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O 151445Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0071
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0013
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000593 
 
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AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG 
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/04/15 
TAGS:        
SUBJECT: Consulting With Greece on the Burma Policy Review 
 
REF: SECSTATE 33547 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Paul Carter, Deputy Pol Counselor, DoS, Athens; 
REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
 1.  (C)  On April 10, pol off delivered reftel points on the 
subject of the ongoing Burma Policy Review to Dora Giovanni, 
Counselor in the A10 Division for Asia-Oceania. Giovanni 
appreciated the information and expressed her concern for the 
situation in Burma, especially in the area of human rights. She 
discussed the increasing amount of "spillover" refugees into 
neighboring countries and the effect it had on illegal trade and 
possibly increased terrorist activity. She also highlighted forced 
labor, child armies, and the more than 2000 activists and monks 
currently being held as political prisoners. 
 
 
 
 2.  (C)  Giovanni stressed that the U.S. and the E.U. should work 
closely together with other Asian countries, specifically countries 
of ASEAN, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the 
Philippines, because as neighbors, they could more easily implement 
our policies. She was not very hopeful for the future of Burma, 
however, because she believed it was a fine line between increased 
communication with the country and giving the illegally installed 
government legitimacy. She noted some recent small positive steps, 
such as the recent visit to Burma by the UN Special Rapporteur on 
Human Rights Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana. Finally, she welcomed the 
consultation and interest in the issue, and promised to review the 
Treasury Department's paper "Technical Analysis of Potential 
Modifications to EU Sanctions Against Burma." 
SPECKHARD