DATE: 2008-05-16 12:34:00 REFERENCE: 08BANGKOK1522 OTHER: 08RANGOON387 ORIGIN: Embassy Bangkok CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL HEADER: VZCZCXRO6208 OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM DE RUEHBK #1522/01 1371234 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 161234Z MAY 08 FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3060 INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE 2032 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 5335 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 5971 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1675 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 4611 RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 2284 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 5140 RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 1527 RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON PRIORITY 0211 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0887 RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0990 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0736 RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 5258 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RHFJSCC/COMMARFORPAC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY CONTENT: C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001522 SIPDIS NSC FOR PHU, EAP/MLS FOR AARON COPE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2018 TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, EAID, TH, BM SUBJECT: MGBM01: HRW ADMITS BISCUIT STORY NOT CONFIRMED REF: RANGOON 387 BANGKOK 00001522 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Eric G. John, reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ------- SUMMARY ------- 1. (C) Human Rights Watch (HRW) staff based in Thailand (STRICTLY PROTECT) told us May 16 that the organization's press statement released May 14 had been a point of contention between "higher ups" and those on the ground. The press release claimed that the Burmese military confiscated internationally donated high-protein biscuits and substituted them with locally produced, inferior quality biscuits for distribution to Cyclone Nargis victims. Our source stated that HRW had not confirmed the story, and that he had not been comfortable with his headquarters' decision to use the information. He acknowledged that it was very likely the story originated from May 10 press reports regarding the Burmese junta's seizure of a World Food Program (WFP) relief shipment that included high-protein biscuits, a shipment which was subsequently released to the WFP. HRW was trying to follow-up on the story and expected to have more information within the week. End summary. ------------------------------- BACKGROUND OF THE PRESS RELEASE ------------------------------- 2. (C) A long-time and trusted Embassy contact based in Thailand with HRW (STRICTLY PROTECT) revealed to us that the May 14 press release "Burma: Donor States Must Monitor Aid" generated a certain amount of internal dissent during its drafting. Of particular concern to HRW staff on the ground was reference to a report that the Burmese military appropriated international relief supplies. The final version released to the media stated "HRW confirmed an Associated Press (AP) report in which high-protein biscuits supplied by the international community had been seized by the military, and that low-quality, locally produced substitutes were instead delivered to communities in need." 3. (C) According to our contact, HRW received the story from a trusted source in Rangoon on May 12. This Rangoon source stated that a Burmese Ministry official (NFI) had claimed that the Burmese military confiscated a shipment of high-protein biscuits and transferred them to a military warehouse. The Ministry official adamantly believed that the biscuits were replaced with an inferior version before distribution to cyclone victims, though he provided no verification of this claim. The Rangoon source had no first-hand knowledge of the action by the Burmese military and had not been able to follow-up with the Ministry official as to the current whereabouts of the alleged biscuits. HRW Thailand shared this story with their headquarters in New York, but couched it as for internal consumption only. 4. (C) When the AP went public with a similar story on May 13, HRW contacted the AP and ascertained that two different sources had provided the same story. It was at that point that HRW New York decided to include the biscuit saga in its own press statement. This was despite warnings from local staff that felt it was inappropriate to present as evidence a story that had yet to be confirmed. Our HRW contact in Thailand stated that he was not comfortable with how this one sentence had been singled out for intense focus and speculation. "I wish we had phrased it differently," he told us. Furthermore, he indicated that many people had been BANGKOK 00001522 002.2 OF 002 involved in the crafting of the press release, not all of who were familiar with Burmese politics. ----------------------------------- WHERE THE STORY MAY HAVE ORIGINATED ----------------------------------- 5. (U) International media widely reported the May 9 announcement by WFP spokesman Paul Risley that all "the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in (to Burma) has been confiscated." The WFP identified the shipment as including 38 tons of high-energy biscuits. Two days later, the WFP declared that in "an encouraging development, 38 tons of high-energy biscuits were on Saturday (May 10) handed to the WFP. On Sunday (May 11) they were being collected and transported onwards for immediate distribution to the worst affected people." 6. (C) When we asked our HRW contact about the possibility of this story conflating with the information their Rangoon source received from a Burmese Ministry official, our contact conceded that was likely the case. He acknowledged that there were many stories circulating about Burma and that it was difficult to obtain accurate information from outside the country. As a result of the amount of interest the HRW press release had stirred up, our contact had spent the past two days attempting to verify the biscuit story with fellow activists, alternate sources inside Burma, journalists, and others. Thus far our contact had not been able to confirm the story. He added that the same Rangoon source that originally passed the biscuit story on May 12 had since come out of Burma. However, this source planned to return the week of May 19 with the number one priority of following up on the location and/or possible substitution of these high-energy biscuits. Should HRW discover that this story is false, our contact told us that he expected his organization would consider issuing a retraction. ------- COMMENT ------- 7. (C) Though the story of the allegedly confiscated biscuits was just one sentence in a lengthy press release by HRW, it has caused a stir, as multiple media outlets repeated the HRW statement, and used it to expand on their own discussion of possible aid diversion in Burma. (Note: Reftel describes Embassy Rangoon's rigorous efforts to follow up on stories of aid diversion; as of May 15, they had not confirmed any of these reports, although they continue to follow up on more recent reports of diversions, many of which are vague and therefore difficult to investigate. End Note.) We will remain in touch with HRW to see if they are able to provide more credible support for their allegation, and to encourage them to report responsibly on this very difficult issue. End comment. 8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Rangoon. JOHN
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