One Burmese Foreign Ministry official, Yin Yin Oo, then the ministry's North American Division director, indicated to Dinger that she was in no position to dine alone with US officials even if she wanted to.
The US diplomat described Yin Yin Oo's staff as her “chaperons,” ending the cable with a note that Burmese civil servants will not be the ones to bring about change in Burma, but will have an important role to play in helping to run the government after any transition.
But even this scenario is difficult to imagine, since key civil departments of the Burmese government have been filled with former army officials like Ye Myint Aung over the past two decades.
Leaked cables from the US embassy in Rangoon said the Burmese government had shown a desire to engage with the United States, particularly after President Obama's administration came into office, but concluded that this desire was “ symbolic rather than substantive.”
The cable concluded: “The generals chafe at being seen as international pariahs. They want respect. Whether, in the words of President Obama, they are willing to unclench their fists in order to deserve a measure of respect is yet to be seen.”