KAO WAO NEWS No. 18

 

An electronic newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma

No 18, May 11-22, 2002

 

 

READERS' FRONT

PEACE STALEMATE

PEACE BREAKS DOWN BETWEEN MONS

YABA IN THE HANDS OF THAI POLICE ACCUSE MIGRANTS

VILLAGERS ORDERED TO FORM DRUG COMMITTEES

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A GENERAL

OPPOSITION CAMPS UNDER ATTACK ON SUU KYI'S RELEASE

ETHNIC GROUPS URGE TRIPARTITE DIALOGUE

FLEXIBILITY: THE WAY OF EDUCATION IN BURMA

BURMESE APPOINTED UN SECURITY COORDINATOR

IN DEFENSE OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE : BY DAVID O’HANLON

THE MILITARY’S HUMAN RIGHT’S RECORD

__________________________________________________________________

 

 

READERS’ FRONT

 

Dear Readers,

The rainy season is upon us and the rivers and streets will be overflowing, so batten down the hatches and get ready for the next show.

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,

Burmese refers to ALL people within the political/geographical boundaries of Burma  (editor’s note on the term of “Burman State Constitution Formed”). And all the things they do--Burmese cooking, Burmese dancing, Burmese music, etc.  Burman refers to those of that ethnic nationality. Karen dance is not Burman dance but it is Burmese dance, nevertheless. Ditto for others---Shan, Kachin, Chin, Pa-O, Karenni, etc. Shwe Yo (George Scott) got it right over one hundred years ago.

 

U Kyaw Win "Bukit Tinggi" in the Rocky Mountains

 

 

Dear Kaowao team

I have to say no other than the word long live Kaowao.  Kaowao is the only messenger to the Mons outside Monland.

 

Well done.

Kwae Mon

(Sydney, Australia)

 

 

Dear Kao Wao

It is encouraging to know that Mon will promote A National University. To be candid, Mon culture is unique and Mon literature is rich. Every civilised society should have a university of its own to promote and maintain their culture as well as to par with the modern world. Creating new idea is not easy but interesting. Patience, Perseverance, Perfection and Persistency will lead you to success.

 

Aunty Rose

(U of M, Canada)

May 20, 2002

 

 

Dear Editor,

Congratulation to the Burman State Constitution Committee (Study Group for Burma Constitutional Commission). Indeed the majority Burman needs to show their sincerity to other ethnic nationalities by working for a genuine unity and not only by words.  They should accept the equal rights for all by including the Burman State (Myanmar PyiNae) within the Federal Union but not as a Myanmar PyiMa (Burma Proper or so called 7 divisions).

 

Mehm SaiMon

May 10, 2002,

Bangkok

 

 

PEACE STALEMATE

(MUL Bangkok, May 14, 2002)

 

Mon Unity League issued its report to fellow members on the process of the Negotiation Mission between the New Mon State Party and Hongsawatoi Restoration Party.

 

The report stated that although tensions have eased, reconciliation between the two-armed groups is not possible at this time as each group has opposing strategies toward the military regime.  HRP led by Col Pan Nyunt intends to continue the armed struggle against SPDC while the NMSP is willing to deal with the regime through political dialogue in Rangoon alongside the ethnic nationalities.  NMSP leaders are expecting political change through dialogue, believing that the Mon people have suffered less since the ceasefire agreement, compared to the pre-ceasefire period.

 

On 9/9/2001, Nai Pan Nyunt, a former Central Committee member of the New Mon State Party and Commander of Tactical Command No. 1, along with 153 Mon guerrillas with full arms and ammunition defected from NMSP.  A failed delegation by General Secretary Nai Rotsa led to Nai Pan Nyunt’s official expulsion from NMSP, who denounced him as corrupt. Later Nai Pan Nyunt joined forces with Nai Hloin, Nai JaiDike, who operate outside of the Ye and Yebyu areas and formed HRP.

 

In early November 2001 and February 2002 HRP and New Mon State Party were involved in a few skirmishes that resulted in deaths and causalities on both sides and each group counter-ordering villagers to cut off contact. The fighting caused instability in areas close to villagers and the Halockhanee refugee camp.

 

The Mon Unity League (MUL) formed a negotiation mission in November 2001 including senior monks, to lobby between the two parties to prevent further armed confrontation.  Nai Sunthorn Sripanngern, a member of Negotiation Mission said, “both parties have their own ideas and it is difficult to forge unity between them”.  HRP wants to fight SPDC for its human rights violations which occur on a regular basis inside Mon state; while NMSP being granted a certain degree of autonomy from SPDC in the ceasefire agreement, accepts that political problems need to be solved through political and peaceful means as the majority of the Mon people want tripartite dialogue, as outlined in its political mandate.

 

 

 

PEACE BREAKS DOWN BETWEEN MONS

(Kao-Wao/ Bangkok, May 21, 2002)

 

Fighting broke out between the New Mon State Party and the Hongsawatoi Restoration Party in the evening on May 21, 2202.

 

The fighting occurred near Halockhanee Mon refugee camp after the HRP entered the village and approached the base of the NMSP at Bleh Doonphite, 2 kilometers from Halockhanee. According to a local source, the Mon breakaway group entered the refugee camp on May 19 and moved into the NMSP fort at Baleh Doonphite on May 21, 2002 in the evening.

 

Refugees from Baleh Doonphite and Halockhanee hid in their trenches under their houses.  Liaison officer of the NMSP informed Kao-Wao that the fighting continued until 9.30 PM but no causalities have been reported from both sides.

 

Prior to the fighting, the Mon Negotiation Mission talked to Nai Ong Hmein, a senior leader of the break away group, to reconsider its deployment at the refugee camp

 

 

Migrant Watch

 

YABA IN THE HANDS OF THAI POLICE ACCUSE MIGRANTS

(Kao-Wao / Samutsakhorn, May 12, 2002)

 

 

Migrants fall prey to new method of extortion when four Thai policemen accused and arrested migrant workers of using Yaba (amphetamine) drug at Mahachai, fishing community in Thailand on May 1, 2002.

 

While Nai Lomyom Mon was walking at Narommit minding his own business, four Thai policemen came and asked him for work permit card. He showed his card, registered at Suthip Seafood Factory, Mahachai Navit. After the police searched his purse, they saw (30,000) bahts and decided to rob him.

 

One policeman without hesitation took a small pill of Yaba (amphetamine) between his fingers and put it into Nai Lomyom Mon’s pocket. Nai Lomyom seeing this couldn’t say anything about this blatant act of intimidation. The other officer took the pill from his pocket and showed his colleague, “Look at this, he’s guilty”. For Yaba, the policemen negotiated, “give me the (30,000) bahts cash, if you agree we will release you and not press charges”.   Nai Lomyom Mon refused to do so.

 

After unsuccessful negotiation with Nai Lomyom Mon, the policemen seized all his money, arrested him and sent him to Mahachai Police Station for three days. After interrogation they put him into the Wat Tuk prison in Mahachai for an unspecified amount of time.

 

“He is an honest and innocent guy. We are surprised that the police made this kind of deception to arrest him as a drug user. I also heard about (9) workers who were arrested at Kokark and Talatkoon areas in the same way. This is a new method to extort the alien workers,” said a social worker from Mahachai.

 

In another case, Nai Lunn, a Krena (Tarana) villager from Mon State was arrested and jailed at the Wat Tuk prison, Soi Wathana, Maharchai on 9/4/2002. Two policemen came to his residence at Narommit Soi 3 and asked for registration cards, while searching the room they slipped two Yaba into Nai Lunn’s purse and then withdrew the pills with surprise and accusations. Being inside, away from onlookers, the police slapped him on his cheek and beat him on his head. They accused him of being a drug trader and tortured him until he admitted that he was involved in drug dealing.

 

The police asked him for (50,000) bahts to release him. Nai Lunn who supports his wife and three children back in Burma didn’t have that amount of cash. “He has never even seen Yaba before. The first time he saw it was in the police’s hand when they came out to arrest him with deception. This is a new way of police to abuse workers and extort them of money they worked so hard for”. “What extreme rudeness of the Mahachai police!” said a Krena villager.

 

 

VILLAGERS ORDERED TO FORM DRUG COMMITTEES

(Kao-Wao, May 11, 2002)

 

Local villagers are ordered by the Burma military to form anti drug committees in their respective villages in Mudon, Southern Burma.

 

Warrant Officer of the Peoples Police Force, Ye Lwin came to Kwan-Hlar and Kamar-Wark villages in Mudon Township, Mon State at the end of April ordering villagers to form anti-drug committees.  According to the village headmen from Mudon, the committee must be comprised of local villagers led by the village headmen, the order is compulsory and called an emergency, the local police force are collecting name lists which will be reported to the senior officers.

 

Nai Mit, a businessman from Moulmein said the junta ‘was paranoid’ about the possibility of foreign invasion after US branded the UWSA (United Wa State Army) as a terrorist organization and are concerned about the international community imposing more restrictions on Burma.  The order followed after Khin Nyunt, the First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council told “minority groups” at Lashio, Shan State in March that drug trafficking would no longer be tolerated.  He briefed the minority groups before issuing instructions and warned that drug crimes will no longer be tolerated and punishment would range from life imprisonment to death.

 

Another local source from the Thai-Burma border reported that the junta also ordered the closure of cease-fire groups' offices in southern Burma. The DKBA, a pro-Rangoon outfit, a defected Karen Buddhist groups is required to do the same.   To lessen the presence of the ethnic armies at the border, which are associated with illegal activity, the cease-fire offices at the border were reminded to operate under licensed business company names.  The New Mon State Party (NMSP) has offices called Rehmonya International Co. Ltd in Mon State.

 

 

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A GENERAL

(Based on the Nation, May 19, 2002)

 

Hundreds of Thai troops have been mobilized along Thailand’s northern and western borders with Burma, in the north it appears to be in preparation for an offensive strike against the 20,000 strong United Wa State Army with the objective of capturing Wa drug lord Wei Hsueh-kang.

 

According to news sources the Thai and Burma governments have agreed to conditions where either party is allowed to cross the border to attack common threats like for example insurgents and drug gangs, in Thai’s case the UWSA who traffic drugs across the border. Thailand is no friend to the Wa who use and exploit Thai citizens for drug trafficking or for other business ventures and are killed and threatened when things go wrong, many Thais are languishing in underground pits for their misdealing with the Wa.

 

The Thai and Burma forces have centuries of fighting behind them and are more than pleased to demonstrate their show of force which is no big deal, in line with other annual military exercises being conducted in Thailand like the international Cobra Gold in partnership with 12,000 US troops.

 

The Burma military has a cease-fire agreement with UWSA, signed in 1989, and has grown rich from the drug business with the Wa as a result.  General Maung Aye, commander of the Burmese Army, upon a recent visit to Bangkok being informed of the offensive did not comment on the matter and is alleged to have not objected to the proposed incursion, which leaves the impression that business will carry on as usual, in other words the General doesn’t appear to feel threatened by the Thai.

 

 

OPPOSITION CAMPS UNDER ATTACK ON SUU KYI'S RELEASE

(ABSDF, May 10, 2002)

 

The ABSDF reported that the Burmese military continues its offensive against the All Burma Students' Democratic Front and the Karen National Union this week.

 

On May 6, 2002 about 600 Burmese troops, comprised of Light Infantry Battalion 104, 108, 434 and Infantry Battalion 19 under the command of Division 44 lead by Brigadier General Min Aung Hlaing, assaulted the Wei Gyi area, where the ABSDF and KNU camps are located.  Six clashes have occurred between the Burmese troops and the insurgents. According to the report, 8 Burmese soldiers have been killed and 28 injured but no casualties from the opposition side have yet been reported.

 

During the offensive, the Burmese troops burnt down villages nearby resulting 500 Karen villagers crossing into Thai border.

 

The chairperson of the ABSDF, Than Khe, said "The Burmese military has attacked our camps almost every year, but this time it surprises us because of the current situation inside Burma. I strongly urge the SPDC to immediately stop offensives, call for a nationwide cease-fire and to allow the participation of ethnic nationality for national reconciliation. I would also like to ask the international community to apply stronger pressure on the SPDC.”  The ABSDF has been struggling against the military regime by political, military and diplomatic means alongside the KNU and other allied forces for democracy in Burma.

 

 

ETHNIC GROUPS URGE TRIPARTITE DIALOGUE

(KaoWao, May 17, 2002)

 

Following the release of Aung San Suu Kyi Burma ethnic groups have welcomed the move, but many are anticipating for a tripartite dialogue.

 

Inspiration has grown after the opposition leader said upon her release that ethnic minority groups seeking more autonomy must be included in the national reconciliation process with Burma’s military junta.  Burma is comprised of several ethnic groups who fear democracy talks between Suu Kyi and the government will sideline their demands, which in the past led to armed rebellions.

 

The Rangoon based 5 ethnic nationality parties, Arakan League for Democracy, Karen National Democratic Congress, Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF), Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), and Zomi National Congress, jointly issued a statement on May 15, 2002 urging tripartite dialogue and three-way negotiation.

 

The United Nationalities League for Democracy (Liberated Area) called for Tripartite Dialogue in its statement issued on May 17, 2002.  The UNLD (LA) express that the political crisis in Burma is rooted in a constitutional problem revolving around the question of the right of self-determination. Without ethnic participation, it will not be possible to resolve the political crisis, including the five long decade war.

 

The UNLD (LA) sees the need for a nation-wide conference of all Ethnic Nationalities leaders and forces, and a United Nations sponsored international conference on national reconciliation in preparation for the tripartite dialogue and a smooth transition.

 

Overseas Mon Organization of Denmark, Mon National Community of Norway and Association of Finn-Mon Community, also issued a joint statement on May 17, 2002 welcoming the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

The Mons in the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland and Norway urge the unconditional release of all political prisoners including the Mon leaders and allow the armed groups to participate in the national reconciliation process after declaration of nation wide cease-fire.  Political pressure and economic sanction must be maintained till a confirmation of political progress. International aid shall be contributed directly to those needed.

 

 

FLEXIBLILTIY, THE WAY OF EDUCATION IN BURMA

(Reported by Nai Taw, May 13, 2002)

 

Students in Burma can easily pass an exam without a glance at the books, according to Daw Khin Nyo, whose daughter attends the seven standards at the fishing village in Mon State.

 

All elementary and middle school students at Asin district, Ye township passed their exams without a hitch. Some students who had taken the exam with two or three subjects and some students who had not taken the exam passed the test.   "My daughter took the exam with two subjects but she passed it and her friend who was sick also passed it," said Daw Khin Nyo.

 

“My niece who can not afford to pay money to the teacher also was allowed to take the exam and passed it,” said one surprised San Pya villager from Ye Township. "I have worried about my daughter for her future education because she does not know how to read, write and understand," added Daw Khin Nyo. "I am very happy to see the results because I cannot answer the questions very well, I am now very happy," said another student from the elementary school.

 

According to the new education system, the Middle School students can easily pass the exam without taking a final test like in the past.  Students can gain their credits by joining activities of the government organized USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association).  But the students later face difficulty when they reach high school.  Grade 10 students pay from 350,000 to 450,000 Kyat at private hostels in Moulmein and Mudon.  The education system has collapsed and many teachers open private tuitions, teaching the students outside schools in their homes to combat the skyrocketing prices for living.

 

“During the past year, the government ordered the schools to set up one computer at every high school in Mon State but it was totally funded by local civilians and the computer was just for show, most don’t know how to use it.  And those born after 1962 cannot understand English as in previous generations because the education system was basically destroyed in all districts all over Burma, the government ordered the schools not to teach English after the 1962 military coup,” said a retired Burmese Professor who teaches English in Moulmein.

 

 

BURMESE APPOINTED UN SECURITY COORDINATOR

(Cited from M2 PRESSWIRE, May 13, 2002)

 

UN Secretary-General appoints Tun Myat of Myanmar as new United Nations Security Coordinator.

 

The Secretary-General today announced the appointment of Mr. Tun Myat of Myanmar as the new United Nations Security Coordinator. The appointment is at the Assistant Secretary-General level.  Born in September 1942 in Myanmar, Mr. Tun Myat is a United Nations veteran of over 24 years. Since April 2000, he has served as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq at the Assistant Secretary-General level.

 

As the senior United Nations official resident in Iraq, Tun Myat was also the United Nations Designated Official for Security. Prior to his appointment as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Tun Myat served in the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for over 22 years where he began his career as an Insurance Officer in 1978. Subsequently, he held increasingly responsible positions, including Chief of the Ocean Transportation Branch, Chief of the Logistics Branch, Special Assistant to the Executive Director of WFP, the Director of Transport and Logistics Division, and the Director of the Resources and External Relations Division. In these various capacities with the WFP, Mr Tun Myat traveled extensively to some of the most hazardous areas of conflict to set up mechanisms and structures for the provision and delivery of humanitarian relief.

 

 

Opinion:

 

IN DEFENSE OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE

(By David O’Hanlon)

 

Often you will hear or read of combatants in one or other world’s trouble spots being referred to with exacerbation. They are referred to as moral equivalents, each as bad as the other, like naughty, warmongering little boys while at the same time the political rational behind the conflict is dismissed as being too complex and deeply mired in local history for outside comprehension. What is required it is argued, is for outside (re: usually western) intervention in the form of peacekeeping and or aid.  Sadly as in the Balkans conflict continues until a political, rather than an aid solution is found. This is also true for Burma.

 

Ironically the armed opposition groups have been forced by circumstances to adopt a military strategy in order to fight militarism. Unfortunately the situation in the country is still such that they judge the retention of arms to be necessary. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has built the Burmese Army to over 400,000 men under arms. This massive force has only one possible function and that is the suppression of the all the people of Burma and the perpetuation of the rule of the generals.

 

The Democratic Alliance of Burma (DAB) is an openly armed struggle grouping and has been since the day it was founded and publicly states that it will remain so until genuine democracy is restored to Burma and the minority nationalities achieve self-determination. Unconditional surrender, or as the SPDC euphemistically term it, “returning to the legal fold” is not an option. Therefore the ball is squarely in the SPDC’s court. As Nelson      Mandela wrote “The terms of the struggle are determined by the oppressor”.  Those who are privileged to come from peaceful and developed countries should consider respecting that decision and their right to make it.

 

Many senior figures in armed struggle groups complain of how armed struggle has been marginalised and stigmatised. “Foreigners do not understand or like our armed struggle but we will never give up for our country” commented one front line ABSDF commander in Karen State. “Armed struggle is not popular in [the] world so they [the world community] will not help us” confided a Karen military leader now based in Thailand.

 

This pacifist mind set is however not just a western cultural perspective but arguably part of a broader movement on behalf of the NGO community to distance themselves from opposition groups generally and to reposition themselves to take advantage of the expected coming aid bonanza when Burma finally opens its doors to foreign assistance. The border represents a very mature aid market and in world terms not a very “sexy” one at that.

 

Burma however represents an absolute gold mine of future projects so great that it is hard to imagine a minor consideration like propping up one of the world’s most repressive and notorious regimes to get in the way for want of a glib rationalization. However some of the projects most beloved of the NGO community are completely reliant upon revolutionary groups for the security that makes them at all possible in the first place.

 

In conventional military terms the insurgencies have not been successful of late. This however is missing the point. Like all insurgencies that are organic outgrowths of their communities they can be beaten back but never actually eradicated. They have the capacity to endure indefinitely and to flare up when the opportunity presents itself. Their mere existence means that the military regime can never fully escape a condition of permanent crisis. The armed struggle is a dagger pointed at the heart of tyranny.

 

Oppressed people throughout history have always had both the right and the duty to resist their oppression. Nelson Mandela himself stood unwaveringly by this principle refusing to renounce the armed struggle of the ANC through over three decades of imprisonment. East Timor’s Xanana Gusmao also stood by this principle through 24 years of colonialism and isolation. Both men are now revered internationally as icons. Apparently, there exists in the world today a strange but widespread piece of convoluted doublethink that simultaneously holds these men to be heroes but armed struggle to be wicked.

 

Surely though none has been fetishized as much as Che Guevera who although not a democrat, did genuinely believe himself to be a liberator of the oppressed and stayed loyal to the fight against military dictatorship and exploitation until death. His death in the jungle was foreshadowed by that of Saw Ba U Gyi. A lawyer more inclined to battle in the courtroom he nonetheless believed it impossible for the Karen people to survive without armed resistance in the face of implacable state violence and chauvinism.

 

Likewise the death of Burma’s independence hero Aung San by an assassin’s bullet seemed to echo that of Ireland’s Michael Collins. Both men had led their countries to freedom through armed struggle against the same colonial power and both were slain by their compatriots in the hour of victory whilst still young. Aung San and Saw Ba U Gyi set an example to follow that many still find compelling today.

 

This is not the same as glorifying or relishing violence. The DAB’s members have made it repeatedly plain that dialogue remains their preferred medium of political expression. Likewise its’ members have always opposed terrorism and have denounced the antics of God’s Army and their allies. If the 1988 massacres had not occurred or indeed if at anytime in the past 54 years the military had ceased its oppression of Burma’s ethnic minorities and those who hold power in Rangoon had entered into genuine negotiations then there would be no armed struggle today. The armed struggle is the response of the oppressed who have no other options. Even Aung San Suu Kyi has publicly acknowledged that responsibility for ongoing violence lies completely with the military.

 

The SPDC is simply not offering cease-fires under the same terms of the early nineties. Even under these arrangements, the Tatmadaw occupation of ethnic land has intensified while the cease-fire leadership elites have profited from a myriad of cozy deals that include selling vast swaths of forest and narcotics. Under the SPDC Burma’s Shan state has become a world-leading exporter of amphetamines and opium. The business tie-ins with the generals are so systematic that Burma is frequently described as a narco-state. To paraphrase Joyce, “[They’d] not only sell [their] country but [they’d] go down on [their] knees at night and thank God [they] had a country to sell.”

 

Interestingly many grassroots members of these organisations can often be heard espousing complete independence. “I think Kachin State should get complete independence” one well placed Kachin educationalist confided recently. “Shan State cannot benefit from democracy and it is not part of these secret talks between [the] NLD (National League for Democracy) and the SPDC so it must leave Burma” said a Shan activist now working in Chiang Mai.

 

However if the cease-fire groups cannot even take the field against a military dictatorship just how, it must be asked, do they imagine they will be able to take on a future democracy? The cease-fires have dissipated their strength and fostered a culture of cynicism and corruption inimical to the self-sacrifice required for such a struggle.

 

The exclusion of non-cease-fire groups from the political process is surely a recipe for further strife if ever there was one. The consensus of respected writers seems to be that the ethnic people are central to Burma’s political trouble and not peripheral to it. Thus as long as what might be called the ethnicities question remains unsettled internal peace shall remain elusive and with it political stability no matter what the political complexion of the government of the day. Basically, in crude terms, one group of Burmans cutting a deal with another group of Burmans and then turning round to the ethnic people and telling them to like it or lump it is unlikely to wash for long. As observed recently by the Ethnic nationalities Solidarity Cooperation Committee however Aung san Suu Kyi has publicly reiterated her support for tripartite dialogue.

 

Yes, the generals have both freed Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD and this is a positive step forward. Meanwhile however, along Burma’s borders the Tatmadaw’s scorched earth operations against the indigenous minority people continue unabated. Unfortunately it would seem that now is not the time to slacken pressure on the SPDC.

 

 

THE MILITARY’S HUMAN RIGHT’S RECORD

(Based on IMNA and Kao-Wao)

 

On April 24, 2002, Burma Army LIB No. 299 forced the local villagers of Magyi, Danikyar, Mi-TawHlarDut, Mi-TawHlarGyi in Southern Ye Township, Mon State to build a 4 mile long road bridge for over 3 weeks.  The army did not provide any materials and villagers have to find lumbers, wooden poles and buy nails and screws for the bridges.

 

On May 4, 2002, 7 Karen villagers from Koe-du-kwe village, Kya-Inn Seikyi Township, Karen State were accused as rebel supporters and killed by the Burmese Army LIB 548

 

On May 12, 2002 Burma Infantry Battalion No. 77 under Army Division No. 88 led by Major Myint Lwin entered TaungPauk village, Kya-Inn Seikyi Township, Karen State and committed rampant shooting at a social gathering.  During the shooting the army killed two villagers and wounded three.

 

 

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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