KAO WAO NEWS No. 17

 

An electronic newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma

 

April 27- May 10, 2002

 

 

READERS' FRONT

BURMAN STATE CONSTITUTION FORMED

MONS PLAN FOR CIVIL SOCIETY

CIVILIANS TO PAY FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION

SUU KYI RELEASE WIDELY WELCOMED

SUU KYI SAYS MINORITIES MUST JOIN IN

BURMESE KYAT REBOUNDS

GAS PIPE LINE EXPLODES FOR A SECOND TIME

RAMANYA BULLETTIN: FORCED DISTRIBUTION

___________________________________________________________________

 

 

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 Editor,

It is a great thing to see kaowao news in my inbox. Could you please get some news about training and development programs from joined or single party of SPDC and NMSP in Mon State? Since SPDC and NMSP have reached a cease-fire, I haven't heard whether any training has been done for Mon State by either side.

 

I would like to have adult education program such as nursing, horticulture or poultry etc. Could Kaowao propose to NMSP to conduct these kinds of training for Mon?

 

Nai Know Nothing

(Australia)

 

 

Dear Kao-Wao,

I have been reading your news with interest and so I would like to say thanks. I appreciate you including developments on our Mon Woman Organization, when I saw about MWO in your last edition, I was really glad to see it. Thank you again.

 

Wimon

Fort Wayne, USA

 

 

BURMAN STATE CONSTITUTION FORMED

(Kaowao, April 30, 2002)

 

The eighteen member Study Group for Burma Constitutional Commission was formed in a liberated area on April 22, 2002.

 

A group of Burmese democratic forces have gathered at the Thai-Burma border to initiate the forming of a Burmese State within a Federal system.  The members selected U Khin Kyaw Han, an elected MP from YeNan-Chaung Constituency as the Chairman of the Commission and U Bo Thaung, the MP from Sagaing Division as Vice-Chairman.  According to U Than Htut, the Commission will organize a Seminar on the Burman State Draft Constitution at the end of May.

 

U Than Htut, a leader from the exile National League for Democracy and the Coordinator of the commission told Kaowao that it was formed to express the collective will of members and will not represent their political parties, he is optimistic of the process, which aims to establish Federal States, to draft a Burmese State Constitution and to improve relations among all ethnic groups.

 

Even though the democratic movement has gained some level of understanding with the ethnic peoples, forming a Burman State is a controversial issue among the majority Burmese as there has not been a clear policy on inclusion of Burman as a State.  The statement from the Study Group for Burma Constitutional Commission revealed Burma drafted two constitutions in 1947 and 1974 but neither has developed any solid foundation that has successfully addressed the issues of equal rights for the ethnic nationalities or self-determination.

 

 

MONS PLAN FOR CIVIL SOCIETY

(Kaowao / Karnchanaburi, May 3, 2002)

 

The Mon Unity League met for its annual meeting and strategy planning session in a liberated area from April 30 to May 2, 2002.

 

Over thirty MUL representatives from Burma and Thailand including three overseas representatives from Australia, Canada and USA traveled to the border for the three day gathering to discuss goals and strategies for the coming year.

 

Opening remarks by Nai Khoon Lael, the Vice-President of MUL, presented his views on the most important issue of Mon national unity to members from Mon Women Organization, Thai Mons, Mon Youth Community, Mon National Democratic Front (Liberated Area), Mon Youth Liberty Organizations (MYLO), Buddhist Monks and other member organizations.  Senior leaders from both the New Mon State Party and Hongsawatoi Restoration Party listened intently to Nai Khoon Lael’s challenge to continue to support national reconciliation.  The Mon movement has experienced disunity in the past, which only served the Burma regime strategy of ‘divide and rule’ allowing it to strengthen forces to crack down the movement.

 

The vital topic on national unity on the agenda of MUL Negotiation Mission was widely discussed after the annual report of MUL Secretary General, Nai Sunthorn Sripanngern and Working Committees. A matter of great concern to the Mon delegates is education of its people with members unanimously agreeing to promote the Mon education program to develop and found a Mon National University, to set up grass root organizations, and build civil society organizations.

 

Dr. Alan Smith from Friedrich Naumann Foundation presented the delegates with an analysis of the Political, Economic and Social Situation in Burma on the second day of the meeting.  He summed up the situation in Burma as a ‘country in a crisis’ waiting for a change.  MUL International Affairs Representative, Nai Cham Toik brought the audience up to date on the current international policy on Burma and the Dialogue Strategy undertaken by the democratic forces and the ethnic nationalities.  The delegates discussed how the movement and various forces in the international campaign could coordinate more effectively in the future.

 

 

CIVILIANS TO PAY FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION

(Kaowao / Three Pagodas Pass, May 9, 2002)

 

The Burma army is collecting money from civilians at the Three Pagodas Pass for repairing bulldozers of Ye-PhayaThonsu road construction.

 

On May 3, 2002 the cash strapped Army officers ordered the Three Pagodas Pass villagers to pay for the repairing of two bulldozers used in road construction.  The collection varies on the size of the household from 200, 300, to 500 Baht. The total amount is 35,000 Thai Baht (700,000 Kyat), reported a local villager.

 

The Burma Infantry Battalion No. 61 entered the cease-fire zone of the New Mon State Party controlled area in early April with two bulldozers for construction of Ye-Three Pagodas Pass (PhayaThonsu) a distance of about 70 miles over rough terrain and high mountains, the construction was roughly completed at the end of April, according to a Bleh Doonphite villager.

 

The Army’s target is to connect this road to other roads from Three Pagodas Pass border to Thabyuzayat and Kyain Seikyi mainly for military supply and logistics, he added.  The troops are deployed at Bleh Doonphite, which is very close to Halockhanee Mon refugee camp making local villagers nervous over the position of the Burma army, reported a social worker from the Halockhanee camp.  The new road is crossing over Halarn-Halockhanee route, which is connected to Kanchanaburi Province of Thailand and Ye Township of Mon State, Burma.

 

 

SUU KYI’S RELEASE WIDELY WELCOMED

(Kaowao, April 7, 2002)

 

Burma Pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been released after 19 months of house arrest.  Following the release of Aung San Suu Kyi worldwide communities and democratic forces welcomed the move, but many are anticipating bigger changes.

 

USA based the Monland Restoration Council (MRC) issued a statement on May 6, 2002 welcoming the release by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).  MRC called for the release of all other political prisoners, including Mon leaders, and expressed gratitude to Mr. Razali, the United Nations Special Envoy for Burma for promoting confidence building between the two groups. The statement stressed a tripartite dialogue including the ethnic non-Burman leaders that will pave the way for ultimate democratic change and national reconciliation in Burma.

 

The United Nationalities League for Democracy -Liberated Area (UNLD-LA) also issued a statement after its meeting at Thai-Burma border on May 7, 2002. In precise terms, instead of calling for the release of UNLD members in prisons, UNLD welcomed the release of Suu Kyi and urged the junta to continue the political process toward a tripartite dialogue.

 

The UNLD was established in 1989 as an umbrella organization for the non-Burman nationalities in Burma.  The member parties of the UNLD contested the 1990 general election winning 67 seats in parliament.  The election results established the UNLD as the second largest political party in Burma.

 

 

SUU KYI SAYS MINORITIES MUST JOIN IN

(Cited from The Nation, May 9, 2002)

 

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says ethnic minority groups seeking more autonomy must be included in the national reconciliation process with Burma’s military junta, an ethnic leader said yesterday.

 

Burma is comprised of several ethnic groups who fear democracy talks between Suu Kyi and the government will sideline their demands, which in the pass have led to armed rebellions. Khun Tun Oo, a leader of the Shan ethnic minority said Suu Kyi made her position clear during talks with leaders of Shan, Mon, Chin, Rakhine and Kokang ethnic parties hours after her release on Monday from 19 months of house arrest.

 

“I’m happy with the assurance by Daw Suu to let the ethnic groups participate in the talks at an appropriate time,” he said, using the honorific “Daw” to refer to the Nobel peace laureate. The issue of ethnic autonomy is an added complication to the problem of restoring democracy in Burma. The democracy movement is dominated by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), most of whose members are majority Burmese as are the generals who have ruled the country for the last 40 years.

 

Their insurgencies for political autonomy began after the country’s independence from Britain in 1948, but most of the groups have since reached autonomy deals with the government and ended their armed struggles. The Karen is the only major ethnic group still fighting against the government in Rangoon.

 

Suu Kyi’s release has sparked hopes that the current junta, which has been in power since 1988, will loosen its hold power in the face of years of international pressure including sanctions and mediation by a UN special envoy since 2000.  The junta refuses to honour the results of general elections it called in 1990, which the NLD won. It says bringing democracy too quickly will lead to the disintegration of the ethnically diverse country.

 

 

BURMESE KYAT REBOUNDS

(Reported by Gong Ong, May 9, 2002)

 

The announcement of Burma's military government lifting of restrictions on the opposition leader revived the Burmese currency against the Thai Baht at the Thai-Burma cross border money exchange markets.

 

After the Songkran New Year, the exchange rate was 1 Baht to 21 Kyat because border trading was active and many migrant labourers buying Baht to return to their jobs in Thailand.  The Thai Baht lost value of 1 Baht to 19.20 Kyat on May 7, 2002, down to 18.60 Kyat on May 8 and 16.50 on May 9, 2002 with many traders losing a profit.

 

“While watching the Burmese Kyat rise we weren’t able to sell off Thai Baht because it was the long weekend, the Thai Coronation holiday,” reported a money exchange trader from Phuket who works transferring money for migrants.  Another independent money exchange worker, Chan Ong, lost about 15,000 Baht before transferring money to Burma, due to closure of the Banks over the holiday and weekend.  He had received Thai Baht from Mon migrant workers in Maharchai before it fell to 19.20 on Tuesday, May 7.

 

“Today the Baht is valued at 16.50 Kyat and the market is quiet, nobody wants Thai currency,” said Nai Phet, a trader at Three Pagodas Pass, opposite of Sangkhalaburi District, Thailand.

 

Burma’s impoverished economy due to mismanagement, international isolation and economic sanctions over the military’s human rights record, has forced thousands to cross the border to Thailand as migrant labourers. Roughly, over half a million migrant workers send money back home via border trading routes at Ranong, Mae Sot, Three Pagodas Pass, Mae Sai, Thailand Burma border.

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

 

GAS PIPE LINE EXPLODES FOR A SECOND TIME

(Based on IMNA and Kaowao / 3 Pagodas Pass, April 30, 2002)

 

A section of a gas pipeline exploded on April 30, 2002 at 10 PM local time in southern Mon State razing a railway bridge and preventing access along Moulmein-Ye railroad.

 

The explosion on the Kanbauk-Myaingkalay gas pipeline occurred near Anin and Hntit-kayin villages between Thanbyuzayat and Ye Townships.   Soon after a conflagration was seen spreading along the pipeline and 4 miles of railway, reported local villagers. It took 5 days for several groups of people to put out the fire, which destroyed a bridge and the railroad. All Mawlamyaing-Ye trains have been cancelled as a result and authorities haven’t figured out what caused the explosion.

 

The Southeast Military Command, based in Moulmein, ordered the Burma Infantry Battalion No. 61 in Ye to increase security along the railway and pipeline, the Army assumes the explosion was not accidental.  No insurgent group from the Mon and Karen have claimed responsibility.

 

Confirmed by the HRP (Hongsawatoi Restoration Party) member, the Burma Army has tightened its security along the road, some machinery and engineers were called in from Moulmein to begin repairing the railway and pipeline. In the meantime, with the train schedule being disrupted, travelers are going by truck over the motor road.  Government officials have been called in to try to determine the cause of the rupture or whether it will be capable of transporting gas.  SPDC's Ministry of Construction built the Kanbauk-Myaingkalay pipeline in early 2001 in cooperation with security from the Southeast Military Command that took 7 months to complete. The 150 miles KanPauk- MyaingKalay pipeline runs across Mon State from northern Tenasserim Division to Karen State was built from Kanbauk on-shore gas station to supply a cement factory in Pa-an Township in Karen State.

 

The first explosion occurred this year on January 5, near a bridge between Chaktwe and Daymai Mon village in Mudon Township, at 4 AM local time at one of its junctions adjacent to two Mon villages.  Reported by a local villager, the people living near the gas pipeline are concerned for their safety.  They argue it was built with poor technology and engineering, said an anonymous government official from Thanbyuzayat, Mon State.

 

 

RAMANYA BULLETTIN: FORCED DISTRIBUTION

(Kao-Wao / Ye, May 4, 2002)

 

Ramanya (Rehmonya) an ancient name of the Mon people and a symbolic name for Mon Nationality is being used for a News Bulletin by the Burma Southeast Military Command and is being widely distributed in Southern Burma.

 

The Southeast Military Command uses the bulletin as a propaganda tool. Civil servant offices, local Peace and Development Council townships and villager offices are forced to sell the bulletin for 25 Kyat per copy.

 

All articles and news coverage is about the activities of the Generals and Commanders, the Editorial extols the Army as playing a major role in the development process of Burma, observed a village headman from Mudon Township who is forced to distribute issues to the villagers.  “It was confusing as local Mons firstly believed it was an independent and free Newsletter,” but after browsing the paper and seeing Generals leading the pack, making merit and cutting ribbons, they found out it was just plain old propaganda, people were disappointed.  Ramanya” the good name for the Mon was being abused,” said a local newsreader from Ye who has to buy a copy at the village office.

 

 

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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