proposal but 
said he does not plan to continue making proposals and 
counter-proposals.  If the regime refuses to accept this 
proposal or if they delay, he said, he would go ahead with an 
assessment and published report based on information he has 
gathered along the Thai border.  He assumes that this would 
upset the GOB, but asserted that they would have only 
themselves to blame for not being responsive to his proposals 
to assess conditions from inside Burma. 
 
5. (C)  Pinheiro told the Ambassadors that if his proposal 
for an assessment team is accepted, he hoped the 
international community would provide funding for it.  COM 
Martinez and others assured Pinheiro that funding for the 
assessment would not be a problem.  The Australian Ambassador 
said he had been encouraging SPDC officials to agree to the 
assessment and told them that his government would provide 
funding. 
 
Ambassadors' Feedback 
 
6. (C)  COM Martinez urged Pinheiro to press the regime to be 
more transparent in actions it takes on human rights.  As an 
example, she cited the March 16 release of 45 prisoners, some 
of them political prisoners, which local diplomats learned 
about only from rumors and press reports from foreign 
sources.  Similarly, the SPDC announced the release of 115 
prisoners last November but never provided a list of names of 
those released.  She said that, as a result, there has never 
been a full accounting of who was actually released in spite 
of efforts by several Embassies and the local press to sort 
it out.  Pinheiro said he shared the COM's frustration, 
agreeing that the regime does not provide information in an 
open or transparent manner even when it appears to be in its 
best interests to do so.  For example, the SPDC told him that 
the 45 prisoners released on March 16 included 15 elderly 
people, 15 women, and 15 political prisoners, but did not 
provide him with a list of names.  Now, he has learned that 
there may have only been a handful of political prisoners in 
the group.  (Note:  The NLD says only three of its members 
were released.  We have no information on other political 
prisoners among those released.  End Note.)  He added that 
whether it was a handful or fifteen, the regime's failure to 
release any political prisoners since his last visit was 
inexcusable and he intends to push hard for the unconditional 
release of all political prisoners. 
 
7. (C)  The COM also urged Pinheiro to emphasize to the SPDC 
the need to show their commitment to improving the human 
rights situation by committing fiscal resources to the 
process.  Setting up committees and organizations to mount 
public information campaigns was pointless if there were no 
fiscal resources to carry out investigations or assist 
victims, and the SPDC needs to know that the international 
community is not fooled by these tactics. 
 
8. (C)  The British Ambassador thanked Pinheiro for his 
December report, noting that with the way small segments of 
his report were misrepresented by regime-backed press he may 
want to be more careful of his wording in this report. 
Pinheiro said he believed his December report was accurate 
and that the executive summary, in particular, was a 
"devastating" criticism of the regime's failures.  He said he 
could not be responsible for how various periodicals "spun" 
his statements.  The British Ambassador added that if he 
comments again on the need for greater humanitarian 
assistance by the West, he should balance this with some 
information on the constraints and harassment that NGOs face 
in Burma, SPDC efforts to block assistance, and the need for 
humanitarian assistance to focus on progress on human rights. 
 Pinheiro said he agreed on all points and, specifically, he 
planned to include more on the constraints on NGOs in this 
report. 
 
9. (C)  The Japanese Ambassador stated that there is no 
question as to whether the SPDC is right or wrong; they are 
clearly wrong.  The key question now is how to persuade them 
to make improvements.  He argued against continued sanctions 
and tough rhetoric and encouraged engagement as a means to 
effective positive change.  The Australian Ambassador noted 
that engagement has been the policy of his country for more 
than one year and, so far at least, it has been a one-way 
street.  He cautioned that it has to be a two-way street for 
any progress to occur; the regime has to be willing to 
change. 
 
10. (C)  The French argued for continued sanctions and 
claimed that the regime does respond to this kind of 
pressure.  The German Ambassador drew the conversation back 
to practical measures for improving human rights in Burma, 
recommending that Pinheiro work with his UN colleagues to 
make human rights reporting part of every UN officer's 
responsibilities.  The Australian Ambassador recommended that 
Pinheiro's report should be a little harsher than the last on 
forced labor and child soldiers, both of which he believes to 
be widespread problems, and more balanced in its discussion 
of religious freedom.  The Ambassador said that while 
religious activities are restricted, most religious leaders 
have found ways around the restrictions and are quite active. 
 Pinheiro thanked the Ambassadors for their views and 
promised an outbrief on the results of his visit on March 26. 
Privately - "Very Frustrated" 
 
11. (C)  In a private meeting following the briefing, 
Pinheiro confided in COM Martinez that he is very frustrated 
with the regime's lack of progress on human rights.  Pinheiro 
said he has tried to provide openings for the regime to 
demonstrate some improvements on human rights but they 
continue to deny basic freedoms across the board.  He is 
questioning whether there is really an interest in the higher 
echelons of the regime for any improvement in human rights. 
He is not particularly hopeful that the SPDC will accept his 
proposal for a human rights assessment team.  If they do not, 
and he publishes a report based on information gathered along 
the Thai border, he anticipates that his relations with the 
regime will deteriorate.  He would prefer to maintain an open 
dialogue, he said, but without any positive action by the 
regime he must report what he finds. 
Martinez