VZCZCXRO6642
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGO #1015/01 2840957
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110957Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6674
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0594
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1543
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 4632
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 4125
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7684
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5243
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1220
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 1125
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0083
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3340
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1026
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 001015 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS; 
PACOM FOR FPA 
TREASURY FOR OASIA:SCHUN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV ELAB BM
SUBJECT: GOB CURFEW AND INTERNET BAN KILLING BUSINESS 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 1012 
 
     ¶B. RANGOON 1009 
     ¶C. RANGOON 970 
 
RANGOON 00001015  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  Although the GOB imposed a nightly 
curfew and banned outside internet access in order to derail 
political demonstrations, local businesses have also been 
derailed by the clampdown.  Many companies, particularly 
those that traditionally do their best business at night, 
have been forced to reduce hours of operation.  Some 
factories have suspended night operations, while others 
successfully petitioned the Ministry of Labor for an 
exemption to the curfew, provided that their staff does not 
leave the factory grounds at night.  The reduction in 
business hours has hurt many working people, who lost 
opportunities for overtime hours and extra income.  The 
two-week GOB ban on outside Internet hit businesses hard, 
although some found ways to negotiate intermittent internet 
access after curfew and for short bursts during the day.  End 
Summary. 
 
Limited Hours of Operation 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Burmese Government, in an effort to stop the 
flow of photos, videos and comments on its violent 
suppression of anti-government demonstrations, imposed a 
curfew on September 26.  Initially, the curfew was from 9:00 
p.m. to 5:00 a.m.; in early October, the GOB announced 
revised curfew hours from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.  Many of 
our business contacts complained that the curfew not only 
limited the movement people, but also had a very negative 
effect on local businesses.  Captain Aung Khin Myint, a close 
contact who owns several businesses in the shipping and food 
industries, noted that the curfew, coupled with limited 
access to the internet, affected everyone, from taxi drivers 
to the presidents of large corporations.  Not all businesses 
in Rangoon operate from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., he 
complained, and those who conduct business at night continue 
to lose money. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Several of our contacts informed us that businesses 
that traditionally closed well after 10:00 p.m., including 
restaurants, bars, and karaoke clubs, were forced to change 
their operating hours to meet the curfew.  Many restaurants 
and bars now close between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m., enabling their 
staff to return home before the curfew begins.  Several 
restaurant owners complained to us that in the past two 
weeks, they have seen a loss in revenue of between 10-25 
percent.  Not only are people afraid to come out at night, 
they noted, but most people have less money to spend and 
transportation at night is increasingly scarce and expensive. 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The curfew has also affected wet market and 
wholesale operations, many of which conducted business at 
night or early morning hours.  Wholesale traders complained 
to us that they can no longer receive night deliveries and 
thus have limited goods to sell when the markets open in the 
morning.  Traders reported that they have seen a decrease in 
sales because of the shorter working hours.  Other traders 
informed us of new difficulties transporting products into 
Rangoon because of inconvenient train and bus schedules. 
While most market owners have adjusted to the new schedule, 
many report that the number of retailers has dropped 
approximately 25 percent since the curfew was imposed. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The shipping industry has also taken a hit.  U 
Kyaw Win, who owns several garment factories as well as cargo 
delivery companies, explained that before the curfew, most 
deliveries were made at night.  Because no one is now allowed 
 
RANGOON 00001015  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
out after 10:00 p.m., trucks transporting goods (such as 
rice, beans, and other agricultural products) into Rangoon 
must wait outside the city until the curfew lifts at 4:00 
a.m.  Transportation companies must pay their drivers 
overtime, product costs increase, and shipments meant for 
overseas markets are often delivered late, he lamented. 
Captain Aung Khin Myint echoed these complaints, noting that 
his freight forwarding company continues to have problems 
meeting deadlines because trucks are not allowed on the roads 
at night. 
 
Fewer Factory Hours, Less Wages for Workers 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Prior to the curfew, normal factory working hours 
were from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  57 percent of factories in 
Rangoon's industrial zones ran night shifts to meet 
production demands; the GOB initially demanded a suspension 
of all night operations.  U Zaw Min Oo, owner of Crocodile 
Trading Company, explained that before the curfew, he ran two 
shifts at his five factories, from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and 
from 8:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m.  For the first ten days of the 
curfew, he closed his factories at 7:00 p.m.  Because his 
night shift employees were not working, they did not receive 
any salary.  He petitioned the Ministry of Labor for an 
exemption to the curfew, noting that not only was he losing 
business, but his employees were out of work.  The Ministry 
of Labor has since allowed specific companies to run night 
shifts, on the condition that the laborers not leave the 
factory grounds during curfew hours. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Other factories were also forced to change their 
operation hours to comply with the curfew.  For the first 
week of the curfew, U Kyaw Win closed his three garment 
factories at 5:00 p.m., providing his employees enough time 
to return home.  His factories now close at 7:00 p.m. 
Production is down by ten percent, he explained, and it takes 
longer to fulfill orders.  His employees are also unhappy 
with the situation: because the factory closes earlier, they 
no longer earn as much overtime pay.  U Kyaw Win said that 
because of the curfew, his workers receive an average of 
5,000 kyat ($3.65) less a month, a 10-15 percent drop in 
salary. 
 
Internet Ban Blocks Business 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Although internet access is now available late at 
night, from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., the Burmese Government 
continues to control internet access at other times.  Since 
October 9, Embassy officials and contacts have reported 
limited and sporadic internet access between 12:00 noon and 
4:00 p.m. (Reftels A and B).  Our business contacts 
speculated that close allies of the GOB have demanded 
increased internet access during the daytime.  Since very few 
members of the public have computers at home, only the rich 
and connected (both politically and electronically) could 
access the internet during the curfew, they explained. 
Despite the sporadic availability of internet during the day, 
many internet cafes in Rangoon remain closed (Ref A). 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Myanmar Chamber of Commerce member Dr. Maung Maung 
Lay criticized the internet ban, noting that most 
entrepreneurs rely on the internet to conduct business. 
Prior to the internet ban, companies could apply for 
import/export licenses online, a procedure that the GOB 
heralded as a new way to reduce licensing delays.  Now many 
companies face difficulties obtaining import/export licenses 
quickly and are losing many business opportunities, Dr. Maung 
Maung Lay emphasized.  Travel and tour agencies, which rely 
on the internet to make most bookings, have also lost 
 
RANGOON 00001015  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
substantial business.  Captain Aung Khin Myint concurred, 
noting that without access to the internet, most freight 
forwarders and shippers are unable to track their containers 
and cannot email shipping information and bills of lading to 
their customers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  Burma's business climate was bad before the 
curfew and internet ban; the GOB's recent actions have only 
made the situation dire.  The government, focused on 
maintaining political order in the country regardless of the 
cost, lacks any real understanding of how its actions 
negatively affect local business operations and further 
worsen the popular economic dissatisfaction that sparked the 
recent protests.  The business world has changed markedly 
since 1988, when the military last faced massive public 
protest, but their understanding of it has not. 
 
STOLTZ