US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA2006

UNCLAS OTTAWA 002006 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (CLASSIFICATION CHANGED TO SBU AND DECLAS 
LINE CHANGED TO N/A) 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, BM, CA 
SUBJECT: CANADA TO CONTINUE TO PRESSURE GOVERNMENT OF BURMA 
 
REF: STATE 200944 
 
1.  (SBU)  Post delivered points contained reftel to Nancy 
Mackay-Dietrich, Special Advisor for Burma in DFAIT,s 
Southeast Asia Division, on July 14, 2003.  Mackay-Dietrich 
indicated that, in addition to the visa restrictions 
mentioned in reftel, the GOC was taking other steps to secure 
the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National 
League for Democracy party.  She cited the fact that Canadian 
Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham recently repeated his 
call on the Canadian business community to cease further 
investment agreements or commercial ventures in Burma until 
the political situation improves.  Mackay-Dietrich said that 
although the GOC lacked the legal authority to ban investment 
outright, she did feel that Graham was firmly committed to 
decreasing investment levels.  To support this she cited his 
plan to personally call Ivanhoe Mine Ltd, a Canadian company 
that invests heavily in Burma, and urge it to cease its 
business in the country.  Similarly, Mackay-Dietrich doubted 
that the GOC would pass import ban legislation.  She did, 
however, feel that the GOC would communicate directly with 
importers and strongly discourage them from doing business 
with Burma. 
 
2.  (SBU) The GOC is very supportive of ASEAN member states 
working to influence democratic change in Burma. 
Mackay-Dietrich stated that Canada has had ongoing talks with 
both China and Japan, including conversations at the recently 
completed ASEAN meetings in Cambodia, and has urged the two 
countries to take a more formal role in pressuring Burma. 
She also said that Canada agreed that the UN would be an 
appropriate forum for discussion of this issue and mentioned 
that, over the last few weeks, Graham has raised the issue 
with both Kofi Annan and his Special Envoy Razali Ismail. 
Mackay-Dietrich felt that the GOC would support any efforts 
to bring up the subject at the UN Security Council. 
CELLUCCI