KAOWAO NEWS NO. 84
An
electronic newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma
February 16-
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READERS’ FRONT
NMSP: MORE DIALOGUE WITH JUNTA
PRESIDENT’S HEALTH RAISES CONCERN
58th INTERNATIONAL MON NATIONAL DAY
CHIN COMMEMORATE NATIONAL DAY
MON GUERRILLA LEADERS SEEKS SAFE HAVEN
THE IMPACT OF ARMED
ASIAN INDIGENOUS DELEGATES ASSERT RIGHTS
BURMESE PROTESTERS ARRESTED IN
WE CAN FIGHT ANOTHER 50 YEARS:
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READERS’ FRONT
Dear Readers,
Thanks again for your support. We are extremely pleased with all the letters and articles we’ve got from you, for your keen observations and your critical feedback.
As promised, we will continue to use Cyberspace as a communication tool to cut across obstacles of repression, to fight for self-determination, to fight for cultural survival and to post the individual opinions of our readers.
We like to remind our readers that Kaowao
is your forum for freedom of expression and we hope that you continue to send
in your thoughts and opinions to support our aims. The Mon community in
In particular, the following individual supporters have contributed to Kaowao and we would like to thank them sincerely. With this donation, hard copies in Mon and Burmese will be available to those who have no access to the Internet and our news in Mon version will be updated pending time and resources.
Ashley South
(U.K)
100
Lita Davidson (Vancouver, Canada)
100 Cdn
(Feb 24, 05)
Eric Snider (Victoria, Canada)
125 Cdn
(Feb 24, 05)
Best wishes from
Cham Toik (Editor)
Nai Taing Taw (Assistant Editor)
Thomas Jefferson (one of the founding fathers of
the
(Cited from Wired, 1993)
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Thanks as ever for your excellent reporting. Now, more than ever, your analysis of the outcome of the tsunami is useful.
Larry Dohrs
_____________________________________
Please keep posting news that related to our
Dong Khup
_______________________________________________
Dear Editor,
It is wonderful to read the General Statement of 58th
Mon National Day which you posted on
Cheers,
Amanda (
_____________________________________
Please forgive me if I’m too
aggressive with your Mon National Day statement posted on
Ko Ko Aye
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NMSP: MORE DIALOGUE WITH THE JUNTA
(Kaowao:
The President of New Mon State Party, Nai Htin, in his Mon National Day message, states that the NMSP will urge Burmese military junta for talks.
“We are not satisfied with the military regime since it has no political will for a political dialogue. The NMSP, however, has to attend the government sponsored National Convention with other cease-fire groups to solve the problem of the country and cooperate with other political parties and nationalities,” read the President’s message which was delivered to civilians on the 58th Mon National Day celebrations held under NMSP controlled areas on February 24, 2005.
It also mentioned that the NMSP was disappointed with the junta for arresting Shan leaders but continued attending the National Convention as an opportunity to work for the betterment of civilians and the ethnic nationalities.
The NMSP promised in the statement that it will not betray public opinion and will endeavor to achieve good benefits for the people. The cease-fire party will never throw away the revolutionary fruit.
The NMSP urges to work together for unity among the Mon
people including overseas
The Central Committee of NMSP decided early this year to resume attending the National Convention and General Aung Naing is now leading the delegates. The NMSP conducted a public survey seeking opinions from Mon people whether it should attend the NC or not. The survey shows, according to a senior NMSP leader, many people wanted to join the government sponsored National Convention.
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 (MNLA), which had fought against the regime for almost five decades. When it reached a cease-fire deal with the ruling junta in 1995 the NMSP lost some public support and political involvement from the Mon community.
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PRESIDENT’S HEALTH RAISES CONCERN
(Kaowao:
Sources from family members of the New Mon State Party report that President Nai Htin’s health has gotten worse within the past two months.
According to his family, the 84 year old NMSP President was
suffering from a bout of malaria at the party Headquarters and was brought to
According to a relative who visited him at the hospital, he would like to return the Mon Headquarters as soon as he feels well to do so.
Nai Htin was chosen as President of the New Mon State Party
replacing Nai Shwe Kyin who passed away in March
2003. He is well-respected by the majority of the Mon population and
grass roots organizations for his optimistic attitude and loyalty to the Mon
national movement. Despite his age, he lived with his comrades at the
NMSP’s jungle Headquarters, BeeRee Camp in
The NMSP President Nai Htin will turn 85 years old in March.
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58th INTERNATIONAL MON NATIONAL DAY
(Kaowao:
The 58th anniversary of Mon National Day
celebration was held at several
places from Australian to North America, from Mon State and other parts of
Burma where the Mon community live.
The New Mon
State Party organized several MND celebrations within its controlled area and
one major event was held at
Mon National Day
was also held along the Thai Burma border, at Palaing
In the capital of
In
In Maharchai, several hundred
migrant workers attended the MND celebration at two different events. Another event was organized by the Thai Mon community in
Organized by Malaysia based Mon National Democratic Front, in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Buddhist monks and guest joined with migrant workers at MND events.
The
In
The celebration
was jam packed with activities that started from
Mon families from
In
Mon National Day falls on the first
waning day of Maigh, the ninth month in the Mon lunar
calendar which honors the founding of the sovereign old Monland Hongsawatoi or Pegu. The
Mon has celebrated Mon National Day since 1947 and
nowadays celebrations are held in many areas in
(For more photos
view http://www.kaowao.org/gallery.php)
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CHIN COMMEMORATE NATIONAL DAY
(By Salai Za
February 20 is an annual celebration marking the declaration of the result of a Chin public plebiscite held in 1948. At the public assembly held at Falam that year, over 5000 Chin people voted for democratic system of government after rejecting the continuance of traditional aristocratic feudal system that had been in practice in Chin society for centuries. That day came to be known as Chin National Day and has annually been observed as a national holiday.
The 57th celebrations of Chin National Day were
held in cities across
“We take pride in our National Day being an occasion that
celebrates the dawn of democracy in Chinland,” says Salai Mang Bik,
Chairman of the organizing committee for the celebration in
Inside
This sentiment was echoed in a commemorative address to the
Chin people by Chin National Front’s Chairman Thomas Thangnou.
He blamed the “racist ideology” of
“We will stand firmly against any powers which threaten the survival of our national identity. Protecting our Chin national identity and interest remains the guiding principle of Chin national revolution,” Mr. Thangnou said.
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MON GUERRILLA LEADERS SEEK SAFE HAVEN
(Kaowao:
Mon guerrilla leaders Nai Hloin and
Nai Bin are seeking safe haven in
A source from
Back in August 2003, the BA Infantry Battalion No. 282 of the Coastal Command surrounded Nai Hloin’s base near Mi TawHlar village in an attempt to root out his armed units in southern Ye and Nai Hloin was seriously injured during the clash.
Local sources report that the main reason the two brothers Nai Hloin and Nai Bin decided to give up their guerrilla warfare against the Burma Army was because of intensive military action since December, 2003.
A politician from Ye said, “even though the local Mon people do not fully agree with the splinter group, they sympathize with them and hope that the existence of the Mon armed group can offer some kind of protection from the worse human rights violations committed by the Burma Army.”
“Nonetheless, the armed struggle continues in the area. Nai Sook Gloin (long hair) succeeded their command and are leading a small guerrilla group,” said a 35 year old Buddhist monk who just arrived to the Thai Burma border from southern Ye. One BA soldier was shot dead as a result of a skirmish which recently broke out between the BA and the guerrilla group.
Several villagers have been arrested, tortured, raped and killed by the BA on suspicion alone, in which the truth is never determined. From January to March of 2004, the Tactical Command No. 3 killed over 10 villagers and tortured several others on suspicion charges. A Mon Relief and Development Committee member said ‘that due to offensives launched by the BA in the area, about 20% of the local population of over 50, 000 have been displaced.’ Many have fled to the Thai border area or to Mon refugee resettlement camps.
After the New Mon State Party reached a cease-fire deal
with the military junta in 1995, Nai Hloin split from
the Party in 1997 to resume fighting against the BA. The two brothers Nai
Hloin and Nai Bin led a Mon National Warrior Army
(MNWA) of about 100 fighters formed with Sook Gloin, Nai Jai-Daik and Chan Dein in southern
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Book Review
THE IMPACT OF ARMED
(NCGUB:
The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
(NCGUB) has published a report: “The Impact of Armed Conflict on the Children
of Burma” to alert the UN Security Council members about the problem facing the
children in
Aiming to bring the matter to the forefront of international attention it will be discussed as ‘Children and Armed Conflict’, the NCGUB report points out that children from the ethnic groups, which are directly bearing the brunt of five decades of conflict, are particularly vulnerable to the widespread and systematic human rights violations occurring in their areas.
These children are subjected to direct military violence
and are frequently displaced and forced to live as internally displaced persons
or refugees without security, health care, education or adequate nutrition.
Children from ethnic groups are frequently used as forced laborer or porters as
well as human minesweepers. They are frequently victims of rape and are
vulnerable to trafficking for sex work and other forms of exploitation both in
Children and youths are commonly abducted from public places, train stations ports, teashops, cinemas, schools and off the street for the army. An estimated 70,000 children are sent to military training camps to be trained as soldiers and they are routinely beaten and brutally punished if they try to escape. Once deployed, they are ordered to abuse human rights against civilians, round up villagers for forced labor, burn villages, and commit rape and extrajudicial killings.
Dr. Thaung Htun,
Representative of the NCGUB for UN Affairs, said, "We are concerned about
the impact of the long political stalemate and armed conflict on the children
of
The report of the UN Secretary General released on 9 February, 2005 put
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ASIAN INDIGENOUS DELEGATES ASSERT RIGHTS
(AIPP:
Asian Indigenous delegates assert U.N. rights in Shillong Meeting.
"The governments, United Nations Agencies, and international communities should pay attention to improve the situation of indigenous peoples and promote their rights, especially the rights of indigenous peoples in the Northeast India," said Mr. Parshuram Tamang, the current Asia member to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UN PFII) at the concluding session of the Shillong meeting that took place from February 25 to 26.
At this Asian preparatory meeting, about 40 representatives
from ten countries made recommendations to UN Permanent Forum, UN Agencies,
governments, and international agencies to implement strategies and action
plans for poverty reduction and primary education programs for the indigenous
communities. Ms. Lola Garcia-Alix from the
International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA),
The delegates came from
This meeting was aimed with the objectives to gain a broader understanding of UNPFII and make concrete recommendations to the Permanent Forum, which will convene its 4th session in New York this coming May.
"Indigenous peoples should use the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as advocacy tools for establishing their rights", added Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the other Asian Representative to United Nations Permanent Forum during the Shillong meeting over the weekend.
The two-day long preparatory meeting was jointly organized
by Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact Foundation (AIPP),
Recommendation was made on free, prior and informed consent must be followed in all the processes for the developmental activities that affect indigenous peoples, directly or indirectly. It was also discussed in the meeting that the right-based poverty reduction strategy should be adopted for indigenous peoples who are the most vulnerable.
Expressing their concerns about the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, the meeting participants said they have failed to include indigenous peoples and made specific recommendations to .the 4th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the body set up by the United Nations to deal with indigenous peoples issues.
The indigenous representatives also appealed to Chief Minister D. D. Lapang to cancel the uranium mining at Domiasati, West Khasi Hills not to resort to coercion, intimidation and force on the people who are demanding guarantees for their future generations.
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BURMESE PROTESTERS ARRESTED IN
(Kaowao:
Eighteen Burmese nationals were arrested today in
The Democratic Federation of Burma comprised of Burmese,
Mon, and Chin nationals demonstrated in front of the Burmese Embassy and were
later arrested, according to Nai Khit RaeMarn, Vice-Chairman of the
Among those arrested were: 3 Central Committee members of
MNDF, Nai Hong Chan, Nai Wunna and Nai Ong Chem Tala.
“It is the first time that we (MNDF) demonstrated in
The MNDF members posters read: “We don’t want the SPDC’s
sham National Convention; Stop human rights abuses in southern
During the protest, the police gave warnings to disperse but when the protesters refused, all were arrested and it is assumed they were taken to Pudu police station.
“The first group of over ten people demonstrated at 6
in the morning and no one was arrested. We the third group, plan to
demonstrate at
Last May, the Burmese demonstrated against the Depayin massacre committed by pro-SPDC mobs and all 23 members were rounded up and arrested.
Among several thousand Mon migrant workers in
Since last year, the Mon political activists have published a Hongsarwatoi monthly journal and over the past four months were collecting funds from their members. The self-funded publication, however, has stopped for the time being because the publishers fear that they will be arrested by the police after a raid at their office last April, 2004.
Back home, the military regime has refused to hand over power to a wining political party and human rights abuses against the ethnic nationalities continue in rural areas.
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WE CAN FIGHT ANOTHER 50 YEARS:
(By Paul Holmes, Reuters:
Kaw Htoo Lae Camp, Myanmar -- The commander of Asia's longest
running insurgency urged Myanmar's reclusive military junta on Monday to get
serious about peace talks or face another 50 years of guerrilla war.
In his first interview in 56 years as a jungle fighter, General Mutu Saepoe said the Karen
National Liberation Army (KNLA) may be short of arms and ammunition, but had
all the will to fight on for the autonomy of an ethnic Karen state in
"We have already fought them for 56 years. The end is not coming, not
yet," Mutu, 72, told Reuters in an open-sided
teakwood command hut just a few yards (metres) inside
the former
Asked how long the conflict, subdued but not entirely stopped by an informal
ceasefire reached last year, might continue, he said: "Maybe the next
generation, or the next, or the next...
"If the dictators still want to fight, we are ready to fight. If they want
to compromise, we are going to compromise."
Since independence from
The Karen number around 1.5 million inside
They reached what Mutu called a "gentleman's
agreement" in January 2004 to cease hostilities, but skirmishes continue
at the rate of about one every two days.
"We want them to know that we still have the ability to kill them however
big they are," he said.
SPORADIC TALKS
The KNU has held sporadic talks with
Mutu said he saw the talks as a way for the junta to
buy time while it oversees a National Convention meant to draft a new
constitution paving the way for multi-party rule.
"All dictators are crooked men," Mutu said.
"But people can change, dictators can change."
Mutu, who left school aged
16 in 1949 to take up arms, spoke in deliberate colonial English he learned as
a boy at British-run mission school.
He said his dream as a youth had been to be a pilot or a doctor, but his
people's struggle against a Burmese-dominated government they saw as oppressors
proved a stronger calling.
His only son, Chee Kirt,
was killed in action aged 18 six years ago.
Dressed in crisp camouflage fatigues and wearing a black beret made in
"We need a lot of training for our boys to get them to shoot straight, but
we don't have enough ammunition," Mutu said.
"We save it for the Burmese army."
LONELY STRUGGLE
Mutu said the KNLA had never had outside support in what he
called a lonely struggle that has lasted as long as the Palestinian conflict
with
He also said he had never met any other guerrilla leader. Asked about the death
last November of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, he
said: "We're a long way from the
One of Mutu's few trips abroad, when he flew on a
false Burmese passport to
Mutu, who has shaved his head since his hair turned
silver, said he kept trim by walking the length and breadth of KNLA territory
and switched locations regularly to avoid capture.
"I don't need aerobics. Walking in the jungle is better than being in a
room," he said.
During the interview, young soldiers sat in the shade of the handful of
teakwood huts in a dusty clearing where the red, white and blue Karen flag hung
limp on a pole in the clammy
At least one of the soldiers had an antiquated bolt action rifle but stood
stiffly to attention as a group of visitors crossed the river back to
"We are looking for a good friend, a sincere friend, a helpful friend, or
at least a sympathiser," Mutu
said. (Additional reporting by Ed Cropley and Nopporn Wong-Anan)
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