This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000332 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV; PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2015 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM BM NLD
SUBJECT: BURMA: TRIAL UNDERWAY FOR HKUN HTUN OO AND OTHER 
SHAN LEADERS 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 201 
     ¶B. RANGOON 185 
 
Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: A trial of leading pro-democracy ethnic 
leader Hkun Htun Oo, and three other members of the Shan 
Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), is underway.  The 
GOB has rejected family-appointed lawyers and instead 
assigned government attorneys to defend them.  Family members 
have appealed to the SPDC and to the ICRC for access to the 
detainees.  On March 15, the GOB for the first time 
acknowledged the arrests and the trial, and revealed charges 
that allege the SNLD leaders were engaged in activities that 
"are very dangerous to the stability of the State."  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On March 15, Minister of Information Brig. Gen. Kyaw 
Hsan called a press conference and, for the first time, 
commented on the February arrests of four leaders of the 
pro-democracy SNLD political party, including party chairman 
Hkun Htun Oo and secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin.  Special Branch 
(SB) officers arrested the SNLD leaders on February 9 as part 
of a crackdown against the ethnic Shan political movement 
(ref A and B).  The GOB, accusing Shan political and 
cease-fire groups of conspiring with the outlawed Shan State 
Army-South to establish a consultative group to "enable Shan 
State to shape its own destiny," charged the SNLD leaders 
with "attempting to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the 
nation, breach of trust of the state, possession of 
unofficial/unlicensed documents, economic fraud, and dealing 
in foreign currency." 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to NLD spokesperson U Lwin, the families 
of Hkun Htun Oo and Sai Nyunt Lwin requested legal advice 
from NLD lawyer U Aung Thein and the party in turn offered a 
team of four lawyers to handle the case.  However, when the 
families visited Insein Prison with the NLD lawyers in late 
February, they were denied access to the Shan prisoners. 
Separate sources tell us that the GOB has appointed 
government lawyers to defend the Shan leaders. 
 
¶4. (C) Family members have subsequently explored other 
avenues to access the prisoners, including a request to ICRC 
to help facilitate contact.  At the March 15 press 
conference, the GOB claimed that the detainees had not 
officially asked the court for legal counsel and that the 
families had not followed proper procedure to request access. 
 However, according to Embassy sources, on March 16 ICRC 
reportedly notified the families that they will have access 
to the detainees on March 18. 
 
¶5. (SBU) SB investigators have regularly harassed and 
interrogated Hkun Htun Oo's family members since the February 
arrests, forcing them to produce ownership documents of 
houses, vehicles, and a beach resort hotel in Rakhine State. 
Authorities have permanently closed Hkun Htun Oo's 
Rangoon-based business, Overseas Courier Service, which he 
operated in partnership with a Japanese company. 
 
¶6. (C) Comment: The GOB has lodged serious charges against 
Hkun Htun Oo and Sai Nyunt Lwin, and the treason provisions 
potentially carry the death penalty.  All signs indicate that 
the GOB, paranoid that Hkun Htun Oo and his colleagues were 
conspiring to unify the fractious Shan political landscape, 
has every intention of blocking their ability to lead the 
pro-democracy ethnic movement.  Hkun Htun Oo and Sai Nyunt 
Lwin may not see the outside of the SPDC's prison gulag for 
years to come.  End Comment. 
Martinez