KAOWAO NEWS NO. 125


Newsletter for social justice and freedom in
Burma

March 18 - April 9, 2007


Readers’ Front

MAU: New umbrella organization takes over

 

MNU: Non-campus Mon University to be revitalized

 

New checkpoint upsets Three Pagodas Pass residents

 

Myanmar border clashes kill 17, wound 19 – rebels

 

Mon having difficulty obtaining refugee status in Malaysia

 

Public unite with New Mon State Party

 

Sudden death of beloved Mon entertainer, Mon Chit Soe

 

The Legend of King Naresuan: a glimpse into Mon Buddhist history

War pays a nighttime visit: By Thira Thura

 

 

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Readers' Front

 


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 Burma . And we hope that it will become an important forum for discussion and debate and help readers to keep abreast of issues and news. We reserve the right to edit and reject articles without prior notification. You can use a pseudonym but we encourage you to include your full name and address.

 


Regards,

Editor
Kaowao News

 

kaowao@hotmail.com, www.kaowao.org

 

 

__________________________________

 

 

Dear Kaowao team

 


It is a very good approach to develop kaowao in Burmese version.  It will benefit someone who cannot get full understanding from both English and Mon.

 


Kwae Mon (Australia)

 

 

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MAU: New umbrella organization takes over

 

Kaowao: April 9, 2007

 

 

Organizers of a new Mon umbrella organization is planning a meeting to strengthen unity among the Mons.

 

 

According to Nai Baeng of the Mon Affairs Union (MAU), based on the Thai-Burma border, the Organizing Committee will meet this month to review their work and prepare for another conference with wider attendance by the general public.

 

 

“The MAU actually is not a new umbrella organization even though we were not widely known as the MUL.  The MAU was not born overnight. It was the result of Mon National Conferences held over the last two years, in 2005 and 2006.  The Mon National Conferences were sponsored by the New Mon State Party and attended by several delegates including community leaders, religious leaders and those from overseas.  These conferences gave us the mandate to form the MAU,” said Nai Baeng.

 

 

The Mon Unity League (MUL), the former umbrella organization of the Mon people, transformed its strategy to focus more on mobilizing civil society than taking a political stance during its strategic meeting held on the Thai-Burma border in February 2007.

 

 

A Mon political observer said, “After the withdrawal of the New Mon State Party from the MUL, the MUL is no longer an umbrella organization and it is run only by a core group.  However, it’s a pity that a new umbrella organization has emerged while the MUL is well known for its work in international campaigns.”

 

 

The MAU is now headed by a leading committee comprised of Nai Damrong, Nai Saha Mon, Nai Chan Toi, Ms. Sardar and Nai Baeng Gang Yeaeng

 

 

Some critics worry that the new MAU may not serve all Mon people, while the NMSP may use this platform for its political agenda and to dominate other member organizations. 

 

 

The MAU is organizing Mon people in four areas, namely inside Burma, on the Thai-Burma border, liberated areas, and overseas.

 

 

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MNU: Mon National University to be revitalized

 

Kaowao: April 9, 2007

 

 

Mon educators are organizing to re-establish the non-campus Mon National University (MNU), founded by Dr. Jamlong Thongdee.

 

 

According to Sumit Punnakari, Project Manager of the Humanitarian Assistance & Reconciliation Project (HARP) for the National Catholic Commission on Migration (NCCM) based in Bangkok, the International Mon Education Network (IMEN) was formed to support the MNU.

 

 

The decision to reopen the MNU was enthusiastically made at a Seminar on Mon education, held in Bangkadee, a Mon village near Bangkok, on March 24 and 25.  Speakers at the seminar were educators and Thai Mon leaders including Phisant Platsingh, Dr. Jamlong Thongdee, Professor Sanan, Nai Damrong and the Abbot of Wat Asar Phrapradaeng.

 

 

“It is necessary to have a Mon university since there are many Mons who completed high school and want to study Mon literature.  Both the Thai and Burmese languages developed through Mon but the important role of the Mon in is not widely known,” said Ven. Narada, who attended the seminar from Mudon, Mon State.

 

 

Even though there was no formal agenda to discuss the MNU, over 60 participants were enthusiastic and impressed with the attendance of Dr. Jamlong Thongdee, a well-known Thai Mon scholar. He is the founder of MNU and past President of the Mon Youth Community (Bangkok). 

 

 

Dr. Jamlong founded the MNU in 1994, though its opening was postponed due to limited human and financial resources.

 

 

The Mon Education Seminar was organized by the Mon Education Supporting Group, headed by Mahar Uthai and Nai Ponya, to support young Mon monks studying Buddhism.  The Committee has already raised about 350,000 baht for young monks to study religion, find temples and acquire basic education supplies.

 

 

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New check-point upsets Three Pagodas Pass residents

 

Kaowao: April 8, 2007

 

 

Residents of the border town Three Pagodas Pass are disappointed because of a new check-point recently opened by the Burmese Army.

 

 

According to Nai Aye Win, a resident of Three Pagodas Pass, the Burmese Army has stationed a new checkpoint with a sergeant and about 6 soldiers between Jee Pyah and Three Pagodas Pass town.  The checkpoint, located between the two gates of the New Mon State Party and Karen Peace Force, was opened on March 25.

 

 

“It is another restriction for the cease fire groups because this (checkpoint) can closely monitor the movement of their groups.  It is just a few yards between the two gates,” added Aye Win. 

 

 

The other source says the new checkpoint is under control of the Burmese Army’s Infantry Battalion No. 18, headed by Lt Col Hla Min. Apparently it was opened so that the commander can make some extra money. Some traders use this route to avoid other main check points operated by local police and immigration officers. 

 

 

 

The border closure and addition of this new checkpoint has caused local residents to have gasoline shortages and higher consumer prices. 

 

 

The Three Pagoda Pass border is still closed due to soured relationship between the Burmese and Thai authorities, following the arrest of a Thai by a Karen rebel last month.  Business on the Thai-Burma border has been frequently affected due to unstable relations between the Thai and Burmese governments.

 

 

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Myanmar border clashes kill 17, wound 19 – rebels

 

Reuters: Mae Sot, Thailand, April 8, 2007

 

 

Clashes along the Thai border between Myanmar soldiers and an ethnic rebel group have killed at least 17, wounded 19 and forced hundreds to flee to Thailand, Thai officials and a pro-Myanmar militia said on Sunday.

 


Myanmar troops and its allied militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), raided three outposts of the Karen National Union (KNU) in the Karen State along the Thai border at 2 a.m. on Sunday (1900 GMT), a Thai security official told Reuters.

 


DKBA troops traveling by boat on the Moei River launched rockets that killed at least three KNU guerrillas. The DKBA also lost eight men in a landmine set by the KNU, said the official who declined to be identified.

 


The clashes, which lasted about an hour, also wounded at least 19 people on both sides. The KNU retreated and their positions have been taken by Myanmar and DKBA soldiers, said a Reuters journalist who was observing from the Thai side of the river.

 


The raids, which prompted 300 Karen villagers to cross the river to the Thai border town of Mae Ramard, came shortly after KNU troops raided a checkpoint in the Myanmar border town of Myawadi late on Saturday, killing five policemen and a soldier, a DKBA official said.

 


"The KNU has broken the agreement with the Myanmar government that it would not attack the Asia 1 highway during the temporary ceasefire," agreed in December 2003, the DKBA official said.

 


No formal peace deal has been agreed and skirmishes continue with government troops and their allies.

 


The KNU and its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), have been fighting the central government for greater autonomy since 1949.

 


The rebels suffered a major setback in late 1994 when a Buddhist faction, now the DKBA, staged a mutiny against the Christian-dominated group, breaking away and eventually defecting to join the Myanmar government side.

 


The split was a key factor in the collapse of the KNU headquarters at Manerplaw in early 1995.

 


Fighting between the KNU and the Myanmar troops along the Thai border has intensified since last month when Bangkok called in Myanmar's ambassador to protest over the death of a Thai soldier killed in clashes between Myanmar troops and the KNU.

 

 

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Mon having difficulty obtaining refugee status in Malaysia

Kaowao: March 22, 2007

 

Only a handful of Mon asylum seekers have been recognized as refugees in Malaysia despite increasing numbers there.

 

Nai Roy Mon, a social worker at the Mon Refugee Organization (MRO) based in Kuala Lumpur, said that over two thousand Mons have registered with the MRO and only about 250 (12.5%) have been able to gain an interview with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the past two years. 

 

Asylum seekers often look for help in applying for refugee status at the UNHCR office through the MRO, but their chances are minimal. 

 

“Compared to other ethnic groups, few Mons have been recognized (as refugees).  Only 8 people resettled to third countries; 5 to Denmark, 2 to Canada and 1 to Norway.  Our situation back home is not better than that of other ethnic groups, but the Mon lack attention.  The overseas or former Mon refugees need to talk with their respected governments to consider this situation,” commented a social worker, Nai Lawee Chan.

 

Last month, the Malaysian authorities raided the MRO office in Penang and Nai Mon Nyan, a community leader, was among ten people who were arrested.

 

With the help of local NGOs, the MRO offices in Kula Lumpur and Penang actively work to address the problem of Mon refugees.  While the MRO is unable to secure refugee status, they are able to provide assistance in looking for work and medical care to both men and women, as well as provide shelter, food, and clothing.

 

A Mon youth Apar Hong Mon, who fled Burma fearing arrest by local militia in Mon State said, “It is unfortunate that our plight is forgotten. We have no Mon interpreters and the UNHCR office favors other groups (Muslim and Christian) who have good connections with the officers here.” Hong and his brothers fled from his village in Ye after local authorities accused them of supporting the opposition group in Mon State.

 

The UNHCR recognizes many Rohingyas and Chins as refugees, granting them temporary status.  Several thousands have been provided with documentation that identifies them to Malaysian authorities.

 

Since human rights violations continue in southern Burma, many Mon have fled to Malaysia as illegal immigrants and live under miserable conditions.

 

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Public unite with New Mon State Party

 

Kaowao: March 19, 2007

 


The Mon population has united with the NMSP to fight for their national rights.

 


During an interview with a Kaowao reporter, Nai Htow Mon spoke modestly about the grass root communities' movement that is concerned over pressure NMSP has received by the State Peace and Development Council to lay down their arms.  The Mon population has grown disillusioned with the SPDC's National Convention and its objective to disarm the cease-fire groups outright without reciprocal concessions.

 


The 61-year-old NMSP President said that the NMSP continues to observe its cease-fire policy according to what was agreed to in 1995, while calling on the government to hasten democratic development to solve the political crisis through a 3-party-dialogue; meanwhile, he listens carefully to what the public wants saying that everyone has the responsibility to promote freedom in their country.

 


According to the NMSP source, the majority of Mon want the NMSP to retain its arms until such a time that country is well on its way down the path of freedom and that the SPDC ceases from being a threat to their people who have suffered so much.

 


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 Burma in the Security Council discussion to press for democratic reform.  The NMSP's statement was well supported by the communities including overseas Mons who had publicly criticized the views of the party after it reached a cease-fire with the ruling Burmese junta in 1995.

Established by 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.

 

 

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Sudden death of beloved Mon entertainer, Mon Chit Soe

 

Kaowao: March 18, 2007

 


Ye – The number one most popular Mon entertainer, Mon Chit Soe, 38, suddenly died soon after he was sent for treatment in a Rangoon hospital.

 


The cause of his death is still unclear and relatives and fans are awaiting news from the doctor's medical record.  He died around 1:00 pm local time on March 15, 2007.

 


Mon Chit Soe (aka) Nai Soe Tin, the owner of two Dance Troupes was strongly in touch with the Mon community who appreciated his creative performances in southern Burma over the past 15 years.  He became very popular and had not only attracted Mon fans but also Burmese. His dance troupe is one of the biggest entertainment groups in southern Burma.

 


"Everybody is absolutely stunned. How can he die, I can't believe it!  His last performance was recently at the funeral of Rev. Uttama.  Many fans and even the older people enjoyed his show.  He was a role model and a first class entertainer," said Nai Tin Mon, a community leader of Waengka Mon village, Thai-Burma border.

 


Mon Chit Soe, from Taung Bon of Northern Ye, was talented in dancing, singing, and acting.  He worked tirelessly to develop the modern Mon Dance Troupe that he started fifteen years ago.  He even was invited to perform in Thailand and a fundraising event at Maharchai brought in 2 million baht for local temple.

 


Last year, Ye township police charged him after his truck caused an accident that killed two of his dancers in early December while his vehicle loading the group crossing the bridge between Hnit-kayin and Anin suddenly lost control. While feeling guilt over being responsible for their deaths, he negotiated with the local authorities to close the case spending several million Kyats to settle the lawsuit.

 


"I cannot get my head around the fact that he is not with us anymore, we will hugely miss him for his service to the Mons.  He had a sense of culture and history that was seen in his choreography earning him a reputation of being the best. He designed the Mon show with flair and imagination using modern styles and expensive equipment.

 


"He was a larger than life character, he wasn't afraid to try something new and mix it with the traditions of Mon culture," said Cham Ong, a fan.

 


Than Oo, a boyhood friend from his village, Taung Bon, recalls fondly, "I saw him when he was a young boy moving about on stage, to perform at the village festival.  He was just 38-years-old and it is a loss for us.  He will be remembered for the joy he brought them and for his passion."

 

 

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Entertainment

 

The Legend of King Naresuan: a glimpse into Mon Buddhist history

(By Lita Davidson)

 

 

 

Mon migrant workers in the kingdom rushed to movie theatres recently to catch the latest Thai flick in the biographical rendition of the legendary King Naresuan, a Thai nobleman known as Phra Naret who at the end of the 16th century took Thai to independence after throwing off the yoke of Burman domination.  The first two films released earlier this year are a part of trilogy directed by Chatrichalerm Yukok, the last will be shown on December 5th in commemoration of King Bhumipol Adulyadej’s 80th birthday celebration. 

 

“I am proud to be Mon and can share what I know of Mon history with my Thai friends: that the Mon had a big hand in the Thai achieving freedom from Burmese repression,” said Nai Ong who went to see the movie twice with his friends in Bangkok.

 

The film gives some sense of Mon culture under occupation of the Burmese King, Bayinnaung and depicts Honsawatoi (Hanthawaddy or Pegu) a Mon empire which was one of Southeast Asia’s finest cities during the 16th century, a cosmopolitan axis made up of a diverse population from England, France, Portugal, Africa and the Middle East among others. However, according to historical chronicles, the city was mostly made up of Mon who continued to control different aspects of the religious and trading networks under Burman domination after the fall of Pegu in 1539 to the Burmans.

 

Since the advent of Buddhism in Southeast Asia over the past 2 thousands years, the role of a royal figure places a great emphasis on acting as a Buddhist protector who sought not only conquest but also magical treasures to protect his or her people. The 16th century was a time of peasant uprisings, mass exoduses from wars and plagues of rats that destroyed large swathes of rice paddy fields, amid famine and malarial epidemics at the cusp of European colonization in the region. The actions of the Mon, Burman, and Thai Kings in their conquests during this era were driven by acquiring Buddhist treasures of golden statues and talismans against a backdrop of upheaval and uncertainty with the coming of the Europeans.

 

“My Thai friends are a little confused.  The term ‘Pamar Ramarn’ in Thai (Mon Burmese) is often used instead of the Burmese phrase.  For me, it is understandable because the old Mon kingdom was under the Burmese kings (Tabin Shwe Htee and Bayinnaung) at that time,” said a migrant worker, Nai Aye who went to the theatre with his Thai friends.

 

The film captured the imagination of Thai and Mon people alike and many Thai after watching the film, flocked to travel agencies to book trips to modern day Bago (Pegu) to browse through the city’s museum relics in the hope to catch a glimpse into an ancient past, a magical kingdom that saw the rise of King Naresuan’s power with the help of the Mon people. The film gives a flavour of this region’s history of what life was like, but reading the history is by far more interesting and revealing of human behaviour, the film also provides a stark picture of life and of the brutality inflicted on a suppressed people which is still being felt and played out by the people in the region. Reflecting on this, one of the highlights of the film however, apart from the Thai, Burmese and Mon conversations was the use of blessing and chanting in Mon language that proves how strong the Mon Buddhist culture was and still is.

 

In the film, the young prince was taken hostage by the Burman King Bayinnaung who at that time sought to fashion himself after the traditions of the first Pagán Kings of the 9th century. Bayinnaung had crushed and conquered the Mon in Lower Burma, Monland, to acquire not only Buddhist texts from the Mon, but secure the expansion of rice agriculture in the more fertile floodplain zone of lower Burma.  Siam also figured prominately in his conquests and sought to keep young Thai Naresuan as the vassal kingdom subservient. Ayutthaya had been conquered and controlled by the Burman king since 1569 and who had kidnapped the young boy as a bargaining tool. Naresuan grew up in Pegu and was trained as a warrior and taught the Buddhist scriptures by Mon monks. He was a novice under the good care of a Mon Abbot and later escaped to Thailand where he planned his rebellion after the king’s death. 

 

The young adult prince returned to Honsawatoi after the death of King Bayinnaung in 1581 and was to become a formidable military strategist.  King Naresuan later on declared sovereignty for Siam (Thai) with the help of his Abbot and Mon ministers who were in the same boat under the rule of the Burmese since early in the 16th century. 

 

The details of death of Naresuan are unclear, some accounts say he died during a battle with a Burman king, others say he succumbed to smallpox, while the Shan say he died while rushing to aid a Shan in their quest for independence from Burma.  Whatever the case may be, King Naresuan has long since been a source of pride for the Thai, whose portrait and bronze statue sitting astride a horse is seen throughout the kingdom. 

 

 

According to online estimates, the film has an estimated budget of 700 million baht, making it the most expensive Thai film ever produced.

 

The Legend of King Naresuan stars Wanchana Sawatdee in the leading role, a newcomer to Thai cinema and who is a cavalry officer in the Royal Thai Army, Chatchai Plengpanich, Intira Jaroenpura, Sorapong Chatree and Sompop Benjatkul. Much of the film was shot in Kanachanaburi province, the actual area of many of the historical events and a border crossing for the Mon who sought refuge offered by the Thai royal families throughout the centuries.

 

 

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War pays a nighttime visit

 

(By Thira Thura)

 

 

 

My comrades in our unit of the Mon National Liberation Army are on patrol and marching quietly through a clearing in the jungle. I know it is close to midnight because the jungle grows still at this time, as if it is taking a deep breath for the oncoming night. I barely notice the night animals in the jungle; there is almost no sound. Then suddenly an ear splitting explosion, the sound of mortar shells thudding into the earth and machine gun drifts cut through the silence with ferocity.

 

 

 

I look around to see through the darkness to find my comrades who were on my left and right. I know at once that our unit is being ambushed by the enemy’s troops. Amid the spitting of bullets and flares of light from mortar fire, fierce fighting breaks out, while I try to focus on what is happening, I hear clearly one of my comrades calling out for my help. I rush to help him and just before reaching him a mortar shell whips in beside me with a mind-numbing thud. In my eyes, I can see nothing except the bright and hot fire from the explosion. My whole body is thrown forward from the impact of the explosion. I am so frightened that my heart is racing. I try to examine my body. My shaking hand is hesitantly resting on my cold body that is covered with sweat. I am amazed that my body is intact without any injury inflicted by the explosion. I am even more amazed that it is not a real battlefield. It is in fact a bad dream, a nightmare. Even when I am fully awake, my heart is still beating with fear.

 

 

 

I cannot go back to sleep. It is already after midnight and I try many times to close my eyes to go back to sleep. Even with my eyes closed, I can still see vividly those images in my dream. I see my comrades who are fighting alongside with me, who get ripped apart by the bullets and explosions. I feel really guilty for that. I know that it is a dream and it is not real. But in the real world this is happening. Most of my comrades are in the jungle now fighting for our freedom. At one time, we all vowed to fight together to the end until we regain our long lost sovereignty and our rights with dignity. But while my comrades are now sacrificing their lives and fighting, I feel deeply selfish to depart from the revolution and abandon my comrades to settle in a third country. I am thoroughly questioning myself and at the same time strongly criticizing my selfish behaviors and attitude. At one time, I have vowed to sacrifice my personal interests and my life for our Mon people. Now, I have completely abandoned and disregarded my dignity and my vows to our Mon people. The Burmese authorities are still oppressing our people and I ignore their plight to live in peace in a third country.

 

 

 

I live like this everyday, so frightened with my heart beating so fast. My body breaks out in a cold sweat, like the mortar and gunfire in my dream. In fact, my heartbeat and cold sweat this time is caused by dispute between right and wrong toward our Mon people. How can I justify my selfish behavior to abandon our cause and struggle for our Mon people while my comrades are still fighting and sacrificing their lives? I ask myself to find the right solution.

 

 

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KAOWAO NEWS GROUP

 

 

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ABOUT US

 

Kaowao Newsgroup is committed to social justice, peace, and democracy in Burma. We hope to be able to provide more of an in-depth analysis that will help to promote lasting peace and change within Burma.

 

 

Editors, reporters, writers, and overseas volunteers are dedicated members of the Mon activist community based in Thailand.

 

 

Our motto is working together for change and lasting peace.