VZCZCXRO7478
PP RUEHCHI
DE RUEHGO #0791/01 3380838
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 040838Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9655
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3107
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 2372

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000791 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS AND S/GWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO KWMN BM
SUBJECT: EMBASSY RANGOON'S NOMINATION FOR THE 2010 
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD 
 
REF: SECSTATE 111471 
 
Nomination and Justification 
---------------------------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Embassy Rangoon nominates Burmese HIV/AIDS 
activist Phyu Phyu Thin for the 2010 Secretary's Award for 
International Women of Courage.  Phyu Phyu Thin demonstrates 
great  courage and leadership and has overcome tremendous 
obstacles in advancing the cause of HIV/AIDS awareness and 
providing treatment and care to Burma's under-served 
HIV-positive population, which includes many women and 
children. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Phyu Phyu Thin, a long-time member of the 
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), has been a 
leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS since NLD leader Aung 
San Suu Kyi nominated her to take part in a United Nations 
training program on HIV in 2002.  Since then,  Phyu Phyu Thin 
has worked tirelessly to address HIV/AIDS in Burma, founding 
an organization  known as "Friends of the Red Ribbon" to 
establish hospices for victims of the disease, conduct 
HIV/AIDS awareness and testing campaigns, and secure and 
distribute life-saving anti-retroviral treatments.  Working 
solely with private Burmese donations, Phyu Phyu Thin serves 
approximately 3,000 HIV-positive patients, including orphans 
and growing numbers of women. She supervises nearly 60 peer 
educators who educate their communities how to stem the 
spread of the disease. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Phyu Phyu Thin faces tremendous obstacles in her 
work, including scarce resources, widespread ignorance about 
the HIV/AIDS problem, and discrimination based on her 
political affiliation.  There are an estimated 336,000 
HIV-positive people in Burma, which is one of the poorest 
countries in the region.  Government funding for treatment 
programs is inadequate and the availability of donor support 
for anti-retroviral treatments is insufficient to meet the 
need.  For many years public education about HIV/AIDS was 
almost non-existent. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) As a member of the NLD, Phyu Phyu Thin has 
encountered harassment, intimidation, and even arrest at the 
hands of Burma's military regime.  In 2000, she and several 
of her colleagues were arrested and held for over four months 
after gathering at a Rangoon train station to bid farewell to 
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was taking a trip to upper Burma.  In 
2002 and 2003, Phyu Phyu Thin launched an HIV awareness 
campaign in Rangoon, but was soon pressured to stop by the 
regime.  For several months following the peaceful 
pro-democracy protests in September 2007, Phyu Phyu Thin was 
forced into hiding after the regime allegedly sought her 
arrest.  Many of Phyu Phyu Thin's colleagues remain in 
detention, including Aung San Suu Kyi, who first encouraged 
her to take up HIV/AIDS as a cause.  Furthermore, the GOB 
frequently questions Phyu Phyu Thin's peer educators and 
demands to check the paperwork of her patients. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Phyu Phyu Thin's political affiliation with the 
NLD, a registered political party, precludes her from 
receiving funds from foreign government donors.  Furthermore, 
some NGOs are hesitant to assist her patients for fear that 
assisting those connected to the NLD will result in GOB 
harassment.  In the face of these significant obstacles, Phyu 
Phyu Thin has demonstrated courage, poise, and an unwavering 
commitment to cause of HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment.  She 
has overcome political, economic, and social obstacles to her 
mission and in so doing has inspired many others to join the 
cause.  As one of the recipients of her assistance observed 
during a World AIDS Day ceremony, "if not for the NLD, if not 
for Phyu Phyu Thin, no one would care for us, no one would do 
anything for us."  We strongly recommend Phyu Phyu Thin for 
this award as an exemplary woman of courage. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Phyu Phyu Thin is aware of and has consented to her 
nomination for this award. 
 
Biographical Details 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Phyu Phyu Thin's biographical details are as 
follows: 
 
- Name: Phyu Phyu Thin (note: Burmese names cannot be broken 
into separate parts, so her name must always be read and 
written as a whole); 
 
- Job Title: HIV/AIDS activist, "Friends of the Red Ribbon" 
director, and National League for Democracy member; 
 
RANGOON 00000791  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
- Date of Birth: 23 December 1971; 
 
- Country of Birth:  Burma; 
 
- Citizenship:  Burma; 
 
- Address:  Withheld for security purposes; nominee can be 
contacted via Embassy Rangoon; 
 
- Telephone: Withheld for security purposes; nominee can be 
contacted via Embassy Rangoon; 
 
- E-mail:  Withheld for security purposes; nominee can be 
contacted via Embassy Rangoon; 
 
- Passport number: nominee does not have a passport; it is 
possible the GOB, for political reasons, will not issue her a 
passport to travel abroad; 
 
- Language:  Burmese, limited English (she understands 
English but has a very limited speaking ability.) 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Post POC for this award nomination is 
Political/Economic Chief Jennifer Harhigh; unclassified 
e-mail harhighja@state.gov; class e-mail 
harhighja@state.sgov.gov. 
VAJDA