KAO WAO NEWS No. 69
An electronic
newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma
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READER'S FRONT
POOR FORCED TO PAY
FOR BASIC EDUCATION
CONSCRIPTED
WAITING MIGRANTS
SUFFER FROM MALARIA
FORCED
ARMY CONFISCATED 800
ACRES FROM VILLAGERS
VILLAGERS ABDUCTED
AND KILLED BY
TV LICENSE IN
CIVILIANS WELCOME
IMPRISONED LEADERS
KAREN UNITY SEMINAR
HELD AT THE BORDER
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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 grow
to serve better the needs of those seeking social justice in
Regards,
Editor
kaowao@hotmail.com, kaowao@shaw.ca
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On civilians welcome imprisoned leaders by Taramon, Kao Wao
The news on the release of our Mon leaders will surely receive a strong and immensely warm welcome by all Mon communities within the homeland as well as overseas.
I had a chance to welcome General Htaw Mon and other
leaders from the New Mon State Party in front of
I thank you all who are employed at the IMNA and Kao Wao for their news postings. I believe strongly that families and friends of our MNDF leaders greeted them with open arms and with tears of joy.
Without involvement from the MNDF and NMSP, there is no
productivity or advancement both in social, economic, and political reform, as
well as in the national coalition of
I strongly believe that the Mon people who have to live
under Burmese domination and regime, who have lived our lives in utter fear for
two and half centuries, are sooner or later going to reach our goal of
regaining self determination for the Ramonnya Mon
State that is in co-operation with 7 other nations. We will live in a harmony
within a Federal Union with all ethnicities in
We, international Mon communities, will continue supporting your MNDF and NMSP works. Our overseas Mon works are to support leaders of the MNDF and NMSP; and to help Mon people who are forced to live in fear of the SPDC.
Victory is in our hands,
Rotmon H (
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Life in
POOR FORCED TO PAY
FOR BASIC EDUCATION
(By Taramon and Lita Davidson:
Where only 40% of the population complete primary
education in
"The entrance fees are 4,000 Kyats, in which students pay for the upkeep of the school which includes repairing it," a township resident from Mudon city said. "They pay not in cash but by donating materials needed to repair the school, such as cement, logs, and galvanized iron sheets or they cannot attend," he added.
The school entrance fees vary in different areas in
But every student in Hnee PaDol village, southern
In Pa-An Township,
Students at the Thai-Burma border town also pay a
higher fee for their basic education. At
Normally, students at primary schools spend 315 Baht for middle school, 600 and 1,000 Baht for high school, said a student's parent.
Since 1990 the Burmese government's spending on social sector services has steadily declined, one of the lowest levels of public investment in the world (Source: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/).
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CONSCRIPTED
(By Banyear Toay,
Kao Wao:
The SPDC is using forced labor in Tenasserim Division to prepare for a school in spite of its claim to have abolished its use to the International Labor Organization.
About ten tons of logs were needed to prepare the primary school in Ye Byu Township and Infantry Battalion No. 410 ordered the village headmen to collect the logs by forced laborers according to local witness.
"This month, seven villagers worked daily to cut down the trees and saw them. They had to go into the forest, about half a day walk, to cut the trees," a community leader Nai Ong Lawi said. "They must pile and transport the logs onto a two cow wheel wagon to the village."
The village headmen organized the unpaid laborers to prepare the school in about two week's time. The villagers paid all expenses including engine oil; they also supplied their own water and food. The household who cannot provide the laborers can hire other villagers to work as forced labor paying 1,000 Kyats per day for their work, said Lawi.
The SPDC township education department, he said, cooperated with the local military to implement the project with forced labor in the village. There is a mobile troop based in the village and Sergeant Nyi Nyi Aung is heading the patrolling base. He is the main person to implement the whole works regarding to the SPDC.
The village headmen are selected by the villagers but they are under the control of the local commander and township authority. "There are three teachers and over one hundred students in the primary school," Lawi said.
The village consists of about 100 households and the villagers are mostly made up of Mon, with the minorities Tavoyan and Burman. Villages in this area usually pay around one thousand kyat to their headmen, who is given to the SPDC for its own purposes such as organizing meetings and hosting senior authorities while staying in the village reported local villagers.
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Migrant Watch
WAITING
MIGRANTS SUFFER FROM MALARIA
(Banyear Toay
Taw:
Migrant workers who are waiting along the border to enter
"Nearly all of us suffer from malaria," said
Ms. Mi Kun Sorn from
"Some of them were treated at the hospital. One patient nearly died after the local medic gave him the wrong prescription. Fortunately, he was admitted at the MSF clinic and recovered," said a 30 year old woman, who left her two children at the village with her parents.
When asked if they slept with mosquito nets the migrant workers said no. The makeshifts are built too small and are dark and dirty.
The reasons for the deadly diseases are; migrant workers are placed in strict areas with poor living conditions, and they are not allowed to see outsiders complained a social worker from Thai Burma border.
Some migrants also bring allow their young babies (3 to 5
years old) and some leave their children with their mothers. A
grandmother in her 50s said she came to
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FORCED
(By Field reporter Banyeah Toay:
Local civilians have fled from their villages in Southern Ye of Mon State after the Burmese Army ordered them to build roads linking all the villages in the area.
A village headman from the area said, "We cannot work for our family because we have to work for their (SPDC) needs."
Nai Cuu who is now staying at the Mon Refugee camp with his family said the BA ordered one person from every household to construct the road.
The road is for the use of the SPDC's
troops to attack Mon guerilla groups, said a villager who just arrived at the Halockhanee camp waiting to enter
They aim completing the road for military purposes only. When asked by Kao Wao about any forced labor; Nai Cuu said, "His villagers have worked about 10 days a month to complete a 3 mile stretch along the road to connect to other villages."
According to a revered Buddhist monk, the cease-fire agreement between the Mon and the military junta has caused only increased suffering of the local people and the New Mon State Party is unable to protect their civilians from being tortured, killed, and raped.
A woman from Ye who just arrived at Sankha said, "I'm very happy to leave my village because we could not earn money there and could not go to work in the farm as the military orders to stay away from our farm." The local people also have to build roads ordered by the military commander so they cannot survive and take care of themselves she added.
Nai Ong
from Yong Deane (Yin Dane) village reported that ten young men have left the
village for the border area with him because of severe human rights abuses.
Almost all have been forced into portering and forced
labor ordered by the BA. This situation has forced many to flee to
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ARMY CONFISCATES 800 ACRES FROM VILLAGERS
(Based on IMNA report:
The Burmese Army ordered Village Peace and Development Council to confiscate 800 acres of farmland after they summoned a meeting.
The Village PDC members from Hnee Padaw and Kwan Hlar who were called upon to meet in Thanbyu Zayat said, "The Infantry Battalion No.31's Army Officer plans to take over farmlands for four battalions near Thanbyu Zayat."
"Soon, the army will survey these farmlands in
southern Mudon and
However, the order said the army would confiscate the farmlands in which owners do not cultivate the lands and which are un-registered.
Thanbyu Zayat based Infantry Battalion No.31 gathered the township PDC chairpersons at its headquarters on June 2 and discussed about the farms for army. The officers mentioned that the army does not have to fight the ethnic rebels anymore because the Karen are about to reach a cease-fire. When the fighting stops, there will be no work for the soldiers and they will need the lands to exploit for their purposes.
Last year, the Burmese Artillery Regiment No.318 confiscated farmland of about 300 acres in Yaung Daung village, Southern Mudon Township.
Four battalions: No. 4 Southeast Command's Central
Military Training, Infantry Battalion No.62, Artillery Regiment No.315 and
Infantry Battalion No.31 are based in Thanbyu Zayat,
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VILLAGERS
ABDUCTED AND KILLED BY
(By Banyeah Toay
Taw:
The Burmese Army abducted three villagers and a man was shot to death after the victim refused to pay money in southern Mon state.
According to villagers, two women and one man from Ham
Gam, southern Ye Township were kidnapped by the BA on
A survivor said their man was killed after arguing he had no money to pay the kidnappers. A local village headman reported that some soldiers from the BA spoke Mon and disguised themselves as Mon freedom fighters.
The Army opens Mon language classes at the military base for their soldiers in order to avoid a language barrier during military operations to wipe out the armed guerrillas. "The bad use of learning Mon language is that they can pretend to be Mon rebels and attack villagers", said a Mon community leader from Ye.
Among the brutal military officers in Ye area, Captain Lin Oo, also known as Nai Charn Mon, which literarily means Mon patriot, is the most infamous one among civilians according to local villagers. The BA has launched a military offensive against the Mon armed group since December 2003 in southern Ye area.
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TV LICENSE IN
(Independent Mon News Agency:
The Burmese government Television and Communication
Department has ordered everyone to register their TVs for issuing license in
southern
"The authorities are implementing this process; they issued the order last week and they are collecting number of TVs from every home in southern Mon state," said U Hla Kyaing, a local resident of Mudon.
"We have paid 2,000 Kyat for a TV registration. If someone wants to register, the person has to go to the office for the license and if they fail to do so the person will be fined," he added.
The Television and Communication Department is
conducting the registration in
"They are making money because many people work in
neighboring countries (
"Last year we only paid 700 kyat for the
registration," said U Thein Oo from Kyaitmayaw in
Many unregistered TVs in southern
"It is not necessary; in
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CIVILIANS WELCOME
IMPRISONED LEADERS
(By Taramon, Sangkhlaburi:
MNDF leaders were warmly welcomed by their supporters after
the military junta released them from
The MNDF (Mon National Democratic Front) members from Mon and Karen States swiftly came down to the capital of Mon State to greet their leaders after they were informed about the release of political prisoners through international broadcasting radio stations, said a senior member from Karen State.
"I have met General Secretary Dr. Soe Lin; Vice Chairman Nai Ngwe Thein and Joint Secretary Dr. Kyi Winn were already taken to their homes by the Military Intelligence (MI)," said Nai Sar Tin from Pha- Ann Township, Karen State. "They all are looking good and have more strength than before, because they are committed politicians," he added.
Dr. Min Soe Lin (aka) Nai Joon
Ta-Mah rushed to
According to local source, Nai Ngwe Thein also arrived at his
residence on June 4 at
When asked about the future plans of the MNDF, Tin said it is too early for the party to start any activities and they have to wait and see what will happen in the political climate regarding the SPDC's National Convention.
Most of senior members such as the spokesperson Nai Pan Aung and Nai Sar Tin are in their 70s.
The MNDF won 5 seats in the general election in 1990 but it was disbanded by the SPDC junta.
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KAREN UNITY SEMINAR
HELD AT THE BORDER
(Kao Wao;
The Third Karen National Unity Seminar was held in a liberated area near the Thai Burma border.
The source from Karen political community reported, the
seminar was attended by 99 delegates from 19 organizations from May 31 to
The Seminar called upon the Karen people to strive on with unwavering
determination and courage, the rights of the Karen people to determine their
own destiny, establishment of democracy and a genuine federal union.
It also urged the international community and the Karen
people to endeavor to agree to a genuine federal union in
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(Cited from Reuters,
The EU want to block Myanmar from Asia -Europe meeting (ASEM), which Asian countries say should also include Cambodia and Laos besides the 10 nations that acceded to the EU on May 1.
As the clock tick down with little sign of a solution in
sight,
''I wouldn't say there's an SOS now (from
Asked if the ASEM meeting was in jeopardy of if he thought the EU would boycott the event, he said:'' It's too early to say. I think we should let diplomacy continue.''
His office had not intervened, Ong
added, but had left it to
Besides ASEAN and EU, ASEM's other
members are
Thing came to a boil on Monday when the EU cancelled two ministerial meetings with A countries after several EU member states refused to grand even observer status in the dialogue to Myanmar, a virtual pariah for suppression of political opponents.
'' The Vietnamese are very concerned,'' one diplomatic source said.'' They are doing everything they can to get a solution that is acceptable to all parties.''
Another diplomatic source said the ASEM summit was unlikely
to be cancelled over the
ASEM is viewed as a valuable forum for cooperation on security concerns such as terrorism, immigration, organized crime and regional issues such as the tensions on the Kprean penisula.
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