KAO WAO NEWS No. 42
An electronic
newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma
No. 42, April 11- 22,
2003
READER’S FRONT
MON PRISONER SUFFERS
STROKE
CIVILIANS KILLED AT
PRO REGIME CONCERT
DKBA EXPANDS INTO
SEX AND DRINK IN CITY
GAS PIPELINES
DESTROYED BY KAREN REBELS
DRUGS AND GAMBLING AT
THE CAMPUS
RESTRICTION ON MON
LANGUAGE PUBLICATION
SHOW ME THE MONEY
CHECK-POINTS ALONG
THE RAILWAY OF DEATH LINE
MON NEW YEAR IN
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READER’S 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
For a Peaceful Sangrant New Year!
Editor
kaowao@hotmail.com
http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1215&lo=d&sl=0
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Political Prisoners
MON PRISONER SUFFERS
STROKE
(Kao-Wao:
An 80-year-old Mon leader suffered a severe stroke during
the fourth year of seven year sentence in
Nai Ngwe
Thein, Vice-President of the Mon National Democratic
Front (MNDF), was admitted to public hospital in
A member of the MNDF said that his family and outsiders were not allowed to look after him during his medical treatment in the hospital. “It’s really difficult for guests and outsiders to visit, since MI 5 (Military Intelligence) officers are guarding him all the time".
According to the source, the ageing Mon political prisoner
was allowed only one hour a day outside his small cell in a tiny dark room of
an old brick building in the jail during his detention. He could
take a short shower between
Nai Ngwe Thein also suffers from toothaches and has a urinary problem.
Some members of a Mon political party were given permission by Burmese authorities to visit him briefly at the hospital in the presence of prison guards and intelligence officers.
Last month, the Burmese military government released 45
prisoners from various facilities around the country but the three Mon leaders
remain in the
They are Nai Ngwe
Thein, Dr. Kyi Win, and Dr. Min Soe
Lin, all of whom were arrested in 1998 for urging the New Mon State Party to
reconsider its position on the cease-fire agreement with the junta and for
supporting Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP). They were
sentenced to seven years imprisonment with hard labour and are serving their
terms at the Moulmein Prison,
Nai Ngwe Thein is a co-founder of the MNDF and presidium member of the United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD).
The Australia-based Mon National Council and the Thailand-Burma border-based Human Rights Foundation of Monland have called on the UN and international communities to push for the release of the Mon leaders and fair treatment for them.
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Civil war and
conflict
CIVILIANS KILLED AT
PRO-REGIME CONCERT
(Kao Wao:
Tavoy -- Six dancers were killed
and seventy members of the audience were injured when a bomb exploded at a
concert performed by Pwint Sann
Aung Thabin in Tavoy,
southern
The Commander of Military Operation Command No. 8 of the Burmese Army based in Tavoy issued an order that each household in the area has to purchase two tickets for the next drama show which was scheduled to take place between April 15 and the end of the month, a local resident said.
The order from the local Burmese Army notified six members
of Pwint Sann Aung Drama
Group were killed and over seventy audiences were injured in the bomb attack at
The military regime accused that the attack was masterminded by the Karen National Union (KNU). However, the KNU was not available for comment on the accusation by the regime.
The drama was intended to serve as propaganda by the Burmese military and, in the show, insulted anti-government groups. The play contained references to an anti-government army group referred to as the KNU.
Despite the fact that local people are afraid of facing further attacks by the armed group which caused the explosion, the Burmese army is forcing civilians to purchase tickets for the next drama show, a local resident from Tavoy said.
The Burmese army has used dramatic entertainment as a propaganda tool to influence public opinion in non-Burman territories for many years. A majority of Karen, Mon and Tavoyan people live in the rural area of Tavoy where the ethnic armed forces conduct operations.
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DKBA EXPANDS INTO
(Kao-Wao:
Ye -- Over a hundred soldiers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a pro-Rangoon armed group, have arrived in northern Ye Township, according to a report from the Independent Mon News Agency at the Thailand-Burma border.
The DKBA troop, known as “Myaing Kyi Ngu”, has built a Buddhist temple and a tower near Say Taung Pagoda. They claim that their purpose is only to promote religion, a local source from Ye said. The troop has also requested voluntary labor from the local community that includes both Mon and Karen people.
Local residents said that the real reason for the DKBA’s incursion into Ye township was to obtain logging rights in the area.
A businessman from Ye said, it would create a potential conflict of interest between the DKBA troops and Mon fighters who operate close to the same area. It could lead to violent armed clashes between the two groups, he added.
According to a local source, the Burmese Army has taken no action but is watching developments on a daily basis. “ The tactic of the Burmese army is to divide and create clashes between the Karen and Mon” complained a local political observer who asked not to be named.
The DKBA troop is operated by Karen guerrillas who split
from the Karen National Union (KNU) in early 90s. It is infamous for human
rights violations including attacking refugee camps inside
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Life in
SEX AND DRINK IN THE
CITY
(IMNA: Tavoy,
The people in this city of southern
A transportation worker from the southern coastal city said
a brothel is openly operated in co-operation with local authorities and the
Burmese Army. “It’s just the same as in
The nightspot is located near the Launglone transportation terminal. According to a source close to the sex workers, local authorities and Military Unit No 19 of the Burmese military have closed their eyes to the operation after being offered a bribe of Kyat 500,000 per month by the owner of the business.
The “Imperial Beer Shop” has employed about eighteen girls
from
Customers who order drinks in the shop have taken opportunities of touching the girls while being served. The girls earn Kyat 5,000 for one service at a table and they can be taken outside after negotiation, said a young man from Tavoy.
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Environment disaster
GAS PIPELINES
DESTROYED BY KAREN REBELS
(Kao-Wao,
The Karen National Union has damaged two gas pipelines in
recent weeks according to AFP news from
The junta’s statement said a gas pipeline near Hnitkayin village, about 105 kilometres
(65 miles) south of the
The Supreme Headquarters of the KNU issued a statement on April 19 claiming that their troops blew up sections of the gas pipelines on February 1, March 29 and April 15. The actions were taken to inform the Total Company and the international community that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has been buying fighter planes, tanks and other military hardware with revenue from the gas pipelines to continue killing and oppressing Karen and other nationalities, the KNU statement claimed.
SPDC troops have been burning down villages, harvests and
food stocks, and committing rape against women, abuses such as forced
relocation, forced labor and extortion of money daily. The action was to
show that the Karen people would fight back against injustices, as
necessary. The statement said the action had been planned in order to
highlight, domestically as well as internationally, the fact that the
responsibility for non-emergence of meaningful dialogue in
The KNU is fighting against the military government for
their rights to self-determination and forming a Federal Union in
“People living near the gas pipeline are really concerned
for their safety, we are the victims of the conflict between the rebels and the
junta”, said Nai Chan Tow from Ye in southern
The SPDC built the 150 mile-long Kanbauk-Myaingkalay
pipeline in early 2001. It runs across
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Students Consume
Amphetamines in
DRUGS AND GAMBLING AT
THE CAMPUS
(Htana Htaw
in
Many students from
Instead of attending classes they spend their time at their hostels playing cards and using drugs. “Its cost Kyat 1,800 per pill and we can buy it easily and play cards in our apartment,” said Chan Lun, a university student. Students rent private apartment outside campus near the university area. The hostel, named “May Shan”, is a place where they could buy the pill, he added.
According to a local source, soldiers from Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), often visit the hostel. It is believed that they bring the pills and sell them there.
Despite the fact that local authorities ban drug trafficking in town, the students still have place for consuming.
According to a student who arrived in the border area, the hostel that sells the drug is linked with Rev U Thu Za Na, a leader of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. Local police know about the network but have ignored the operation.
The students involved rarely attend lectures on campus and use private tutors to prepare for examinations.
Some girls from the university are also providing sex services inside the campus, a former student said. There are three rooms that are used for prostitution around the campus, It is because the girls lack financial assistance to support their studies, he added.
These girls used to sell the underground lottery (Chea) in previous years and could earn over ten thousand a month which they used to cover their living costs. But after local authorities cracked down on the lottery operation last year, the girls work to offer sex services, the source said.
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Culture and
literature
RESTRICTIONS ON MON
LANGUAGE PUBLICATIONS
(By Banya Hong Sar / Monland)
Publication of Mon books are strongly restricted by the
Burmese regime, a member of Mon Language Committee from the capital city of
While books published in the Burmese language are widely available, the government-appointed Scrutiny Board keeps a tight watch over the publication of books in the Mon language. The Mon Language Committee which has translated articles from Burmese for publication in the Mon language has faced a publication ban, the committee said. “It is a form of discrimination against the Mon” complained a Mon language publisher.
Mon literature can only be published if it is first
translated into Burmese language, but the Mon Language Committee faces frequent
delays and refusals when it seeks permission from the Scrutiny Board for
permission to publish magazines and journals. The Scrutiny Board has only
granted permission for religious books and magazines, a Mon publisher in
Mon scholars have attempted to publish magazines, journals
and books without political content in the Mon language but the Board has
refused them to grant permission. Only a few Mon language publication
can be found in
“It takes over a year to get permission but we can publish only a few books even though the demand by local people is high,” a Mon publisher said. A few books that contain no political content have been published in the last two years after the Scrutiny Board delayed the application.
Under the sponsorship of the New Mon State Party, a few Mon VCD music tapes have also been produced without permission. Mon music producers have no alternative but to make a deal with the cease-fire Party for production.
The majority of the Mon population now play Mon music on their recorders rather than listening to songs in other languages.
The current Burmese regime began restrictions on print and non-print productions in languages other than Burmese after 1999. The Mon annual magazines, “La Gam Arjar Noi”, “U-Dyam Hongsar”, “Anar-Got Mon” and “Ramsine Bop” were prevented from lodging an application permission to publish. The publishers waited for six months to get permission last year but now the regime has totally banned new applications, the source said.
Since publishers now face arrest if they print a book
without obtaining permission, only a few books are now available in
The Mon language publisher said, “It is an act of discrimination against us and it blocks us from freedom of expression”.
The Mon language Committee in
The Mon language is an ancient language and is commonly used
in Rahmonyadeca (Monland)
in
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Feature: Illegal
Gambling License by Burmese Army
SHOW ME THE MONEY
(By Kun Bop Htaw, / Monland, April)
Burmese police and the Fire Brigade Unit of Ye Township
seized over Kyat three millions at Bor
village in March at the funeral service of a local Buddhist monk. This is
not the first time such an event happened in
“A man from Kaw Tar village comes to play here on a motorcycle but returns with empty hands” a local gambler said.
A similar incident took place in Mudon township in March when Burmese soldiers from
IB 31 based in
A businessman in Mon state said gambling is going on
everywhere since Burmese troops have been deployed in almost every corner of
the city and towns in
The funeral for a Buddhist Monk has traditionally been
regarded as a religious event in the Mon community, but nowadays; local
authorities find it easy to take in extra personal cash by
granting licenses to gamblers or contractors to operate at such events.
The gambling groups comprised of local businessmen and authorities gained permission after dealing with local police, militia and military personnel.
They share the easy money collected from gamblers to the local authorities to gain a gambling permit.
In
A man from Ye, lost all his cash and had to sell his bike. Another man from Dammasa village approached a girl for engagement but after he lost his savings on gambling he had to wheedle the money out of his parents for his engagement party, a local source said.
A few women also sit at the gambling place (in the opened ground of the festival site) and they offer loans to the gamblers with personal contract at a interest rate of a hundred kyat for each thousand (10%) that they lend.
“If they won right now we will get the interest rate here” a money-lender said.
It seems most local people enjoy freedom of gambling than freedom of political movement in the country. The Burmese military authority turns a blind eye to low crime activities in the community unless a sense of anti-government activity takes place.
Local headmen who do not earn a salary from the State (government) always find ways of earning cash in the village. They seem to be little more than slaves of the military personnel because they must serve for food and drink when the top officials visit their villages. The local community is fed up with this system of administration. If the local headman can collect more cash from illegal gambling villagers felt comfortable. Otherwise, they will collect from the villagers. It is a looming place for ordinary people who only work at farm and garden for living.
“I didn’t see any big winner except the contractors (gambling permit holders)” said a 70-year old man from Ye.
Contractors collect the service fee for every fifteen
minutes as Kyat 500 per person in the game. Most games are begged up to 10000
per person for one game. Kyat 10000 is more than a monthly salary of local
teachers, nurses and office staff in
Children beg money for food and drink during the festival but most of them are surrounding in the game until the run out pocket money, local source said. Many conservative parents have concerned to the faith of their children who enjoy freedom of gambling in the community. This dilemma is that many children are sleeping on the lap of their mum during the night while parents are playing cards. Gamblers eat and sleep on the field over night with electricity run by a local generator. Food stalls are set up for the whole event at least over seven days in a place.
“A man lost his saving cash for building new home in the game” an community worker said. He is now facing a shame in the community for his madness. His old home is deteriorating.
The Burmese military authority has tactically uses a new political strategy to push local people in their camp, a camp of corruption and selfishness. The nature of Burmese politics has gone on its own way.
The State Peace and Development Council has implemented its ‘Four Social Objectives” as it reads; the second article, “Uplift of national prestige and integrity and preservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage and national character”.
As Burmese soldiers run illegal business with a deal of sex workers and gamblers via contractors in the community, its social objective is not more than a propaganda tool. The Burmese military authority declared it opens a “New Page” last year for Burmese politic but an “Old Page” still reading in the military handbook.
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CHECK-POINTS ALONG
THE RAILWAY OF DEATH LINE
(By Kun Yekha, April, 2003)
Passenger trucks have been running between
At the same time, several check points (gates) have appeared
along the route where fees are charged for every passengers travelling
on vehicles or on foot. The gates are named from A to Z, such as Thanbyu Zayat multi-organizations
gate,
A woman, who lives at Three Pagodas Pass, the Thai- Burma
border town, said, “There are 13 regular check points and about 10 irregular
check points on the way to the Three Pagodas Pass border town. The
Passengers and car owners have been charged or extorted for passing through at Thanbyu Zayat multi gate (multi gate comprised of several agents of SPDC), Three Pagoda Pass multi-orgs gate, Burmese Army LIB (550)' Taung Soon gate, LIB (550) Tactic Section No (2)' Anann Kwin gate, Thanbyuzayat based LIB (31)' Yetagun gate. The “multi-organization” checkpoints are comprised of the Red Cross group, Police, Immigration, local officials and Kyant Phook (USDA).
The DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) group operated at
The checkpoints fee for a passenger is between three to six thousands kyats (Burmese currency). With addition for a bus fare, a traveler has to spend ten thousand kyats for a trip from Thanbyuzayat to Three Pagodas Pass. The truck drivers collect the money and transfer it to the concerned check points on behalf of passengers which means half for the bus fare and half for check point fees. When an unexpected irregular gates is reached, the passengers have to spend extra money. Otherwise, his or her journey is unsafe and nobody is forgiven to pass.
Passengers who do not have an identity card or a letter of
recommendation from the NMSP are charged 1,500 Kyats
at the DKBA check point located at Chaung Zon village and about 5,00 kyats
at the other gates. Furthermore, passengers entering
A truck owner from the border town explained that they have to spend between 65,000 and 100,000 kyats per trip for the fees charged at the various gates. Depending on the cargo and passengers being carryied, they have to pay a slightly different amount. The persons in charge of the check points (gates) estimate the worth of loads (materials) on the truck and decide the rate how much they charge for a trip. They charge 10,000- 20,000 Kyat per motorcycle on the truck and the deal can be negotiated up on discussion and communication between the car owners and the gate officers.
The Thanbyu Zayat- Three Pagodas Pass route is used only in the dry season.
In the rainy season, Kya-inn Seikkyi - Krong Htaw waterway route is the only way, to access the border.
These two routes leading to
Since there is a move from the top in both countries to
build up the Thai-Burma border trade, the Burmese chairman of Myanmar-Thailand
Culture and Economy Association, Gen. Kyaw Than,
opened a branch office at Sangkhlaburi, Thailand on
November 29 last year. Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, the Prime minister of
The Thanbyu Zayat- Three Pagodas Pass motor road is bumpy, rough and broken. The trucks cannot run easily since it has not been repaired and maintained in spite of all the check- points along the road.
Mi Khamom Rot, the Thai- Burma border residence, said that monks, local villagers, bus drivers and passengers had to repair the road by themselves on the 1st of March. Since they have to pay several gate fees along the road, passengers and bus drivers bitterly complained, “What is the meaning of collecting these gate fees, we have to repair the road by ourselves.
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MON NEW YEAR IN
(Kao-Wao,
The Mon communities in
In the
The celebration included not only Mon people, but about three hundreds participants from the ethnic Karen, Tavoyan, Burman, Thai, Laotian, Sri Lankan and even American communities. The daylong celebration included New Year Dhamma chanting, offering of alms to the Buddhist monks and visitors.
Mon youths also entertained the guests with traditional dancing and singing.
In
The leader of the Mon community in the
In Monland, before
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