VZCZCXRO4193
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH RUEHTRO
DE RUEHGO #0733/01 3140952
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100952Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9589
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2329
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 5782
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 9387
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 6973
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2758
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000733 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PGOV PINR EAID PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT:  Media Coverage of A/S Campbell Visit to Burma 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) State-controlled and privately-owned media largely provided 
fairly dry and straightforward accounts of EAP A/S Campbell's 
two-day visit to Nay Pyi Taw and Rangoon, November 3-4, though a 
state newspaper did report that A/S Campbell met at the Charge's 
residence in Rangoon with individuals "who are still being 
scrutinized" but did not meet with leaders of a regime-linked 
political party.  Two privately owned weekly newspapers published 
pictures of Campbell with Aung San Suu Kyi the day after their 
meeting, an unusually quick turnaround.  Normally censor board 
approval takes much longer.  A large number of media attended the 
photo opportunities before and after the meeting with Aung San Suu 
Kyi, the first occasion in seven years for the media to film her 
openly.  End summary. 
 
State Media Coverage 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) No news appeared overnight after Campbell's initial 
meetings with Burmese government officials on November 3 in the 
capital of Nay Pyi Taw.  Instead, state run MRTV news focused 
attention on Senior General Than Shwe's visit to the Cyclone 
Nargis-affected Delta region.  After A/S Campbell's second day of 
meetings in Nay Pyi Taw and Rangoon, MRTV broadcasted images of the 
meeting with Prime Minister Thein Sein and the Embassy-arranged 
meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi at a Rangoon hotel.  Commentary was 
simply that the meetings took place.  The government mouthpiece New 
Light of Myanmar published pictures in its November 5 edition only 
of Campbell's meeting with the Prime Minister.  When PAO asked the 
New Light chief editor why there was no picture of the Aung San Suu 
Kyi meeting, the reply was, "There was no space."  MRTV concluded 
its coverage of the visit by showing a short clip of A/S Campbell's 
statement at the airport prior to departure. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Thus far there have been no trip-related editorials in the 
New Light -- commonly the means by which the government offers its 
perspective on issues.  However, an otherwise dry November 6 New 
Light press article citing A/S Campbell's Rangoon meetings with the 
National League for Democracy and press conference included the 
following swipe:  "Although arrangements have been made for Mr. Kurt 
Michael Campbell to meet with CEC [Central Executive Committee] 
members of [the pro-regime] National Unity Party at its headquarters 
and representatives of the remaining officially registered political 
parties at the hotel where he put up, he did not meet them. 
Instead, he separately met some persons who are still being 
scrutinized at the residence of charge d'affaires of US embassy on 
their own arrangement." 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Comment:  The Embassy declined to provide the names of 
Rangoon interlocutors to the GOB, though we understand authorities 
later took in for questioning at least one ethnic leader who 
attended lunch with Campbell.  Regarding the NUP, Post made clear to 
the GOB Campbell's willingness to meet with that party's leaders in 
Nay Pyi Taw, but also made clear the Rangoon schedule was too 
crowded.  The Charge later met with NUP leaders to explain exactly 
what happened. 
 
Limited Private Media Coverage So Far 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The privately owned weekly newspapers Weekly Eleven (in a 
special supplement) and the Myanmar Times, which both publish on 
Thursdays, included pictures of Campbell and Aung San Suu Kyi, as 
well as pictures of Campbell shaking hands with Thein Sein in their 
November 5 editions.  (Note: Privately owned newspapers in Burma 
cannot publish dailies.)  Accompanying stories reported that the 
meetings took place as part of the delegation's fact finding mission 
to Burma.  Two that publish on Friday -- Snapshot and The Modern 
Weekly - ran similar photos.  We expect other private weeklies will 
follow.  Radio Free Asia reported that authorities allowed the 
weeklies to print pictures of Campbell with Aung San Suu Kyi only if 
they printed pictures of Campbell with Thein Sein simultaneously. 
As no private media were invited to the meetings in Nay Pyi Taw, the 
media had to get those photos from the Ministry of Information.  The 
next-day articles by Myanmar Times and Weekly Eleven were the result 
of surprisingly quick approval by the Press Scrutiny and 
Registration Board.  Usually the censors take at least a couple of 
days, often a week or more, to review articles and photographs. 
 
RANGOON 00000733  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) The press had occasional chances to photograph Aung San Suu 
Kyi during her trial last summer, but always under controlled 
conditions dictated by prison authorities.  The media welcomed the 
open photo opportunity offered by the Embassy, and an enthusiastic 
crowd of roughly 40 journalists waited to photograph and film "the 
lady" when she arrived to meet with A/S Campbell and delegation. 
They then happily waited two hours to film her departure.  Several 
journalists thanked Public Affairs staff for providing the first 
opportunity in seven years to film Aung San Suu Kyi in an open 
setting. 
 
Dinger