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FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7521
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1147
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 4694
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 8235
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000337 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO 
PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2018 
TAGS:        
SUBJECT: BURMA: THAN SHWE IS THE PROBLEM 
 
REF: RANGOON 333 
 
RANGOON 00000337  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: P/E Chief Leslie Hayden for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
 1.  (C) Summary: A businessman and a journalist with close 
ties to the regime told Emboffs that all roads lead to Senior 
General Than Shwe, who remains isolated and unaware of the 
scale of the catastrophe that has befallen his country.  No 
one will approve visas for international humanitarian 
assistance workers without his direct approval.  The military 
and bureaucracy remain paralyzed with fear.  Meanwhile, in 
the absence of resources and capacity to address the growing 
humanitarian disaster, GOB ministers have ordered regime 
cronies to provide commodities and money for the assistance 
effort.  The cronies are quickly draining their savings and 
assets, so they have put pressure on Rangoon "viceroy" Myint 
Swe to allow international assistance and humanitarian 
workers into Burma.  End Summary. 
 
 2.  (C) After a May 7 Buddhist donation ceremony attended by 
LT GEN Myint Swe (Chief of Bureau of Special Operations 5, 
Rangoon Division) and several regime cronies, the businessmen 
launched a verbal assault on the general, demanding that 
international aid workers be allowed into the country.  The 
cronies complained that, in absence of international 
assistance, they had to provide commodities and money for the 
relief effort on a scale that was quickly draining their 
assets.   Tay Myint, Chairman of the Myanmar Fisheries 
Federation, has already been forced to donate USD 1.5 
million.  As a reward for his generosity, he and crony Chit 
Kaing were awarded licenses to import 600,000 sheets of 
corrugated iron to sell for roof repairs. 
 
 3.  (C) Despite the cronies' pleading with Myint Swe, no 
high-level government officials have dared to frankly 
describe the full scope of the disaster to the Senior 
General, our sources told us.  Unpleasant pictures in the 
media reportedly make the Senior General retreat even further 
into isolation.  According to our contacts, Than Shwe is 
above all concerned with saving face and holding on to power. 
 He does not want the Burma Army to be seen as needing 
assistance to deliver relief, and would rather let thousands 
of Burmese die than accept massive international assistance. 
Only donations of commodities have been approved so far.  Our 
contacts emphasized that Than Shwe remained worried about a 
U.S. invasion and determined to hold on to power for the last 
few years of his life. 
 
 4.  (C) Businessman and aquaculture expert Tin Maung Thann 
told us he had been contacted this morning by upset officials 
at the Thai and Singapore Embassies, who informed him the 
military had refused their governments' offer to provide 
medical relief and helicopter operations in the Delta.  Thai 
telecommunications company AIS reportedly offered to set up 
emergency cell phone communications in the Delta to assist 
the relief efforts and was turned down because the lead 
engineer was a Japanese national. 
 
 5.  (C) The senior generals will not even allow a full Burma 
Army response, according to our sources.  LT GEN Myint Swe 
reportedly had a four-division strong rescue team ready to 
deploy to the Delta, but third-ranking General Thura Shwe 
Mann ordered him to stand down after a hastily called meeting 
in Nay Pyi Taw with Than Shwe and Maung Aye.  Meanwhile, PM 
Thein Sein and the eight ministers on the national rescue 
committee reportedly have become more desperate.  Sources 
told us Thein Sein expressed fear to Thura Shwe Mann that 
60,000 had lost their lives already and up to 300,000 could, 
if water, food, and medicine were not delivered quickly. 
 
 6.  (C) Our businessman and journalist contacts pleaded with 
the U.S. to request the Chinese to send a high-level emissary 
to speak to Than Shwe regarding the gravity of the situation, 
and to urge him to let in international humanitarian experts. 
  Our contacts doubted that Ban Ki Moon's message to Than 
Shwe had even been delivered to him (reftel), as no one dared 
push up any bad news to the Senior General.  Only the Chinese 
know how to make sure their messages are delivered, they 
 
RANGOON 00000337  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
explained.  The Chinese send their messages in writing and 
insist on reading them in Burmese only to the Senior General 
himself.  It is the only way to make sure a message is truly 
delivered to Than Shwe, they stressed. 
 
 7.  (C) Comment:  Than Shwe's isolation and paranoia know no 
bounds.  All fingers point to him as the obstacle to 
delivering the humanitarian assistance the Burmese so 
desperately need, just like he is the obstacle to an 
inclusive political dialogue.  Our many contacts are visibly 
distraught as they watch Burma's humanitarian catastrophe 
worsen by the day because of the intransigence of Than Shwe. 
The question is who is brave enough to shunt Than Shwe aside? 
 Most Burmese tell us no one.  Other senior officials may 
passively sit while thousands needlessly die rather than 
challenge Than Shwe.  End comment. 
 
VILLAROSA