US embassy cable - 03RANGOON398

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000398 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/27/13 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, BM, NLD 
SUBJECT: A DAY OF CONTRASTS AND BOMBS IN RANGOON 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 387 
     B. RANGOON 388 
 
Classified By: COM CARMEN M. MARTINEZ. REASON: 1.5(D) 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  Armed Forces Day, March 27, saw the 
military government mount its traditional large military 
parade and host a state banquet in the posh Armed Forces 
grand hall and theater.  The pro-democracy parties celebrated 
Anti-Fascist Resistance Day (commemorating the 1945 switch of 
General Aung San's Burmese army from the Japanese to the 
Allied camps) with a well-attended gathering in the hall of 
the decrepit NLD national headquarters building.  The 
eventful day included two bombs (see reftels), which killed 
two and injured five.  The devices may have been planted by a 
radical student group frustrated with the lack of progress on 
the return to democracy.  End Summary. 
 
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Armed Forces Day 
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2.  (U) Undeterred by the early morning discovery of a IED in 
a park in central Rangoon, the Burmese military held its 
customary military parade of some 8,000 well-drilled troops. 
Senior General Than Shwe made short remarks to the assembled 
group that included foreign military attaches. 
 
3.  (U) In the evening Than Shwe hosted a black tie gala 
affair for about 400 people, including top military officers, 
government officials, and representatives of the diplomatic 
corps and international organizations.  The dinner and 
cultural show was held in the spacious Armed Forces grand 
hall and theater complex in northern Rangoon. 
 
4.  (C) Senior General Than Shwe looked happy and fit.  One 
of his favorites, General Shwe Mann, once again stood in for 
ailing Vice Senior General Maung Aye.  During the socializing 
period prior to dinner the top four senior generals stood 
apart from the crowd while most invitees were busy exchanging 
greetings with various contacts and friends.  Oddly, almost 
no one approached the four top generals.  After an 
embarrassingly long spell, the ambassador from Singapore went 
up and spoke briefly to General Khin Nyunt. 
 
5.  (C) After dinner the guests were treated to a cultural 
show performed by the Ministry of Culture troupe.  The 
evening culminated with a musical drama entitled "Brilliant 
Endeavors of King Bayinnaung," introduced by the MC as 
 
"reflections on this beloved king, who, utilizing all his 
physical and mental prowess to advance the well-being of his 
people, with the army's help, constructed many roads and 
bridges to tie the land together.  He also propagated the 
Buddhist faith with many generous contributions to temples, 
monasteries, and pagodas." 
 
(NOTE: probably ninety percent of Than Shwe's public 
appearances consist of inspecting roads and bridges or making 
donations to Buddhist groups, leaving little doubt about the 
real-life hero of the evening's musical drama.) 
 
 
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Anti-Fascist Resistance Day 
--------------------------- 
 
6.  (U) About 400 supporters of pro-democracy parties crammed 
together in the run-down headquarters of the NLD, with scores 
of people outside listening to the presentations on 
loudspeakers.  There was no visible security force presence 
and the participants were not hindered in any way.  Diplomats 
representing the U.S., Britain, Australia, Japan, France, 
Italy, and Korea attended, as did reps from UNDP, UNICEF, and 
UNODC. 
 
7.  (U) Speaking forcefully in Burmese, Aung San Suu Kyi 
recalled her father's aims in leading Burma's drive toward 
independence.  She also echoed JFK's "ask not" speech when 
she said: 
 
There are some people who ask, "when will we achieve 
democracy?"  Instead of asking such a question, ask yourself 
whether you are doing your duty and contributing towards it. 
We need to overcome such difficulties as we did during the 
revolutionary period against fascists.  We will surely 
succeed! 
 
8.  (U) After her short extemporaneous speech, ASSK sat on 
the floor on a woven mat alongside NLD party representatives 
from around the country and listened in the stifling heat to 
the other speakers.  Monks, student groups, and at least 6 
other political parties were represented at the event. 
Former Defense Minister U Tin Oo, the NLD's Vice Chairman, 
gave the lengthy keynote address, calling for national unity 
and a strong military with a dignified position within a 
democratic Union.  Afterwards ASSK came over and warmly 
thanked the Charge' for attending. 
 
9.  (C)  The NLD's geriatric Central Executive Committee, 
seated in a row of chairs behind the podium, resembled the 
front porch, one might imagine, of Rangoon's Home for the 
Aged and Infirm. 
 
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Comment 
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10.  (C) The events of the day, punctuated by the lethal 
mid-day bomb blast, illuminated many differences between the 
ruling State Peace and Development Committee and the 
pro-democracy parties in style, aims, power, and wealth.  The 
democratic parties, absent progress on substantive dialogue 
leading to political transition, run the risk of becoming 
irrelevant in the eyes of those who impatiently chafe at the 
regime's repressive rule.  The terrorist bombs of March 27 
reinforce the view of some people of the need for continued 
strong military rule, while for others they highlight ongoing 
resistance to such rule.  The challenge ahead for Aung San 
Suu Kyi and the NLD is to effect visible signs of peaceful 
progress in the face of determined intransigence on the part 
of the ruling SPDC and the violent provocations from a small 
number of anti-regime radicals.  End Comment. 
Martinez