KAOWAO NEWS NO. 114
Newsletter for social justice and
freedom in Burma
July 29-
Dwindling forest spurs land
purchases in Three Pagodas Pass
Confiscated smuggled goods
worth billions Burmese Kyat
Plight of refugees uncertain
as applicants ordered to enter camp
Mon Resistance Day celebrated
in Canada
Statement on the 18th
anniversary of the General Uprising in Burma
New motor road brings hope and
the desperate
Vehicle owners turn to KNU to
hide their motorbikes and cars
Canadian Conference on
Calling for Volunteers
Professors and Lecturers (AEIOU)
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Dear
readers,
We
invite comments and suggestions on improvements to Kaowao
newsletter. With your help, we hope that Kaowao News
will continue to grow to serve better the needs of those seeking social justice
in
Regards,
Editor
Kaowao News
kaowao@hotmail.com, www.kaowao.org
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Dwindling forest spurs land
purchases in
(Kaowao:
Businessmen glittery-eyed over
the prospect of setting up rubber plantation projects are pushing up the price
of selected farmland in the Three Pagodas Pass area along the Thai-Burma
border, according to town residents.
“Recently,
the forest around this area has been depleted and the furniture industry in this
border town is on the verge of collapse because of dwindling supplies of
lumber. Businessman Nai Ba
San and others are in the process of buying up land to grow rubber plantation
crops since rubber will be more prosperous in the future due to economic development,
especially in the automobile industry, in China and the region,” Nai Lwin, a town resident said to
Kaowao.
Compared with land in the border
area, the latest rubber plantation land value in central
A trader from Ye said the other
reason for the land purchase is that civilians do not want to keep money due to
the deteriorating economy and the lack of trust with the military
government. Nai Klaw,
another businessman from Thanbyu Zayat
said investing in real estate including rubber plantations is an option to
avoid increased inflation.
However, in Bee Ree of eastern Ye, the value of
rubber plantations are much lower than other areas due to poor access to
plantations which is by 4 wheel drive, the lack of manpower, and enough rice to
feed the workforce. About 5000 rubber plantation plots are being sold for
about 20 million kyats, at half the value in central
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Confiscated smuggled goods worth billions Burmese Kyat
(Kaowao:
Confiscation of goods imported
from
It is thought that the operation
came about after a conflict within the Burma Army and some officers who were
arrested for corruption. The State Peace and Development Council launched
an operation to crackdown on illegal vehicles and goods from
A trader from
“About
600 million Kyats of goods in Myawaddy were confiscated by the SPDC
authorities. Many people are not happy about the situation and Myawaddy
was like a ghost town after numerous operations took away the residents means
of transport,” said a town resident.
Authorities from the Burma Army
arrested traders in July and seized motorcycles and goods imported from
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Plight of refugees uncertain as applicants ordered to enter camp
(Kaowao:
Sangkhalaburi – Registration
for asylum seekers started in Sangkhalaburi last
week. About two hundred Burmese refugee applicants are ordered to enter a
refugee camp by mid August to determine their fate.
A
source close to the Thai local authorities reported that a Provincial
Administration Board meeting, held on July 18, agreed to relocate all asylum
seekers into the camp on the Thai-Burma border during August where interviews
will be conducted. The screening of applicants is to determine their refugee
status with some being deported if their case is rejected.
In 2004, 274 people in Sangkhalaburi,
Most of the asylum seekers are
Mon, Karen, Tavoyan and Burman from rural areas in
Burma and have fled from forced voluntary labour from the Burmese government
and human rights abuses by the Burmese military over the past two years.
“Even
though Mon NGO workers in this area are being pressured by the Thai authorities
to move these people into the camps for interviews, many don’t want to apply
for refugee status. Their security is uncertain and it is difficult to
work. Life inside the camp is uncomfortable and low standard, but it is
our only hope,” said Nai Htow
from Pa-an Township who escaped forced labour 5 years
ago. They are expecting to enter the camp and resettle in a third country
in the coming months.
Mon NGOs say because the waiting
process is too long and often geared toward ‘just relocating people’ within an
uncertain environment with no options for survival, which often prompts asylum
seekers to move on to Bangkok or other areas of Thailand to find work to
support themselves.
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Mon Resistance Day celebrated
in Canada
(Kaowao:
Mon community in Calgary gathered
for 59th Anniversary of Mon Resistance Day that coincidently falls
on the same day of the 18th anniversary of Burma’s democracy
uprising (8.8.88) and the death of Mon national leader Nai
Nonlar.
Organized by the Mon Canadian
Society of Alberta, the event was attended by members of Mon community on
Sunday, August 6. Statement and speeches were delivered by community leaders
Nai Zehan, Nai Khaing Waeng
and Cham Toik followed by
discussions on the current situation in
The Mon Resistance Day
commemorates the beginning of the armed struggle against the central government
in 1948. When the British granted independence to
Back home in
A joint statement on the 18th
anniversary of (8.8.88) uprising was drafted by the overseas Mon community
calling the SPDC regime to immediately stop the practice of ethnic cleansing,
and all forms of human rights violations against the Mon and ethnic
nationalities. They also demand to initiate a tripartite dialogue
comprised of ethnic nationalities, elected representatives and the military
regime.
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Statement on the 18th
anniversary of the General Uprising in Burma
(
Eighteen years ago today, people
from all walks of life took to the streets and demanded civilian rule in
During the 18 years of military
rule, human rights violations have escalated in
The international community has
repeatedly called on the regime for national reconciliation and restoration of
democracy in
On this historic occasion, we
strongly urge the international community to support the efforts to bring the
We also call for the military
regime to
(1) immediately
stop the practice of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and all forms of human rights
violations against the Mon and all other ethnic nationalities,
(2) immediately
withdraw its military forces from the homeland of the Mon and other ethnic nationalities,
(3) immediately
initiate a genuine tripartite dialogue comprised of leaders of ethnic
nationalities, elected representatives, and military regime as recommended by
the United Nations,
(4) immediately
release all political prisoners including Nai Yekha and Nai Cheem
Gakao.
This statement is jointly issued
by:
1. The
2. Euro-Mon Community
3. Mon Canadian Society of
4. Monland
Restoration Council (
5. Mon National League for
Consolidating and Aiding (Mae Sot,
6. Mon Women's Association of
7. Mon Unity League (
8. Overseas Mon National
Students’ Organization
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New motor road brings hope and
the desperate
(Taing Taw,
Kaowao:
A new motor road constructed by
the SPDC’s rural development program brings not only hope but the desperate,
according to local villagers.
“I am happy to have this new motor road crossing through my village
so we can get to other towns. The motor road helps us to transport sick
people to the towns or cities nearby to receive medical care. However, we
are not happy with strangers who are constantly asking us for money now,” said
a young Mon woman from southern
“Many
strangers come here asking for money or forcing us to buy something, these
groups are backed by the Township authority. They say they are from the
Disabled Burmese Association, Child Orphan Group, Burmese Army Veteran
Organization and Religious groups, etc,” said Miss Mi Jatanarmon,
from the Mon village in
The new motor road was
constructed by the SPDC rural development program through extortion, forced
labour and is built on confiscated land.
“The
new motor road is traveled by small scale businesspeople. Many groups
come in and stay temporarily at my temple and then beg for money from us,” said
an abbot from the central
The monk added, “many are SPDC groups seeking out the village
administration’s help to extort money from people forcefully in the same way
the local troops do.”
Mi Guchai,
another woman from
“The
Burmese speaking strangers choose these villages because it is easily
accessible for them to do so, as compared to other places which are difficult
to access,” she added.
As the country gets poorer and
poorer, the poor people from central
“There
is a steady stream of people coming here now, they cannot afford to buy food,
so we need to provide them with food and other things during their stay in the
monastery,” the monk from Thanbyu Zayat
said.
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Vehicle owners turn to KNU to
hide their motorbikes and cars
(Kaowao:
Sangkhalaburi -- Vehicle owners in
“In
previous years, vehicle owners sought the help of the KNU to hide their
vehicles in their area by paying about 6,000 Baht,” said a resident who
requested not to be named.
Most unlicensed vehicles were put
in areas of KNU territory after the owners heard about the confiscation orders
from Nepyidaw (new capital) three days ago that local
police would take unlicensed vehicles. The local Burmese Army, LIB No.63 led by
Lt Colonel Aye Kyaw is heading the operation.
Sources from
“The
local authorities started to confiscate vehicles three days ago, but they are
not totally enforcing the crackdown after receiving the orders,” a young
community worker from
“The
local police and authorities are able to survive financially by extorting money
from people with unlicensed vehicles; if they confiscate all unlicensed
vehicles they won’t be able to survive,” said another local source.
However, the State Peace and
Development Council have not only started to crackdown on illegal vehicles, but
also on other illegal businesses, including money exchange outfits and gold
shops in Myawaddy on the border town opposite of Mae Sot of Thailand, a source
from a Mon NGO worker said in Mae Sot.
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Canadian Conference on
(Kaowao:
A Canadian Burma Conference
organized by the Canadian Government and NGOs was held on July 15-16, in
According to Mahn
Kyaw Shwe, an organizer of the Canadian Conference on
The participants also welcomed
Canadian NGOs working in the border area who help refugees and internally
displaced people in the areas controlled by the SPDC Burmese army, other issues
regarding women and children were also discussed.
A paper on the changing role of
the UN special envoy on
The participants also addressed
essential goals of restoring human rights and freedoms, an accountable
justice system and other institutions stressing the participation of all
Burmese citizens in relation to all forms of violation and abuses that have
become common practice on the part of the SPDC army and local
authorities. They agreed to take further action within the Canadian
Campaign for
The Conference claimed that
companies like the Sino-Hydro Group or the Electricity Generating Authority of
Thailand (EGAT) in
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Calling for Volunteers
Professors and Lecturers
Chiang Mai University AEIOU
Programme is calling for volunteers Professors and Lecturers for the 2007 Cold
Season Semester (Jan to May 2007) in the following Disciplines:
Social Sciences:
Peace
Studies
Women
Studies
Political
Science
International
Relations
Democracy
and Human Rights
Sustainable Development
Human Geography
Peripheral and Utopian
Humanities:
French,
German,
Ethnic
languages of
Shan,
Sagaw
Karen,
Kachin,
Kayah,
Mon
Information Technology:
Junior
level
Intermediate
level
Higher level
Pedagogy Subjects (junior level):
Educational
Philosophy,
Theory
and Practice,
Psychology,
Guidance,
School
management
School
Administration and Supervision,
Methodology
Integrated
Languages Skill
Still
and Performing Arts,
Home
Economic and Health Care
Physical
Education
Human
Relationship
*Pure Sciences:
Physics,
Chemistry,
Mathematics
Botany,
Zoology
The disciplines in Pure Sciences will be opened only if we have enough
material and human resources.
Like
any other
Any
qualified person who is interested in teaching to the marginalized youths of
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Tel: + 66 7 169-0971, + 66
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archive: http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1215&lo=d&sl=0
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Our motto is working together for
lasting peace and change.