KAO
WAO NEWS No. 49
An electronic newsletter
for social justice and freedom in
July 21 -
READERS' FRONT
MON POLITICIANS IN PEGU
ARRESTED
ACTIVISTS
ACCUSED OF STATE ASSASSINATION
NO WORK PERMIT FOR NEW
MIGRANT WORKERS
5-MINUTE TOUCH
OPPOSITION OFFICES CLOSE, ROAD MAP PITCH CONTINUES
VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLE:
DIASPORA NEEDS DYNAMIC LEADERSHIP
TALK IN
NEW MON JOURNALS
MON LANGUAGE COURSE AT
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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
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Regards,
Editor
http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1215&lo=d&sl=0
_____________________________________________________
Dear Editor,
NSS
(
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MON POLITICIANS IN PEGU
ARRESTED
(Kao
Wao,
A
Mon politician and two youth leaders were arrested by the military junta in
Pegu near
According
to a local source, Nai Min Kyi, a candidate for Mon
National Democratic Front (MNDF) and two youth leaders Mehm
Shwe Man and Mehm Than Tun were arrested by the
authorities from the Pegu Division Peace and Development Council and taken to
Rangoon on July 17, 2003.
The
next day, a
The
reason for the crack down by the SPDC is not clear but the order came from the
authorities in
Nai Yekkha,
a former officer of the NMSP’s Public Relations
Department joined the Party from
Nai Min Kyi, a respected
community leader, has actively worked with the MNDF in the Pegu region and was
the Mon candidate for the Pegu Constituency during the 1990 election.
The
MNDF won 5 seats in the general election but its leaders Nai
Ngwe Thein, Dr. Min Kyi Win and Dr. Soe Lin were arrested in 1998 for their
political beliefs and are serving long prison terms in
********************************************************************************************
ACTIVISTS ACCUSED OF
STATE ASSASSINATION
(Kao-Wao,
The
Burmese military junta has arrested 12 activists for being involved in a state
assassination attempt against Burmese military leaders.
According
to a press briefing by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the authorities
have arrested 12 suspects including two members from the cease-fire group, the
New Mon State Party (NMSP) on July 17.
The suspects were allegedly to have been found with two grenades and a
cell phone linked to an explosion that occurred in
A
local source in Mon State reported that since July 17 when two youth leaders, Mehm Shwe Man and Mehm Than Tun
from the Mon National Democratic Front and their leader Nai
Min Kyi were arrested in Pegu and sent to Rangoon, the Military Intelligence
has intensified its search for additional suspects and explosive substances in
various areas in Mon State
According to news from
IMNA, the junta is deploying more security and setting up various checkpoints
and sending out Intelligence personnel in many areas to search for explosives
in passenger vehicles and ferries.
“They
are looking for suspects, they search every truck, car, and motorbike that
passes through here,” said a driver from Mudon. “The
authorities comprised of the police, immigration officials and the army, order
passengers to get out from buses and present their identity cards; after they
check through everybody’s belongings they are told to move on.”
The
regime has accused 12 detainees of plotting the assassination attempt against
military leaders. The activities of the NMSP are being closely watched over by
the SPDC’s military intelligence, ordering the cease-fire group members not to
hold any arms in their travels to cities.
On
July 1, the NMSP and six other ceasefire groups issued an official Statement
over the premeditated violent attack against Aung San Suu Kyi and her
supporters while on tour in upper
Nai Pong, a leader of Mon
National Democratic Front (Liberated Area) said MNDF has had nothing to do with
any violent attacks. Accusing
politicians as being terrorists is nothing but a tactic used by the regime
whenever they want to crack down on them to divert anger from civilians.
The
liaison office of the NMSP said that it has no knowledge of any (member’s)
arrests and is not involved in any violent activities; its objective is to
solve the political crisis through political means.
********************************************************************************************
Migrant Watch
NO WORK PERMIT FOR NEW
MIGRANTS
(By
Bop Htaw / Kao Wao)
July
31, 2003, Samutsakhorn -- Thousands of illegal
migrant workers from Burma, especially from the southern part, have been
waiting for a new Work Permit Card from the Labor Registration of the Royal
Thai Government’s Ministry of Labour.
Many
new arrivals including teenage girls have been hiding inside their flats
outside Mahachai city for several months. They dream
for the Work permit cards since July.
However, the Ministry of Labour, will not be
issuing cards for the new arrivals but will be renewing previous cardholders
only. Many won’t be able to find jobs if they cannot provide proof of a Work
Permit ID card to employers, but a few are providing their “labor on demand” in
the food processing factories.
The
Minister for Labour of Thailand went on prime time local television with a
brief message to Thai employers to remind employers to renew their employees’
migrant status or otherwise face legal punishment. However in Mahachai city alone, officially known as Samutsakhorn, there are hundreds of thousands of illegal
migrants scattered throughout the city who remain unemployed and unregistered
with the MOL.
“Illegal
migrant workers would not find safety in the future if they hold no Work Permit
cards” said Ko Myint Wai of Thai Action Committee for
Democracy in Burma (TACDB) who publishes Labour Affairs Network monthly
newsletter.
The
TACDB is concerned with the welfare of migrant workers in Mahachai,
the Committee advocates for a “fair go” for migrant workers. In 1997, the Committee conducted an “Evening
Learning Class” for migrant children but it was closed down in 1999 after
strong pressure by local Thai authorities. The Committee organized a second
course but it lasted only seven months for security reasons.
Many
young boys and girls have arrived with friends and siblings in the last six
months and are not able to find jobs without the Worker ID cards known in Thai
as “bard- raieng- ngan”
said Nai LaHoin, a social
worker from Mahachai.
According
to a Cabinet Resolution on Illegal Migrants dated on
Migrants
are allowed to work in the six categories of employment: general labourers,
land and water transport, mineral mining, pottery and brick making,
construction, rice mills, processing crop factories, processing wood factories
and warehouses. The second category is in fisheries and related industries,
fish sauce, prawns and ice factories. The others are labour intensive
employment in factories, domestic work, animal and vegetable farms, fruit
plantations etc.
Migrant
workers pay at least baht 7000-10,000 Baht each (160-230
“What
can they do? They live inside the flat and must depend upon friends and family
until they can land jobs or get a Worker ID card”, said Lamyom
Mon, a social worker for the Mon migrant workers. They don’t go outside the flats because they
fear arrest and attack by local Thai mafia gangs. “I don’t understand what the
situation is at home and why so many young people come here,” he added.
The
Three Pagodas Pass Border is a main route for migrant workers from southern
Mahachai city, a vast area
housing many hundreds of thousands migrant workers from Burma (mostly from Mon
State) come to escape economic destitution back home, they do not receive any
support from the Ministry of Labour of the Government of Union of Myanmar. Undocumented Burmese workers have no access
to the Myanmar Embassy in
********************************************************************************************
Sexual abuse during drug
campaign
5-MINUTE TOUCH
(Kao
Wao:
The
Thai authorities subjected three Mon migrant women to a strip search and sexual
abuse in its crackdown on drug trafficking in Mae Sot,
A
victim told Kao Wao that some Taw-Mall (Immigration
Police officer) raided her place to search for drugs amongst the migrant
workers.
Mi
Aye, one of the three victims, said a Taw-Mall burst into her room when her
husband was at work. Mi Aye along with
her two female friends who were visiting, hid in the
toilet and locked the door, the officers broke the lock and shouted at them to
come out from the toilet, and he then closed the doors of the main room.
Mi
Aye recalled that the Taw-mall told her he wanted to search for drugs and
wanted to do a body search on each woman. To do this, he told each woman to go
into the toilet where he forced the victim to remove her clothes so he could
sexually assault them with his hands.
The victims said the ordeal lasted five minutes for each woman.
The
Mon women want to complain about this sexual abuse, but are unable to because
of their illegal status in the country.
Burmese
migrants form a very vulnerable population in
Migrant
workers in Maharchai,
*******************************************************************************************
Security Alert
OPPOSITION OFFICES CLOSE, ROAD MAP PITCH CONTINUES
(Cited from
An ethnic Karen
women in the town said: "All the offices of dissident groups shut down.
Most members moved to other locations and a few went into hiding
yesterday." The source said she and others had been told authorities would
start arresting dissidents today.
On July 18, Thai
officials gave dissidents until the end of the month to leave Mae Sariang, close to the Thai-Burma border, opposite
On Tuesday morning
in Mae Sariang, border police arrested six members of
the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO), but they were released after being held
for eight hours at a local police station.
The arrests
prompted other groups to relocate ahead of the deadline. Offices of the All
Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) and the Karen National Union were among
the first to close.
Meanwhile
Surakiart also met
with ministers from
The Thai Foreign
Minister told the BBC he did not expect Win Aung to agree to the proposals he
had in mind but was confident the generals would respond favorably when they
heard the details of
Dissidents in Mae Sariang said they were frustrated about
"If they want
to win the confidence of opposition groups, cracking down on dissidents working
on Thai soil is not the way to do it. Such action only proves
Opposition groups
have responded to
*******************************************************************************
(Cited
from Reuters: By Aung Hla Tun in
Diplomats
said on Thursday the commentary in a newspaper, regarded as the junta’s
mouthpiece, showed that the ruling generals were unlikely to bend to growing
international pressure to free Suu Kyi. The Nobel laureate and other key
leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party have been detained
since the May 30 clash, known as Black Friday, between her supporters and a
pro-government group. The report came as an Asian and European foreign
ministers meeting on the Indonesian
"The
government welcomed and invited Daw Suu Kyi to follow the path of friendly
negotiations and on reaching a settlement," said the commentary in the New
Light of Myanmar daily.
"But
the undesirable fact is that Daw Suu Kyi and the NLD are trying to push
The
The
commentary said more sanctions would hurt the withdrawing investors, adding
that businessmen from other countries would readily take their place.
"The
most important thing is one should not be frightened whenever
intimidated," the commentary said. "The only requirement is to lay
down a firm policy and to continue to march towards the future in unity and
oneness."
The
military has ruled
A
Yangon-based Southeast Asian diplomat said the commentary was a sign that the
junta, the State Peace and Democracy Council (SPDC), were unlikely to free Suu
Kyi anytime soon.
"I
come to the conclusion the SPDC will not change its stance regardless of
outside pressure," the diplomat told Reuters. "They seem to be
determined to stick to their decision."
The
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministers were due to meet on
the sidelines of the current Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in
Myanmar,
which is not a member of ASEM, has not sent a representative to the ASEAN
meeting but is sending envoys to neighbouring countries in the coming days to
explain its stance.
For
three decades ASEAN has had a strict policy of non-interference in the internal
affairs of any member, but the grouping broke the policy last month to
criticize
Some
diplomats say the May 30 violence left dozens dead and was orchestrated by the
military government, with hundreds of youths attacking Suu Kyi's defenseless
convoy with bamboo and iron rods as she toured central
The
junta denies this and says four people died. The commentary on Thursday said
Suu Kyi could have avoided the clash because she and her entourage had been
warned in advance that opposing demonstrators were waiting for her. "They could have returned to
*********************************************************************************
KAO WAO’S VIRTUAL
ROUNDTABLE:
Discussion
on Kanbawza Win’s “Diaspora Needs Dynamic Leadership”
The
subject of the article, which I have slightly abbreviated, is worthy of further
consideration. The onus for initiative is now very firmly in the
expatriate Burmese camp (using the word "Burmese" in its largest
sense). Indeed, it always has been the
case, but now there is no excuse for believing otherwise.
For
some time, on free Burma, I fought an uphill battle against virulent personal
attacks against members of the NCGUB that left one completely uninformed of any
clear reasons for wishing to replace its members.
Such attacks not infrequently came from persons
rabidly opposed to ethnic nationality organizations currently in the forefront
of the fighting against the junta. In other words, if such individuals
were to play a role in determining the overall direction (or lack of
direction?) of the movement, as they clearly seemed to think they should, the
result would be more fragmentation within the movement, rather than more
cohesiveness.
This question of leadership is crucial, and it
is perhaps opportune to discuss it, in an OBJECTIVE, IMPERSONAL manner in order
to determine what needs to be
done, and how to do it. Change needs, if
humanly possible, to be a radical, but transformational, change of what already
exists.
Whatever is to be done, must occasion the
minimum of personal recriminations and divisiveness within the movement.
If news of change within the movement makes it into the world media, it should
ideally make for positive news, and not be seen as a sign of further division
within the movement.
What is needed is a leadership that is both
dynamic AND knowledgeable AND astute AND has the capacity to bring together all
the elements actively fighting the junta (and those who could be fighting it
tomorrow) AND has a mandate from the people of
It needs to be “Government of National Unity in
Exile", pending The Liberation of Burma from The Brutes.
Eric
BJ
--------------------------------------------------------------------
No
leader is perfect. I agree that Burmese
in exile needs a dynamic leadership but Kanbawza Win
is more negative in observing the work of NCGUB despite it has been working
enough to gain international attention for not restoration of democracy but
also nationalities rights of the future federal union.
Towards a Democratic Federal
Ko Ko Aye (
__________________________________
Since
the Depayin political attack on Daw Su and the
NLD by the SPDC authoritarian military state terrorists, the
democratic forces outside our beloved country,
But
if we really care and seriously think through the "Burmese Political
Problem", most of us and the leaders of the Democratic
Fronts are still locked into a "mental culture" that the
military-fascist leadership and the SPDC illegitimate state draws on to
legitimize its power. The
cultural values and belief systems the Burmese are embedded in does not
allow creative experimentation leading to innovation and positive dynamic
changes to flourish in the sphere of politics and economics.
Lately some have floated the idea that a
“new political organization" led by the “new generation"
that matured politically and organizationally, after the 1974 and
1988 political revolutionary protest-upheaval in
My position is that "political
leaders" whether it is the "old" or the
"new" generation of the “democratic forces" cannot be
determined by us outside of
Only within
With Solidarity
Myo
Nyunt
Edith
Cowan University
__________________________
With
a very small proportion of the Burmese Diaspora in
Clinging
tightly to their cultural grievances, which however justified, should be
secondary to rebuilding the trust that has dissolved after so many years of
divisive propaganda. Shouldn't there be more effort among the various factions
(this includes the ethnic and religious differences) to meet each other. If
they sit down to eat and talk, then labels disappear and people become
personalities.
And
yes, you will disagree about some things, but surely there are enough points in
common to find an avenue for constructive action. The first priority is the
regime change, but it needs some social glue to achieve that.
The
reconstruction of
Fiona
-----------------------
I
see the mental culture at work a lot and it is incapacitating politically
at least, and yes the leaders are inside but the Diaspora needs leadership too
and it is ok to have some outside and it is more about leadership than actual
leaders.
Janelle
*********************************************************************************
Opinion & Analysis
TALK IN
(By
Bop Htaw / Monland: August
2003)
Talk
in
Is
this right? Sanctions will hand over
more political power to
Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of National League for Democracy has a
legitimate right to campaign throughout the country to increase public
awareness in the struggle for democracy.
Leaders of the NLD are reluctant to call for an “Unconditional/Genuine
Peace” in the country while over ten anti-government armed forces are still
actively engaging in a battle against the
According
to the Mon Relief Committee based on the Thai-Burma border in southern part of
the country, insurgent attacks often take place in the border area between the
Karen and Burmese army along the
Karen
and Mon insurgent forces in Southern Ye and along Ye River area oppose the
ceasefire agreement with the ruling military junta. The Karen National Union is the leading
insurgent force in southern
Without
unconditional peace in
Democratic
forces in exile should review their position by revamping their ideas for
democracy and in cooperating more effectively with the non-Burman political
organizations and its armed forces based in the border areas. Over the last fifty years, the non-Burmans
were not only engaged in an armed struggle for “Democracy” but also for
“Political Rights” and “Self-Determination” for their civil, cultural and
political rights. Some non-Burmans armed
organizations have fought for “Full Independence” rather than “Self-Determination”
for over half a century. However, the
non-Burman leaders have signaled that they are prepared to talk peace and
democracy in
Bi-lateral
talks have failed. The Tripartite dialogue has not even been part of the
dialogue equation in
If
Senior General Than Shwe and his top military
officials are committed to “Peace and Development” in the country, let the
citizens gather for assembly and hold a “National Convention” without military
interference on the ground. The military
regime’s mentality is slow to change, no single
citizen is allowed to participate in the local or national politics contrary to
what the Burman representative stated at a recent United Nation’s Security
Council meeting on (23.07.2003).
Ceasefire
leaders are not fools but indeed they have an obligation to serve their
organizations and their people under the prevailing circumstances. However, unless leaders of Burman and
non-Burman build a genuine “Political Trust” among themselves right now,
Burmese
military officials have accused the non-Burman leaders and its armed forces of
the “Break or Divide the Union of Burma” game, while the non-Burman leaders
have accused the government as being bent on “Burmanization
or Burmanizers”, going on now for well over fifty
years. It’s a strong position to take for new political actors to confront
whether these are factual elements that are blocking political settlement in
the country.
The “Tatmadaw” may wish to restore democracy
or human rights in the country but senior military officials remain firmly
stuck in the mud or past, as sticks in the mud (pun intended) to not grant any
“political rights” for the non-Burman population. Successive Burmese army officials have stuck
by the old rule of cultural homogeny categorizing all citizens of
The
charismatic leader Daw Suu Kyi confronts a way of thinking that has been in
place for centuries, for the generals it is the natural way to do things to
maintain peace and order throughout the country. She and everyone involved in the struggle
must figure out a clever way to shift their thinking so as to draw up a
relationship of understanding based on a “Peace Plan” to facilitate between the
Burman and non-Burman people and leaders and establish concrete incentives to
move things forward in the right direction that ensures stability. It is sad that while pro-democracy leaders
talk about democracy in
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Literature and culture
NEW MON JOURNALS
(Kao-Wao,
The
third issue of Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO) Journal was published
on the Thai-Burma border and widely distributed in both countries.
The
junta endorses repression on intellectual activities and the publishing of
literature in all its forms in
The
forty-page journal contains articles, poems, comic strips, and interviews on
issues related to youth, nationalism, and political development written in Mon
and Burmese from the liberated area.
MYPO
was formed after a gathering of Mon youths at Sangkhalaburi
border town,
The
********************************************************************************************
MON LANGUAGE COURSE AT
(Banya Hongsar /
For
the last three months, a Mon Language Teaching Course is being offered at Silapakon University, in the heart of Bangkok, directed by
a groups of volunteers of Mon scholars living in Thailand. Over twenty students including leading
academics from various universities in
Maha Jaraunn,
a Mon monk scholar with an M.A. at the
“We
must preserve our language and literature right now to prevent further
destruction to our moral society within the context of globalization,” Sunthorn addressed.
The
Mon Teaching Course is not a formal class for international studies but is for
the university staff to integrate the Mon language as part of the Thai Studies
Program. Khun Sunthorn
described the close relationship between the Royal Siam Families and the Mon
Royal servants in the past two hundreds years.
According
to Khun Sunthorn, the Mon in Thailand deserve
awareness and respect for their language and culture right after the Hongsawatoi Kingdom (Pegu) was invaded in Burma by the
Burmese, after having been discriminated against by successive Burmese
governments before, during, and after the colonial period.
“When
I visited local Mon temples outside of
Currently,
many Mon from
“The
palm scripts not only contain scholarly research into art studies but are also
a guide to how to behave in the family,” Sunthorn
explained to the audience.
A
young lady flies in weekly from Phuket in southern
A
similar project is being developed at the Thai Khadee
Research Institute at the
Khun
Sunthorn has studied Mon history for over twenty
years both in
Over
the last ten years, Mon palm script studies are becoming more recognized in the
Thai academic community in Bangkok while the Mon are being left out of the
picture with no further opportunity to run Mon Studies. To address this
problem, individual Thai and Mon Scholars are united to go ahead with funding
the pilot-project with their own money.
“If
we have a Mon Studies Resource Center in
The
free Mon Language Teaching Course is initiated by the Thai-Raman Association
chaired by Hon. Dr. Su-ed Gajaseni at the
For
further information about the Mon Studies and Language visit www.monland.org or email mul@anet.net.th
*************************************
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