Newsletter
for social justice and freedom in
Readers' Front
Mon entertainer charged for rural bridge
accident
Burmese government restricts ethnic national
dress
Attacks on ethnic women during military
operation
Final tribute to revered Mon Buddhist Monk
draws thousands
NMSP urged to maintain arms amid gov’t pressure
HTM: the silent killers in lower Burma
Ivanhoe Mines in the process of divesting from
Canadian Parliamentary Friends of
Identity, Conflict and National Reconciliation
in
Climate Change vs
Mother Nature
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Readers'
front
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Kaowao News
kaowao@hotmail.com,
www.kaowao.org
***************************************
Mon entertainer charged for rural bridge
accident
Kaowao:
Ye -- One of the most popular Mon entertainers
has been charged with negligence after causing an accident in early in December
that killed two people.
Chit Soe (aka) Nai Soe
Tin, the owner of Mon Chit Soe Dance Troupe was
charged by Ye township police and will be brought to the court for the final verdict
today according to his manager.
Two entertainers died and others were injured
in a car accident on December 2 while the entertainer’s vehicle loading the
group crossing the bridge between Hnit-kayin of Ye and Anin of Thanpyuzayart
Township suddenly lost control striking the guardrail and crashing into other
vehicles.
Chit Soe had
negotiated with the local authorities to close the case spending 10 million Kyats to settle the lawsuit. However, authorities say
damage to the railway and bridge will cost more.
The Independent Mon News Agency, on
A fan of Mon Chit Soe
said the performer was not at fault for causing the accident, because the
bridge is equipped to handle many vehicles, even a train and that his truck was
within the overall weight capacity. However, it is thought that the bridge was
already in a poor state and that the government itself is to blame for the
accident due to poor infrastructure.
The local Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare
Association organized the three-night performance. Chit Soe
from Taung Bon of Northern Ye, with a talent for
dancing, singing, and acting, developed the modern Dance Troupe fifteen years
ago. He became very popular and has not only attracted a following from among
the Mon but also other Burmese. His troupe is one of the biggest
entertainment groups in southern
According to a Mon leader, the government’s
charges against him stem from the government’s tactic in suppressing non-Burman
entertainers. A vehicle belong to Chit Soe was
confiscated by the Thanbyu Zayat
SPDC in 2004.
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Culture and literature
Burmese government restricts ethnic national
dress
Kaowao:
The State Peace and Development Council
authorities have prohibited students attending the
"Since July this year, the SPDC had
ordered us to wear the college’s uniform, white shirt and blue longyi, but the teachers (in this campus) who understand
our traditional spirit don’t restrict us too much, but we still can’t wear our
traditional clothes,” complained a Mon student from Pa-Auk campus.
This year in September, the SPDC’s
Southeast Military Command prohibited
To preserve their cultural identity, Mon
university students normally wear their dress (red sarong and white shirt)
every Monday out of respect for their indigenous culture, as do most ethnic
groups in
However, recently all ethnic nationalities have
been ordered not to wear their traditional clothes on university campuses. In
the face of increasing repression of social activities, Mon students feel most
affected because many Mon attend GTC and MU in the capital of city of
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Attacks on ethnic women during military
operation
Kaowao:
Ye -- Several women were rounded up and
tortured by the SPDC’s Burmese Army in retaliation
for an ambush attack by a Mon guerrilla group during a military operation in
southern Ye, Mon State early this month.
According to Mon refugees, who recently fled
from the Khawzar area, Mon women were beaten up and
the men were given electrical shocks by the Burmese troops from Infantry
Battalion No. 31.
“After the guerrilla group carried out a
surprise attack on the Burmese troop, they accused the local villagers of
giving information on their movements. About a hundred villagers nearby were
summarily tortured including children and women,” says an eyewitness, Nai Lin Aung from Khawzar, who gave testimony to a human rights worker on the
border. The accurate number of people tortured is unknown and humanitarian
access is not possible due to the insecurity.
The BA has had a skirmish with the dissident
group led by Nai Sook Gloin (nicknamed long hair) on
“The more the villagers are tortured, the more
support will be given to the guerrilla group, the villagers are extremely
unhappy with human rights abuses by the Burmese Army," commented Rev. Aopaesa, a young monk from southern Ye,
“The lives of ethnic people have no value, no
one comes to their aid and the army will not be punished for their actions,”
says a human rights worker from the border. Mon women and children are
increasingly subjected to violence and restriction of their movements whenever
the Burmese Army is active in their area.
After the New Mon State Party reached a cease-fire agreement with the military
junta in 1995, Nai Hloin
split from the party to take up arms against the Burma Army. The two
brothers, Nai Hloin and Nai Bin were active until early 2005 before they sought a
safe haven in
Thailand Burma border based, Human Rights
Foundation of Monland, on December 12, has called on
the international community to pressure the military junta to immediately halt
the arbitrary arrests and inhuman treatment of innocent civilians.
********************************
Final tribute to revered Mon Buddhist Monk
draws thousands
Kaowao:
Sangkhalaburi – Amid stormy skies
and lightning strikes in Sangkhlaburi on the Thai
Burma border, Mon civilians are gathering to pay final tribute to Ajar Tala Uttama who passed away in
October at the age of 96.
Colonel Nai Kaorot, a senior leader of the New Mon State Party said the
Abbot's devotees from southern Burma, neighbouring Sangkhlaburi, will be bussed in by the NMSP for their
journey up to Waengka Wiwekaram
Buddhist Temple in Sangkhalaburi, a tiny hilltop town
in a mountainous area of Kanchanaburi province on the
Thai Burma border.
Civilians, dignitaries, politicians, devotees,
and members of NMSP from Thaton,
People are gathering to remember the
compassionate deeds of Reverand Uttama,
a Mon Buddhist monk who was widely respected by the Thai people including
government officials, the Thai military and the Thai royal family. After
two years of medical treatment at
He was born in Mawkanin,
Ye Township of Mon State and fled to Thai Burma
border when the Mon people
took up arms against the central Burmese government during post independence
civil war in
The Reverend fought for the rights of the Mon
people on the Thai-Burma border, he was the force behind securing citizenship
for many and earning him a place of deep respect among the Buddhist community in
*****************************************
NMSP urged to maintain arms amid gov’t pressure
Kaowao:
Mon grass roots communities have urged the
ceasefire group, New Mon State Party not to lay down their arms amid pressure
given by the military regime. Public opinions have been heard during the
party’s public campaign in Ye, Yepyu,
and Three Pagodas Pass Townships under its administration this week.
“We (Mon public) cannot give up our arms to
them. We have sacrificed for so many years. The SPDC will surely
take away our rights if the NMSP gives up their arms,” said a villager at the
public gathering on
The Mon population has grown increasingly
frustrated since the SPDC resumed its National Convention with rumors
circulating that ceasefire groups will be disarmed.
Over the past 3 months, the
NMSP conducted a survey report among the public that shows the majority want
the NMSP to maintain its arms but opinion is divided on whether to join the
National Convention or to walk out.
NMSP’s Military Commission
member, Colonel Nai Kaorot
spoke to Kaowao that the NMSP would take the public
concerns seriously and reiterated its position for self-determination.
However, they will continue to observe its cease-fire
policy and solve the political crisis through a dialogue. “We have no option
but to continue on with the peace process and hope for a positive outcome for
our aspirations as an independent people,” he added.
The NMSP is one of the strongest ethnic
ceasefire groups and occasionally speaks out in support of an open dialogue
with the military regime. It also supports the UN Security Council
decision to include
Established by late
President Nai Shwe Kyin in 1958, the NMSP is the only major political party
with a military wing, the Mon National Liberation Army, which has fought
against the regime for almost five decades. It reached a cease-fire deal
with the ruling Burmese junta in 1995.
***************************************
HTM: the silent killers in lower
Reported by Gong Ong
and Lita Davidson
World AIDS Day,
In observance of the 19th commemoration of
World AIDS Day today activists around the world are working at the local level
to build a comprehensive approach in fighting AIDS. But a region in
Senior leaders of
According to the World Health Organization and
as demonstrated by Africa, to make any progress in such programs health workers
need to work from the ground up with the local communities and its procedures
and operations need to be transparent. To combat malaria, tuberculosis, and
AIDS effectively, community leaders who understand community concerns need to
recruit the local people, for example, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters,
who would play a vital role in treatment and prevention. Encouraging ownership
in implementing prevention, educational awareness, and treatment programs are
measures that are the most effective and positive way to ensure a sustainable
success in fighting infectious diseases, especially in remote areas that need
to be tackled at all levels. This is being done worldwide to produce
practical methods at the local level in treating the three killer pandemics.
But the majority of Burma ’s population in both
the rural and urban areas are poorly informed about AIDS and lack any capacity
building programs or a community health network which are critical to strengthen
the ‘collective response’ in prevention and intervention.
The population of Monland
in lower
After two years no progress has been seen and
many believe its getting worse. Locals say the situation may be out of control,
but it is difficult to monitor and there is no access for people to get
treatment, no accurate statistics are being kept which are critical for
monitoring, with many suffering alone and afraid of speaking up due to social
stigma. Some have died in the villages due to financial problems without ever
having been to a clinic. Besides Northern Ye, there are other big communities
in
“It is not easy to get the right figures and
education on AIDS is rarely given out in the community even though they have
experience of death from this disease. Thousands of local people, most of
them are women, could be HIV positive through their spouse who work in the neighbouring countries as migrant workers”, said Soe Mon, a local medic from Durae.
A young widow women who was struggling to
survive, who had never been outside of her village, died of AIDS in March this
year. Her husband who worked in
“It is very unfortunate that an innocent
woman died without knowing about this problem. The local community now realize that AIDS is a deadly disease and are
becoming more concerned, but it is only a gossip among the community and there
is no education on how to prevent and treat it,” Soe
added.
These communities need immediate access through
empowerment and design intervention that considers the needs of a migrant
worker community.
Northern Ye Township of Mon State captures the
magnitude of the problem. A medic from Kawdut
said many people contracted HIV from their husbands who worked in
Many villages have benefited from migrant
laborers, where they send money back home to boast the local economy. However,
some have died from AIDS and most likely have spread the disease to their
spouses.
There is no official statistics on this problem
and some activist estimated, northern Ye township and Thanbyu
Zayat is the most HIV infected area in the region
because many people in these areas work as migrant labourers,
a high risk population that moves around a lot and visits brothel houses for
pleasure.
The
Sumit Punnakari,
who
heads Humanitarian Assistance and Reconciliation Project (HARP) in
Large migrant communities have no services and
are often discriminated against and, arrive from
"There is a lot more to do for pubic
education on AIDS. There should be grass-roots campaigns to achieve better
results,” said a Mon Unity league representative based in
*****************************************************
Ivanhoe Mines in the process of divesting from
News report by Canadian Friends of Burma
(
It is a confirmation of a major institutional
investor on the position of Ivanhoe Mines that hinted in its press release
dated
Ivanhoe initially announced its intention to
sell off 50% of its joint-ventured assets in
Meanwhile, public pressure is rapidly mounting
on CPPIB to divest almost 3 million shares it holds with Ivanhoe Mines in the
market value of CAD $32 million. Activists from Canadian Friends of Burma and
Friends of the Earth challenged unethical investment of public pension fund
contributed by 16 million working Canadians in the evening consultation. A
report on CPP investment in
Ivanhoe invested USD $150 million in mid-1990
and an additional USD $390 million was planned to invest in the expansion of Letpadaung project, located six miles southeast of the
existing Ivanhoe-operated mine in Burma.
However, operations had to shut down for one
month in April this year, citing expected decreases in production, inability to
import additional mining equipment, and an additional 8% tax imposed on copper
exports from
Ivanhoe earned US $47 million from operations
from
In the consultation, CPPIB senior executives
also expressed their concerns, given the nature of political risk in Burma, and
informed the public that they have met with Ivanhoe Mines executives a number
of times and exchanged dossiers, making their concerns known since early this
year.
The Government of Canada discourages investment
in
Recently, the new Conservative government
assured
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Canadian Parliamentary Friends of
Kaowao:
The Parliamentary Friends of Burma was
officially launched with 25 MPs and Senators joining to support democratic
change in
Parliamentary Friends of Burma (PFOB), formed on
December 7, is now the biggest Parliamentary friendship group in the Canadian
Parliament,” said Tin Maung Htoo,
Executive Director of the Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB), the organization
that helped form the group.
According to the Ottawa based CFOB statement,
25 MPs and Senators from all political parties joined PFOB and membership
includes important figures such as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime
Minister, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the ruling
party’s Caucus Chair. The group also consists of leading political figures such
as Mr. Jack Layton, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Chair of
Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, and the foreign affairs critic from
Bloc Quebecois.
Dr. Sein Win, Prime
Minister of the Burmese government in exiled and Mr. Charles Chong, the head of Singaporean Parliamentary Caucus on
“The launch of Parliamentary Friends of Burma
(PFOB) last week in Ottawa is a timely and important initiative in the
cause of restoring democracy and the rule of law to 50 million nationals of
what should be a peaceful, important and prosperous member of the
international community,” said Hon. David Kilgour,
former Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) and a member of Advisory Council of
the Canadian Friends of Burma. He chaired the official launch of PFOB on Dec. 7.
Successive Canadian MPs have supported Burmese
Democratic Movement since a nation-wide Democratic Movement broke out in
****************************************
Identity, Conflict and National Reconciliation
in
By Nehginpao Kipgen
Identity
In sociology and political
science, the notion of social identity is individuals' identifying themselves
as members of a particular group - such as nation, social class, subculture,
ethnicity, and so forth. It is in this context that sociologists and historians
speak of a national identity of a particular country. The Union of Burma is
comprised of more than 100 different ethnic groups and sub-groups, making her
one of the most ethnically diverse countries in
Although there has
been no reliable census under the present military regime, the country’s
population is estimated to be over 50 million; ministry of foreign affairs puts
estimated population at 52.4 million as of July 2003. According to CIA – The
World Factbook as updated on the 30th November 2006, ethnic groups
of Burma is categorized in percent as: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%. The
same source provides religious composition as Buddhist 89%, Christian 4%
(Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%. Burmese,
spoken by ethnic Burmans, is the lingua-franca while
minority ethnic groups also have their own languages and dialects.
The Union of Burma is made up of 7 states and 7
administrative divisions. The ongoing National Convention, which first convened
in January 1993 and supposedly drafting a constitution, plans to change these
divisions into “regions” in a hopeful “disciplined democratic
Although the 1947 constitution did not make any
specific mention of federalism, its purpose was to establish a federal
government in which the individual states would have self governing
responsibilities. However, on the contrary, the country, in post independence,
has never been even quasi-federal. It should be noted here that prior to
independence, the British ruled
At the United Nations,
Nature of Conflict
The conflict in
For example, in the mid 1940s, the Chins, the Karens and the
Although
There have been a number of cycles in the
history of modern
National Reconciliation
Since the 8888 uprising and the subsequent
events, there has been a considerable shift in the philosophies of
revolutionary groups. Almost all armed ethnic groups have been pushing for the
restoration of democracy and the establishment of a federal society. Whatever
the causes are, one thing is clear that the stalemate between the Burman
government and ethnic insurgent groups will continue to persist if the
government ignores the doctrines of equality, liberty and fraternity at the
national level. Solutions to the ongoing political imbroglio in
In resolving any conflict involving two
opposite groups, the intervention of a third party is one most viable solution.
Noticing the different levels of interventions such as diplomatic intervention,
economic sanctions, and military intervention, political strategists need to
explore which does best work for
The successful placement of
Ibrahim Gambari
said the good offices process of the UN Secretary General toward
To bring a long lasting solution to the
decades' old conflicts in
(Nehginpao Kipgen is the General Secretary of US based Kuki International Forum and a researcher on the rise of
political conflicts in modern
****************************************************
Environment
Climate Change vs
Mother Nature
By Geneviève Roberts, The Independent:
Bears have stopped
hibernating in the mountains of northern
In a December in which bumblebees, butterflies
and even swallows have been on the wing in
Bears are supposed to slumber throughout the
winter, slowing their body rhythms to a minimum and drawing on stored
resources, because frozen weather makes food too scarce to find. The barely
breathing creatures can lose up to 40 per cent of their body weight before
warmer springtime weather rouses them back to life.
But many of the 130 bears in
The change is affecting female bears with young
cubs, which now find there are enough nuts, acorns, chestnuts and berries on thebleak mountainsides to make winter food-gathering
sorties "energetically worthwhile", scientists at the foundation,
based in Santander, the Cantabrian
capital, told El Pais newspaper.
"If the winter is mild, the female bears
find it is energetically worthwhile to make the effort to stay awake and hunt
for food," said Guillermo Palomero, the FOP's president and the co-ordinator
of a national plan for bear conservation. This changed behaviour,
he said, was probably a result of milder winters. "The high Cantabrian peaks freeze all winter, but our teams of
observers have been able to follow the perfect outlines of tracks from a group
of bears," he said.
The FOP is financed by
"Mother bears with cubs make the effort to
seek out nuts and berries if these have been plentiful, and snow is
scarce," Mr Palomero
said, adding that even for those bears - mostly mature males - who do close
down for the winter, "their hibernation period gets shorter every
year".
The behaviour change
suggests that global warming is responsible for this revolution in ursine behaviour, says Juan Carlos García
Cordón, a professor of geography at
"Meteorological data in the high mountains
is scarce, but it seems that the warming is more noticeable in the valleys
where cold air accumulates," Dr García Cordón said. "There is a decline in snowfall, and in
the time snow remains on the ground, which makes access to food easier. As
autumn comes later, and spring comes earlier, bears have an extra month to
forage for food.
"We cannot prove that non-hibernation is
caused by global warming, but everything points in that direction."
Spanish meteorologists predict that this year
is likely to be the warmest year on record in
Mark Wright, the science adviser to the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the UK, said that bears giving up hibernation was
"what we would expect" with climate change.
"It does not in itself prove global
warming, but it is certainly consistent with predictions of it," he said.
"What is particularly interesting about this is that hitherto the warming
has seemed to be happening fastest at the poles and at high latitudes, and now
we're getting examples of it happening further south, and heading towards the
equator.
"I think it's an indication of what's to
come. It shows climate change is not a natural phenomenon but something that is
affecting not only on the weather, but impacting on the natural world in ways
we're only now beginning to understand."
The European brown bear, with its
characteristic pelt that ranges from dark brown through shades of grey to pale
gold, has black paws and a tawny face. It has poor vision, although it sees in colour and at night, and if threatened rears on its hind
legs to get a better view. It can live for up to 30 years. It has acute
hearing, and an especially fine sense of smell that enables it to detect food
from a long distance. It is carnivorous, but has a multifunctional dental
system with powerful canines and grinding molars perfectly adapted to an
omnivorous diet.
The animals would normally begin hibernation
between October and December, and resume activity between March and May.
The Cantabrian
version of the brown bear, a protected species, was once as endangered as the
Iberian lynx or the imperial eagle still are in
Other seasonal freaks
*The osprey found in the lochs and glens of the
Scottish Highlands in the summer months, usually
migrate to west Africa to avoid the freeze. This winter, osprey
have been spotted in
* The red admiral butterfly, below, which
hibernates in winter, has been spotted in gardens this month, as has the common
darter dragonfly, usually seen between mid-June and October, which has been
seen in Cheshire, Norfolk and Hampshire.
* The smew, a diving
duck, flies west to the
* Evergreen ivy and ox-eye daisies are still
blooming and some oak trees, which are usually bare by November, were still in
leaf on Christmas Day last year.
* The buff-tailed bumblebee is usually first
seen in spring. Worker bees die out by the first frost, while fertilised queen bees survive underground between March and
September. This December, bees have been seen in
* Primroses and daffodils are already flowering
at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, in Carmarthenshire. 'Early Sensation'
daffodils usually flower from January until February. Horticulturalists put it
down to the warm weather.
* Scientists in the
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