KAO WAO NEWS No. 14

 

An electronic newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma

 

March 21-31, 2002

 

READERS' FRONT

MON WOMEN TO LEAD COORDINATING TEAM

OVERSEAS MON URGE NEW MON STATE PARTY TO RECONCILE

NCUB HOLDS SIXTH CONFERENCE

INFANTS ARRESTED AS ILLEGAL LABOUR

SHAN YOUTH NETWORK GROUP

MON YOUTH JOINS DIPLOMACY TRAINING

CHIN LEADER SUPPORTS NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PROGRAM

Note by Editor: SUBMIT YOUR NEWS

 

 

READERS’ FRONT

 

Dear Readers, We invite comments and suggestions on improvements to Kao-Wao newsletter. With your help, we hope that Kao-Wao News will continue to grow to serve better the needs of those seeking social justice in Burma and Thailand. And we hope that it will become an important forum for discussion and debate and help readers to keep abreast of issues and news. Above all, we hope the newsletter will be used as a vehicle for those who want to share their views and experiences.

 

We reserve the right to edit and reject articles without prior notification. You can use a pseudonym but we encourage you to include your full name and address.

 

Regards, Editor kaowao@hotmail.com

 

 

Dear Kao Wao, Appreciate coverage on the situation in Burma, however, I would like to see more reporting and analysis on the impact of war and conflict on Burma’s communities, the civilian population and their viewpoints, rather than the time and number of military ambushes of the different ethnic armies, including the Burma military. Awareness of what is happening in Burma about the plight of millions of people need to be heard!

 

Mara (B.C, Canada) March 29, 2002

 

 

Dear Kaowao News group, I am deeply grateful to read your interview conducted with Dr Emmauel Guillon.  I strongly hope it would benefit our struggle and looking forward to reading more interview again.

 

Banya Mon Mon Youth Progressive Organization

 

 

Hello KAO WAO NEWS GROUP, We like to request more reading about our Mon News and other different news. We are living as a blind group, as there is no news to us about the situation of our Mon people and the situation of our country.

 

Therefore, if you do not want us to be a blind group, please compose us as much news as you can.

 

Yours truly, Mon Sangha, Sri Lanka

 

 

 

MON WOMEN TO LEAD COORDINATING TEAM

(Reported by Gong Ong / Kao Wao, Sangkhalaburi, March 21, 2002)

 

Several Mon NGOs recently converged in a liberated area near Three Pagodas Pass Thai-Burma border town on March 20, 2002 to discuss services needed by Mon people.

 

Highlights of the meeting including assisting Mon people inside Burma, overseas, on the border, and in Thailand, and urging all, particularly youth and women to share information, get involved in issues and coordinate activities together.

 

Representatives from Mon Unity League (MUL), Mon Youth Liberty Organization (MYLO), Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), Mon Women Organization (MWO), Mon National Education Committee, Mon Young Monks Union and Mon Youth Associations from Monland shared their views and activities to the selective gathering.

 

MUL Youth Nai Kun Yekha, International Representative Nai Cham Toik and Joint General Secretary Nai Kasuah Mon chaired the meeting and explained the position and activities of MUL, an umbrella organization comprised of member organizations from inside Monland and Thailand.  Outspoken and candid women leader, Ms. Mi Kun Chan Non, spoke about Mon Women Organization’s projects and objectives.

 

Mi SarDar, the Chief of the MNEC Office, informed the groups that even though Mon Education system is well established and is currently running three High Schools in the strong hold areas with over 900 teachers, the committee is facing growing shortage of funds and difficulty in recruiting new teachers.  She explained teachers are appointed on a voluntary basis and the Committee can only provide basic stipends to all schools teachers.

 

Monk and Youth leaders from Monland, including the newly formed MYPO and MYLO, enthusiastically described their activities and viewpoints on national development.  General Secretary of MUL, Nai Sunthorn Sripanngern, briefed the gathering on the State Constitution, Federalism and his experience abroad on a study tour to Germany.

 

The groups decided to hold a Youth Conference for building a strong network of support among the various Mon organizations in the near future. Mon Women’s Organization was selected to head networking and information sharing of the different organizations, the delegates are confident of MWO selection in ensuring communication will be given top priority to achieve future tasks.

 

MWO was formed under the leadership of the New Mon State Party during the 1980s and reorganized in 1994.  The new Central Executive Committee and Central Committee members were elected last November 2001 to carry out activities along the border and inside Burma.  Leading members of Mon Women's Organization for year (2002-2004) are Mi Lwi Han as Chairwomen, Mi Sar Dar as Vice-Chairwomen, Mi Kun Chan Non as Secretary and Mi Mor Chai as Joint-Secretary.

 

 

OVERSEAS MON URGE NEW MON STATE PARTY TO RECONCILE

(Kao-Wao, Bangkok, March 27, 2002)

 

From Indiana, USA based Monland Restoration Council (MRC) faxed an open letter to the New Mon State Party on March 21, 2002 urging NMSP and HRP to avoid armed fighting at all costs and to work together to restore peace and unity among the Mon.

 

The MRC statement welcomed the Mon Unity League’s Negotiation Mission to begin resolving the conflict between the New Mon State Party and Hongsawatoi Restoration Party led by Col Pan Nyunt.  MRC (USA), comprised of former Mon refugees from Burma was founded in 1994 to promote and preserve the literature and culture of the Mon, to end Burma’s civil war, and to establish a federal union in Burma.

 

Another overseas Mon group, the Mon National Council from Australia also sent an open letter to the New Mon State Party analyzing its failure of the cease-fire agreement reached with the military junta in 1995.  In the open letter handed to NMSP, Mon National Council advised NMSP leaders to reconsider its position with the Burma junta.

 

The worldwide response of Mon communities came about after the four-day Mon National Affairs seminar organized by the NMSP from March 2-8, 2002, which endorsed MUL negotiation mission on national reconciliation.  The participants urged the monks’ inclusion, who have long been part of Mon politics, and in choosing MUL to facilitate negotiations between the NMSP and HRP.

 

All seventy delegates from various groups who attended the seminar agreed unanimously to give top priority to national unity and to end armed conflict, feeling the situation serious enough to put the agenda of the State Constitution and other political issues on hold until a solution is completed. There has been growing concern over how the conflict has affected the civilian population, with villagers being made to pay out more taxes, Mon refugees forcibly moved, while detours have affected the migrant labourers to leave to Thailand to work and traders prevented from doing business.

 

 

Talking to KaoWao from Indiana, USA by phone, MRC felt that a solution could be reached between the NMSP and HRP.  They are optimistic of a positive outcome, whose position is to respect arguments put forth from the two groups involved.  Mon patriots should approach leaders of both sides to ease tensions and to ensure negotiations will continue.

 

 

NCUB HOLDS SIXTH CONFERENCE

(KaoWao, March 26, 2002)

 

Despite offensives launched by the Burma military against the Karen National Union, the NCUB (National Council of the Union of Burma) successfully held its Sixth Conference from March 18 to 25 in the liberated area.

 

The gathering of the main umbrella political body of Burma was attended by 59 delegates, selected by members of the Democratic Alliance of Burma, the National Democratic Front, the Members of Parliament Union and the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area).  The leaders adopted positions on policies, strategic matters and the coordination of political forces within the democratic movement.

 

The Conference elected the KNU leader Saw Bo Mya as Chairman, Saw Hswe Hsaing as Vice Chairman (1) and Prime Minister of the NCGUB Government in exile, Dr. Sein Win as Vice Chairman (2) while U Aung Moe Zaw of the Democracy Party for New Society was elected as the General Secretary with Khine Soe Naing Aung as Joint Secretary (1), U than Htut as Joint Secretary (2), Koon Marco Ban as Joint Secretary (3) and other members of the leading body.

 

After the meeting, a collective statement was released by NCUB forcefully condemning the SPDC’s genocide war in the ethnic nationalities’ areas and demanding the immediate cessation of all violations of war.  NCUB urged the SPDC to elevate the current talks with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to include ethnic representatives to participate fully in solving the problems of the entire country and demand a nation-wide cease-fire.  The gathering expressed its gratitude to the various countries which have given support to the democracy movement in Burma, especially the Scandinavians, the European Union, the United States and Canada.

 

 

Migrant Watch

 

INFANTS ARRESTED AS ILLEGAL LABOUR

(Bangkok Post, Kao-Wao / Phuket, March 26,2002)

 

More than 200,000 of the 500,000 registered alien workers failed to have their six-month work permits renewed.  The one-month registration period ended on March 25.

 

Supat Kukhun, deputy secretary general of the Alien Labour Management office, said the number of alien workers who reported for work permit renewals between February 24 - March 25 was only around 350,000. According to their employers, many either returned to their countries or escaped to find new jobs.  Most of the escapees were Burmese workers; the ALP wants the law amended to make it easier to crack down on illegal alien labour suppliers.

 

On the other side of the crackdown it seems age is no barrier to being rounded up. A local source reported infants were arrested along with their families in Phuket, southern Thailand. Observers explain that authorities do this to satisfy the head official’s quota of undocumented workers (illegal workers).  After the infants were arrested, which included recording their names, the mothers with legal registration cards were brought to Ranong for deportation at the Thailand-Burma border.

 

During the crackdown, many workers who have no registration cards were arrested in the working sites, on the farms, on the way to shopping or while en route to traditional religious ceremonies.  One individual working at a construction site, witnessed about 100 migrants being arrested at Wat Chalong, Phuket Province alone.

 

There are about 80,000 migrant workers in Phuket province that work in the fishing, construction and farming sectors, 75 percent migrants are of Mon nationality of Burma. Due to the crackdown many migrant labourers leave to return home to Mon State, Burma, according to the witnesses.

 

 

SHAN YOUTH NETWORK GROUP

(Kao-Wao, March 27, 2002)

 

The Third Conference of the Shan Youth Network Group (SYNG) successfully convened in the liberated area on the Thai-Burmese border during March 23-24, 2002. Three advisors and twenty-three representatives from different areas in Thailand participated to review and discuss past activities and to set up future plans of SYNG.

 

The Conference selected Sai Mawn as Chairperson, Sai Mon as Vice Chairperson and Sai Seng Merng as the Secretary among the Sixteen Central Executive Committee members.  The newly elected Chairperson, Sai Mawn informed Kao-Wao of the meeting held to discuss several aims of SYNG: to be more cohesive and united, to motivate Shan youths to participate in the developing process, to promote knowledge, education and democratic principles among the youth, and to provide social assistance to refugees and information to international communities.

 

 

MON YOUTH JOINS DIPLOMACY TRAINING

 

ZAHAN THE GREAT JOURNEYS TO SRI LANKA (Kao Wao, March 24, 2002)

 

Zahan Ong, a popular Mon community activist in Bangkok, along with 28 participants from Asia Pacific countries and Indigenous Australia attended the 12th Annual Diplomacy Training in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 

Germany based Friedrich Naunmann Foundation and the UN Cooperation of Lawyers sponsored the 3-week training for Human Rights and Development for indigenous NGOs and community based organizations. Zahan Ong, a youth leader of the Mon Unity League was chosen because of his practical knowledge and work experience in Monland and Bangkok with Mon refugees and migrants who have relied on his Thai and English language abilities and helping them to get around in a new country. Zahan was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend the workshop to learn about human rights.

 

Human Rights leaders, activists, academics, diplomats, and United Nations professionals taught the participants about International Human Rights Law with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific Region. Concepts explored were universalism and the indivisibility of human rights and an overview of the history of HR. Participants were asked to role play a situation of a corrupt government. This helps them to understand more clearly the roles of civilians, diplomats, reporters, and government actors.

 

Zahan also visited Mon monks living in Sri Lanka at a Buddhist monastery who were happy to learn about the situation in Monland and were eager to sign up to the Mon Newsgroup Kao-Wao; most monasteries are now linked up to the Internet. The Internet via email has contributed significantly to Mons living overseas and has been a valuable tool used by the Mons for promoting and campaigning for human rights in Burma and Thailand.

 

 

CHIN LEADER SUPPORTS NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PROGRAM

(CFIS, March 14, 2002)

 

A visiting Chin leader has urged the Canadian Government to step up pressure on the Burmese regime in bringing about a meaningful dialogue with the National League for Democracy and inclusion of ethnic nationalities.

 

Zing Cung, the Vice-Chairman of the Chin National Front visited the Foreign Affairs Department of Canada in Ottawa on March 14, 2002. He stressed that the ongoing secret talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burma SPDC government be speedily transformed into a tripartite dialogue with the inclusion of ethnic nationalities.  He stated that the reconciliation process needs to be in place among the various ethnic groups and requires negotiated settlement and understanding beforehand.

 

He also included in his statement the unprecedented efforts of the NRP (National Reconciliation Program), composed of ethnic nationalities working toward establishing a peaceful transition in Burma, and thanking the Canadian government for its longstanding commitment in supporting democracy in Burma, and supporting NRP and refugees in the border areas.

 

CNF is struggling for the rights and self-determination of Chin people and striving for a federal union in Burma, being an active member of the National Democratic Front (NDF).  Chinland has suffered grave human rights violations perpetrated by the Burmese army including religious persecution, and forced labor; resulting in over fifty thousand Chin refugees of men, women and children seeking refuge in India.

 

 

KAO WAO NEWS GROUP kaowao@hotmail.com

 

ABOUT US Kao-Wao Newsgroup is committed to social justice, peace, and democracy in Burma. We hope to be able to provide more of an in-depth analysis that will help to promote lasting peace and change within Burma. Editors, reporters, writers, and overseas volunteers are dedicated members of the Mon activist community based in Thailand. Our motto is working together for change.

 

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