KAO WAO NEWS No. 30
An electronic newsletter for social justice and
freedom in Burma
No. 30,
READER’S FRONT
MON APPEALS TO
MONITOR DISPLACED PERSONS
FARMERS THROWN INTO A
LIFE OF POVERTY
DRUG POSTERS FOR
STATE CONSTITUTION SEMINARS
HELD
KARENNI TALK PEACE
MAN KILLED BY POLICE
INVESTIGATION
FORCED FUND RAISING
CONTINUE IN
USDA: ACT LOCALLY AND
LIE GLOBALLY
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READER’S FRONT
Dear Readers,
On November 13 of last year the first issue of Kao-Wao was released to keep the Mon and the international
community informed about the struggle for independence in
In a recent interview Jose Ramos-Horta,
foreign minister of
We believe the Mon people and their culture have a role to
play in promoting a strong sense of civic culture of positive social
interchanges among
With your help, we hope that Kao-Wao
News will continue to grow to better serve better the needs of those seeking
social justice in
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
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MON APPEALS TO UN TO
MONITOR DISPLACED PERSONS
(Kao-Wao/
The umbrella organization of the Mon has asked the UN human rights envoy to allow the International Committee of Red Cross access into the areas of displaced persons.
Sunthorn, Sripanngern,
General Secretary of the Mon Unity League, asked for ICRC access into the Mon
area of internally displaced people at a meeting with the UN human rights
special envoy, Mr. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, in
According to an MUL spokesperson, the meeting was organized
by Mr Nicholas Howen, UNHCR
Regional Representative for Asia-Pacific, and attended by NGOs working on
"The
On his recent trip to
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Life in
FARMERS THROWN INTO A
LIFE OF POVERTY
(Kao-Wao,
Confiscation of land in
Local battalions of the State Peace and Development Council
based in Northern Ye township,
The land was confiscated last August shortly after a trip to the area by General Maung Bo, the junta chief who has oversight over Mon and Karen states and Tenasserim division. The farmers were forced to sign an agreement set out by the authorities for the seizure. The authorities allowed the farmers to produce rubber for three years before the land is seized. They will receive no compensation.
Nai Blai whose land was confiscated said it will lead to social unrest and local people will take up arms to resume fighting against the regime. Many people have lost their land, become jobless, and are looking for weapons to ambush the SPDC soldier who is guarding their old lands. Land just confiscated by the army for the (Battalion), has only a few soldiers guarding it, said Nai Blai.
According to a village headman, these lands are to be used for the expansion of Battalions 106 and 588. The lands seized in this area are not for the purpose of building the battalion as the commander told the villagers, but will later be used for the army’s coffers to raise fund and deal in business ventures. “If the SPDC is trying to build new battalions, about 50 or 60 acres of land will be enough, but they seized thousands acres of land to use for economic reasons,” complained a villager Nai Krake who escaped to the Thai-Burma border.
In August, General Maung Bo met the village headmen and
farmers to inspect the site in
The abbot of a Buddhist monastery in Mawkanin village requested to the local commanders on behalf of the farmers not to seize the land, but the request was ignored by the military regime.
After the seizure, many villagers migrated to
Since 2000, confiscation of land in Ye township of
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DRUG POSTERS FOR
(By Taramon /Kao-Wao,
Authorities in
The State Peace and Development Council in
“The forced support and donation is not new for the people
in
The Southeast Military Command also published Ramanya (Rehmonya) News and
widely distributed it in
Drug trafficking is a heavy crime and punishment includes the
death penalty, the poster reads. A community worker from
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Political development
STATE CONSTITUTION
SEMINARS HELD
(Kao-Wao,
Two seminars on State Constitution for the future
The meeting in
The seminar in India provided wide-ranging views to Arakan
and Chin State Constitutions for the future federal Union of Burma and more
than one hundred participants from Chin and Arakan Constitution Drafting
Committee members, two representatives each from India and Bangladesh-based
Burma democracy organizations and interested individuals participated in the
seminar. The speakers on Federalism included Mr. Yogendra
Yadev (Center for Studies on Developing Societies)
from
The Supporting Committee for State Constitutions Seminar (SCSC) was formed by the ethnic based United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD) and the armed ethnic umbrella organization, the National Democratic Front (NDF).
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KARENNI TALK PEACE
(Based on
Representatives from the Karenni National
Progressive Party (KNPP) led by Lt-Col Htoo Khar Rei left on
According to Raymond Htoo, secretary general of the KNPP,
the delegates will ask junta officials to cease: the forced relocation, using
Karenni people as porters in the battlefield; collecting porter fees; planting
landmines; killing innocent Karenni people; and, the sexual abuse of Karenni
women. On a national level, the KNPP will also call on the ruling junta
to solve
Since 1994 more than eight cease-fire agreements have been
signed between the junta and Karenni representatives. The KNPP signed a
cease-fire agreement with the junta in March 1995, but the Burmese army invaded
a Karenni strong hold base on June 30 that year, terminating the cease-fire.
"Burmese troops raided our land, apparently to suppress Khun Sa and to protect our sovereignty from the invasion of Thai
army," explained Raymond Htoo. Sensing that the cease-fire was near
breaking point, a KNPP delegation went to
On
While several other sources, both Thai and dissident, believe Htoo Khar Rei and his 30-followers have surrendered to the military authorities, Karenni officials have maintained that their group is in Loikaw for the purpose of holding peace talks.
The Karenni leadership however, has been insistent that it was a misconception on the part of the public. "We still receive communications from him", according to Rimond Htoo, Secretary General of the KNPP. "We believe he is under some pressure form the junta to bend to its will. For instance, he was supposed to meet its representatives in Mawchi (some 50 miles from the border), but was taken to Loikaw (the capital of Kayah, as Karenni is officially known by the Burmese military, about 80 miles further north) instead."
One argument in Htoo's favor was
that
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MAN KILLED DURING
POLICE INVESTIGATION
(Based on an IMNA report:
On
Nai Mya Han, 45 years of age, a native of Mae Pa Rang
village in
Nai Han was beaten several times during questioning at Mudon
Police Station,
According to the Kyeik Roy village
headman, thirty people form his village were detained
in order to find the robbers of
Nandar Hlaing was travelling with Rev. Kesara, the abbot of Kyeik TaLone Hill who organized for the festival to celebrate the opening of a new pagoda. According to a local source, an armed gang abducted the actress and the monks and released them after taking all her personal belongings. She was later released after the monk.
The local reporter said there was no clear evidence that Nai Han was the villager involved in the attack because the armed gang was well equipped during the kidnap.
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FORCED FUND RAISING
CONTINUE IN
(By Taramon/ Kaowao,
The Mon State Police Force organized a fund raising concert and forced civilians in every township to buy the theatre tickets.
The Independent Mon News Agency reported last month that a
ticket for a sheet of mat (for four or five people) was being sold for 1,500
Kyats by the police. The police in different townships in
A village headman from Ye said every village had to buy 40 tickets at a minimum. Even though some famous actresses performed in the concert, the poor local people couldn’t afford the tickets. “The rural civilians who were forced to buy the tickets couldn’t even get to see the concert because they do not live in towns where the concert will take place,” complained a bus driver.
The concert will be shown at Thanbyuzayat town on November 14. The performers will tour around every township with their caravan.
Last year, a similar theatre concert organized by the Mon State Police Force also toured around the state for fund raising purposes. The police force has arranged the theater after the rainy season.
Meanwhile, other government-organized groups such as the
USDA, the
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Opinion
USDA: ACT LOCALLY AND
LIE GLOBALLY
(By Banya Hongsar,
In recent years the Burmese government has organized a
Non-Governmental Organization (GONGO) for local teenagers in Mon and
'Show me the money’ is the motto of the western world, but
for the ambitious of
What happens is that many teenagers in Mon and
According to an official statement released by USDA on
The statement mentions in its selection criteria that 'a candidate must finish 8th standard and must not be linked to any political parties'. There is more to this than meets the eye—or ear, that the USDA itself is de facto political party of Union Solidarity Party (CH) sponsored by the current military regime. Precisely, according to a mission statement of the organization: ‘a cause of maintaining long life for the Union of Burma' is a prime objective of the organization. If a candidate cannot be a member of political party he/ she then cannot be a member of USDA.
Once they are members, young Mon and others are expected to attend regular monthly meetings and other arranged training courses. According to a mobile reporter of the Independent Mon News Agency, in December 2000 Vice Chief of Police Force Kyin Thein, called USDA members for secret training. The course was designed to train young members to be recruited as military informers and local campaigners for the USDA. The course has focused on psychological warfare attached to opposition groups. This will do nothing but further damage understanding between the ethnic groups.
The role of the USDA in every Mon village is organized according to a planned 'strategy mind mapping' and 'agenda setting'. It’s part of the regime’s propaganda machine, an insidious network that undermines local Mon civil society. The Mon Literature and Cultural Committee, mostly led by Buddhist monks and local scholars, cannot ignore the systematic discrimination toward the Mon population by the Burmese regime that has gone on now for the last three centuries or so. Young Mon boys and girls are forced to become members but are not rewarded for their efforts; they have no access to educational or technological programs but face an uncertain future, while their families struggle to feed themselves.
Now let’s understand what we are talking about. It’s all the
same old predictable stuff: the lock ups, the intimidation and
harassment. In a special meeting in
The government of
In this spirit, perhaps the sane choice is try to live with everyone in peace by understanding them. A climate of tolerance among all groups should be fostered. Blame shouldn’t be directed at any one group. Leaders of the country on all sides have a moral and social obligation to protect and provide sufficient resources for the sustainability of the country.
Old and young generations alike are seeking every
opportunity for a better future. The question is who can give the right message
to our younger generation to lead the way to a brighter future for
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KAO WAO NEWS GROUP
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