US embassy cable - 03RANGOON919

S E C R E T RANGOON 000919 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, BM, ASSK, NLD 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON AUNG SAN SUU KYI'S LOCATION; VISITS TO 
HOMES OF OTHER NLD LEADERS 
 
 
Classified By: CDA, a.i. Ron McMullen for reason 1.5 (d) 
 
1.  (S) NLD insiders tell us Aung San Suu Kyi has recently 
been held in the house of a military officer on the complex 
of a counter-terrorism unit in Hlegu Township, a few miles 
north of Rangoon's international airport.  We do not know if 
she is there permanently or was moved temporarily (from the 
Clear Water Pond facility or elsewhere) to facilitate the 
ICRC visit.  We hope to get a readout from the ICRC head of 
delegation August 4th on his recent meeting with ASSK.  A 
visiting academic with good links to the SPDC has asked to 
see her, but so far has received no reply. 
 
2.  (C) On July 30 emboffs drove to the Rangoon homes of 
eight senior NLD leaders who are being held under house 
arrest.  In most instances the homes were guarded by one 
policeman and a municipal ward representative (typically an 
unemployed young man paid "tea money" by MI to restrict 
access to the house).  In some cases the police permitted us 
to deliver packets of "American News and Views" right to the 
houses, but more often they took the packets with a promise 
to deliver them once the contents were cleared by their 
superiors.  We know that as of August 1 NLD Chairman U Aung 
Shwe has not received the packet we delivered. 
 
3.  (C) We understand that this rather lax house arrest 
system has enabled NLD activists to occasionally sneak into 
the homes of the party leadership to pass news and receive 
instructions.  We will continue our rather high-profile 
regular visits, whether or not we are successful in getting 
printed material to the detainees, to remind the SPDC and the 
detained NLD leaders that we remain concerned about their 
plight. 
McMullen