10th anniversary of Kaowao

Dear Readers,

On this 10th anniversary of Kaowao's founding, we would like to announce a renewed commitment to provide news about the Mon people in Burma. The Kaowao Mon news service is committed to increasing awareness and knowledge about the political situation in southern Burma, Thailand, and other Asian nations, which comes from our sources based in the communities in these areas. Many on the outside have learned about the political situation through our Mon sources who have risked their lives in gathering news from these areas.

During the past ten years, Kaowao has passed through clear skies and stormy weather.  Readers may wonder why Kaowao’s voice has been silent these past few years. This is because many of us have been relocated to different countries with our families, others have moved on to study or retrain.

Three Mon activists: Cham Toik, Kun Yekha and Sunthorn Sripanngern of MUL (Mon Unity League), founded Kaowao to provide news to the Mon people who at that time had no access to media resources which provided news about their country. The first issue of Kaowao was released on November 12, 2001, from an Internet café in Bangkok, edited by a Canadian volunteer Ms. Lita Davidson, to a reader base of 200 subscribers.

Kaowao was appreciated by many readers at that time and gained momentum by gathering and sending out more news. The news focused on the discrimination the Mon faced in Asian nations as migrant workers, particularly in Thailand and Malaysia, on armed conflicts, civil society activities, and Mon leaders and their political histories. It also tried to present some background information on the Mon’s cultural history and the Burmese government’s ceasefire agreements with the New Mon State Party.

Kaowao later set up an office in Sangkhlaburi and continued to gather news; then began publishing reports and discussions on human rights, culture, and community initiatives in the Mon communities in Thailand and overseas. In addition to giving a voice to the Mon who are marginalized as an ethnic group both in Burma and Thailand, Kaowao has since evolved to become an organization that has provided work opportunities for young Mon who want to gain work experience.

During these years  ten years, Kaowao has been managed by a group of dedicated individuals at the grassroots level: Cham Toik, Lita Davidson, Kun Yekha, Banya Hongsar, Taing Taw, Layeh Rot (webmaster) Chittun Simon, Emily Dalton, Carson Christiano, Nai Layeh Rot (Gang Yang), Asohn Vi, Nai Thein Aung, Nai Arkar and Azan.

However, limited resources and lack of a consistent management team at the Sangkhlaburi border office have almost grounded the newsgroup. A recent online meeting of volunteers announced that the newsgroup would continue to work at gathering and reporting news to its readers who have been waiting eagerly for news from their homes in Monland.

We would like to take this opportunity to once again express our gratitude to the many supporters of Kaowao, who have been the central force in making our online and radio news a success story over the years. Your financial support has purchased equipment and boosted morale, which has helped the newsgroup to develop a great job on reaching out to the Mon community in Burma and overseas.

At this time, because Kaowao is a grassroots organization, we again wish to appeal for further donations to allow for the continuation of its news service. As always, your donations will make a big difference in supporting Kaowao in its commitment for change and lasting peace in Burma.

Kind Regards,

Editor
Kaowao Newsgroup

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Election Anniversary: What Has Changed in Mon State?
By Azan: November 3, 2011

The one-year anniversary of Burma’s 2010 election – the first election to be held in the country in 20 years – is in four days.

The Burmese government allowed each ethnic state in Burma to set up its own government after the election according to the new constitution, but ruled by the head of Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDA), which is dominated by Burmese ex-military generals.

After the election, the USDA leaders, who won the majority of votes in the country, have selected some ethnic people from ethnic parties to rule the ethnic states with them, playing a very cunning strategy according to the ethnic community leaders.

The USDA selected two Mon people from the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMDP) to join with them to form a new government in Mon State. The two people were Nai Lawi Ong, who is currently Minister of Electric Power and Industry, and Min Nwe Soe, who is currently the Minister of Finance and Revenue.

Firstly, many Mon community leaders were hopeful that these two ministers would be able to work for their community to promote Mon literature and culture. However, after the two ministers became a part of the new government in Mon State, the Mon community leaders found that they could not do much for the Mon community even after one year.

Some Mon community leaders accused the USDA of selecting the two Mon ministers as part of a strategy to divide and influence the role of the AMDP.

The AMDP retains a limited role in the Mon community, and the two Mon ministers refused to resign from the party after becoming ministers in the new government of Mon State.

“We wanted our party to take a more active role in our community, and we told them [the Mon ministers] to resign from the party so we could replace them with other people in order to run party more actively,” said Nai Ngwe Thein, the chairman of AMDP.

The AMDP is run by two leaders who have different political ideas about how to approach the changing nature of Mon politics and engagement with the Burmese government. In the meantime, while there are disagreements between the chairman of the party and the secretary of party, Min Nwe Soe is also the founder of the party.

Min Nwe Soe is a person who does not want to criticize the Burmese government, while Nai Ngwe Thein frequently speaks to the Burmese exile media and requests the Burmese government to release all political prisoners in Burma in order take another step towards a democratic society in the country.

According to the AMDP leaders, they have planned to advance Nai Chan Toi, who was the former executive committee member of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), to the position of Min Nwe Soe. However, Min Nwe Soe wrote a rule for the party earlier this year due to his worries that former members of NMSP would influence his party, according to members from the party.

The written rule puts restrictions on former members of NMSP who wish to become members of AMDP. They have to wait two years to be recognized as members of AMDP.

“Nai Chan Toi has lost his hope and was depressed after the written rule came out that he could not join the party,” said a member of AMDP from Mudon Township.

The Mon community leaders have repeatedly proposed that the two Mon ministers should promote Mon literature and culture, and even health care conditions, but the two ministers told the community leaders that the community leaders that should tell the Chief Minister of Mon State, Ohn Myint, their requests.

“Some of my people asked Nai Lawi Ong, one time when he visited Ye Township, to promote Mon literature and culture, and health care. But, he said, ‘Do not tell me about this. Go to tell the government,’” said Nai Kao Rot, who is the former Deputy Army Chief of NMSP.

Nai Kao Rot has accused the two Mon ministers of “becoming Mon USDA now. It seems Mon USDA is as difficult to deal with as Burmese USDA.”

After becoming a minister of the new government in Mon State, Nai Lawi Ong has been trying to work to bring electric power to Kalawthut Village, and to offer electric power to his native village in Mudon Township as his first local development project to initiate after he became a minister.

He has charged each household that plans to use electric power about 400,000 kyat, saying he is going to transfer electric power to the village from the Ministry of Electric Power and the government in Mon State.

“There are about 400 houses that have applied to have electric power. There are many more houses that want to apply, but they have suspicions about how much power he can transfer to the village as there are often shortages of electric power in Mon State,” said a Kalawthut villager.

“I do not think his plan is going to work very well because there is a shortage of electric power in Mon State — we only get electricity three days a week,” said Dr. Min Kyi Win, a prominent of Mon politician and a former political prisoner.

Several Mon community leaders have reported to Kaowao that they have not yet seen any positive changes in their community for the Mon people, even though two of the government’s new ministers are from Mon State.

“They [the two Mon ministers] do not have power. This is why they cannot do anything. They have to listen to orders from Naypyidaw,” said Nai Tin Aung, who is a community leader in Panga Village, Thanbyuzayat Township, and a former executive committee member of NMSP.

“We have not seen anything change in our community since they were elected. The people are not going to vote for them in the next election if they do not work for the people,” said Nai Dod, who is a member of AMDP.

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Burmese Government Welcomes the Migrants Fleeing the Bangkok Flooding By Azan, Kaowao: October 29, 2011 Thousands of Burmese migrants fleeing the flooding disaster in Bangkok were today welcomed at the Thai-Burma border between Mae Sot and Myawaddy by Burmese border authorities, according to border sources.

Authorities are taking photos and video of the migrants who are coming back at the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army [rebel militia] (DKBA) at 999 gate. They are giving free services to cross the border and even a free bottle of drinking water,” said one eye-witness in Mae Sot.

The eye-witness confirmed they are not charging anything to cross the border, while previously Burmese migrants had to pay approximately 100 baht (3.28 $) for transportation across the border.

According to the border sources, over the last two days the Burmese police have been investigating operations of the DKBA at the 999 gate in Myawaddy after media reported rights abuses including taking illegal money from thousands of Burmese migrants.

Several Burmese migrants have reported to The Irrawaddy that they had to pay bribe money at the gate in order to pass and in some cases were made to purchase Karen-language VCDs for 200 baht (6.55 $).

One victim who was deported to Myawaddy on October 26 said, “I paid 2,500 baht (81.89 $) to the DKBA 999 gate in Myawaddy. Once I was through, I had to pay THB20 [USD$0.66] for each bag I was carrying, 20 bath (0.66 $) for the ferry and 80 baht (2.62 $) to get a motorcycle taxi back to Mae Sot.

In some cases Burmese migrants have been exploited by Burmese authorities, the DKBA, and even Thai immigration officials who have also been witnessed accepting large payments to allow border crossing. A Karen businessman in Mae Sot said, “These people do not have heart. They only know how to take money from people.”

These past weeks have seen some of the worst floods ever recorded in Thailand, particularly in Bangkok where many residents and migrant workers have been forced to flee the city. Burmese migrants continue to return to Burma as the flooding continues to worsen, with an estimated 2,000 people crossing the border each day.

With this influx, visa agents are relishing the increase in business, with at least ten new visa places now set up along the Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Burma at Myawaddy. Burmese migrant sources who hold border passports said that they cooperated with immigration officials and visa agents in Mae Sot and were charged 1,300 baht (42.58 $) for a visa compared with the pre-flood price of 1, 000 baht (32.75 $).

Meanwhile, Burmese authorities in Three Pagodas Pass including the military, immigration officials, police and township authorities have taxed one person 500 baht (16.38 $) from Burmese migrants. About 600 migrants crossed the border in Three Pagodas Pass yesterday.

A resident in Three Pagodas Pass said, “They have set up a table at the border gate and they are taking money from every migrant. They told the migrants it is a tax.”

Andy Hall, a consultant to the Thailand-based Human Rights and Development Foundation, said, “I am going to contact the Myanmar ambassador to bring attention to these latest migrant issues.

They (Burmese migrants) should not be exploited by Thai authorities and Myanmar authorities. They should not be taking money from those fleeing a natural disaster. It is a human rights abuse and it is unacceptable,” he said.

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Military Prepares To Sell Confiscated Land
By Azan, Kaowao: October 28, 2011

Burmese government troops and township authorities in Three Pagodas Pass near the Thai-Burmese border have plans to sell approximately 60 acres of land that they confiscated from civilians in 2005, according to border sources.

Commander Aung Win Khaing from Burmese military Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 32 and township authorities from the Settlement and Land Records Department measured and divided housing plots on 20 October with the intent to sell the land.

A resident who declined to be named said, “They are going to have over 100 housing plots. One plot costs 30,000 baht. They have already sold about 20 plots.”

Residents said that the Burmese authorities in Three Pagodas Pass seized the lands in 2005, telling the victims that the lands belonged to government civil servants.

“They (Burmese authorities) forced about 90 families at that time to relocate to other places in the town. I remember those families had a lot of problems from the forced relocation,” said another resident.

“It is not fair to sell the land because the owners of these lands still remain in the town. They should give it back to the people,” he added.

Land confiscation occurs often in Mon State. Land is frequently confiscated by Burmese troops to build military barracks.

The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has reported that about 12,000 acres of rubber plantation land was confiscated by Burmese government troops along the highway from Moulmein to Ye Township in Mon state between the years 2000 and 2010.

HURFOM documented the land confiscation by the military and other abuses in a published report titled No Land to Farm.

The victims did not receive compensation, and many were forced to work in Thailand. Some went to live in the Mon displaced persons camp in Halockhani after becoming unemployed.

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Villager Steps on Landmine after Being Conscripted as Military Porte
By Azan, Kaowao: October 24, 2011

Aung Hein, a 45-year-old man, has lost a lot of blood since his leg was blown-off by a landmine between the villages of Myaing Thar Yar and Apalong near to the Thai-Burmese border in Three Pagodas Pass. He asks nurses for more water to drink approximately every five minutes.

His left foot is completely destroyed—only raw meat remains. The wound is wrapped in cloth and he is on a glucose drip in a hospital in Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi province, which doctors hope will hydrate and give him energy before they operate.

His face is pale and he has been lying in bed for three days in the hospital. He is still waiting for more blood to be donated. He needs two more units of blood, according to his family.

“I want them [medics] to treat me as soon as they can because I feel very painful”, he said. “I think after they remove the rest of the foot, the pain must ease.”

Aung Hein is a poor man. He is a Karen who can speak both Mon and Karen languages, and he has three children. His family grows paddy in the mountains, and he also works daily odd jobs in the village to survive.

His son, who is about 25 years’ old and is taking care of his father at the hospital, said that he does not know what to do next for his father and the family.

Aung Hein said that he and other two villagers were conscripted as porters to walk the second line in a conflict zone between the villages of Myaing Thar Yar and Apalong behind six Burmese government troops who took the frontline.

After he stepped on the first landmine, four of the six soldiers were also hit by different landmines, according to Aung Hein.

“The bombs hit their body parts, but not their legs. One was hit on the chin and he lost his teeth. Some were even hit on their faces and hearts. No one was immediately killed,” he said.

“The bomb blast threw me a little up in the air, and I was in a sitting position after the blast. At that time, I was sad when I looked at my foot. I saw only raw meat and knew that I had lost my foot”, he said.

There was a small amount of fighting between a Karen armed group and the government troops from Light Infantry Battalion No. 543 after the bomb blasts, according to Aung Hein, but a commander told his troops to keep quiet and not to fight back.

“During the fighting, I took my position calmly and did not feel much pain yet. The four soldiers were crying from their injuries”, he said.

Aung Hein was a community leader in Ta Dein, a village about 11 kilometers from Three Pagodas Pass, near the Thai-Burmese border. The village has about 200 households and is generally considered to be territory controlled by the rebel New Mon State Party.

The landmine incident occurred on 6 October about one hour after he and the soldiers left the village, and it occurred between the villages of Myaing Thar Yar and Apalong. His left hand was also wounded from the blast.

He said that he had to serve as a porter as he could not find other villagers to take his place when LIB No. 543 entered the village.

“They [soldiers] told me to show them the road. I followed them as I could not find other villagers. I did not want them to make any problems in our village,” he said.

Aung Hein says he was also forced to porter for the Burmese troops last year, but he did not have any problems then.

For his medical treatment, the commander of LIB No. 543 gave 100,000 kyat and 1,500 Thai baht to Aung Hein.

“The commander told me if this money is not enough for treatment, I can contact their headquarters. But I do not know where their headquarters are,” he said. For now, he remains in the hospital, hoping to be thoroughly hydrated soon.

Note: [Aung Hein is not the real name of the man in the story]

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Mons Celebrate Refugee Day in Kuala Lumpur to Raise Awareness
Kaowao: June 25, 2011

Kuala Lumpur -- Mon refugees celebrated the World Refugee Day in Malaysian’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, on June 18-19, 2011, organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Nai Sahai Mon, the Vice-Chairman of the Mon Refugee Organization (MRO), who assists refugees and migrants, told Kaowao that the event was organized by the UNHCR to raise not only funds and awareness about the plight of refugees, but to sign up volunteers for job skills training and teaching.

“The UNHCR helped with setting up several show-rooms and provided space for fund-raising shops managed by the refugee communities who sold their wares to the public,” says Nai Sahai.

Over the 2-day celebration, the Mons performed the Mon Solo Dance, followed by a popular New Year Water Festival Dance, the Alphabet and the Courtship (Wooing) Dances.  The Mon Solo Dance was created by a Mon artist who sang about the beginning of time when the earth was first formed. According to a Mon dance teacher, Nai Min, the dance is a Brahmism creation myth when the world came into being with only one human race on planet Earth. According to oral tradition and the Mons ancestors, human beings came down from the Brahma Celestial regions and later migrated to different territories and evolved into different nationalities or ethnic groups.

With Burma being so close geographically to Malaysia, Burmese migrants make up the bulk of the refugees at roughly 92 percent. Other refugee groups hail from Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nai Sahai estimates that there are approximately 40,000 Mon in Malaysia, half of whom are refugees, the other group are migrant workers. Of those 20,000 refugees, only 3,800 are registered with the UNHCR office with another 14,500 seeking registration.  The Mons leave Burma due to human rights violations, economic hardship, and repression under the Burmese government.

Since Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN convention on treatment of refugees, those fleeing abuses from their home countries are often stuck in limbo with no status or human rights. Refugees, as well as illegal migrants, have no access to healthcare, education, or legal representation. Thus, the MRO steps in to assist the Mons applying for refugee status at the UNHCR office and helps Mon refugees who need medical treatment, clothing, and shelter.

Having no legal status, refugees, and both legal and illegal migrants, are given little public sympathy and government support in Malaysia. Refugees are forbidden to work legally and they and their children have no access to public healthcare and education. Despite having documentation, refugee and migrant families fear late night searches by the Malaysian authorities who round vulnerable people for deportation to the border area or other locations where they fall into traps and are sometimes handed over by unscrupulous individuals to criminal groups for exploitation.

"They look down on us . . . they don't see us as human beings, they see refugees as criminals,'' said Mi Tanda Htun, founder of Mon Women Refugee Malaysia (Melissa Goh from Asia Pacific News, June 20, 2011).

Without a secure environment and strong economy back home, Burmese migrants and refugees will continue to leave their country in large numbers in order to seek a better life abroad. Political observers in Mon State are doubtful that any serious political change will come about under the newly elected civilian government that is led by the USDA, a military backed organization, which was voted into power in Burma's first General Election in twenty years on November 7, 2010.

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Mons See No Change to Political Landscape after 2010 General Election
Kaowao: June 22, 2011

Ye -- Since the Myanmar General Election, the first held in twenty years on November 7, 2010, civilians in Mon State are still waiting for political change to take hold inside their country under the leadership of President Thein Sein, whose party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), won the majority of seats.

According to political observers, civilians are doubtful that any serious political change will come about under a new civilian run government that is led by the USDA, a military backed organization. Nai Soe Maung from Ye, who voted for the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMDP), says, “Things are the same as before and probably are getting worse here, so to show our spirit as Mon, we voted.” Another AMDP supporter, Nai Lun from Lamaing Town, says, “I have not been disappointed, while the USDP won the election unfairly, the AMDP did gain a few seats.”

In Mon State, USDP leader, Ohn Myint, a former Brigadier General formed a new state government with nine ministers.  Two were chosen from the AMDP, Dr. Min Nwe Soe from Mudon who was appointed to act as Social Welfare and Culture Minister, and Nai Lawi Ong (aka) Colonel Myint Swe, from Ye, the Energy and Electric Power Minister.

The Mon State Parliament has thirty-one seats, fourteen from the USDP, seven from the AMDP, two from the National Unity Party (NUP), and eight military-appointed representatives.

“We met Ohn Myint and the two Mon ministers at Kamawak during a religious ceremony recently, but I came away thinking that they wouldn’t keep their election promises.  They will not help our rural community,” said Nai Ein from Hneepadaw village, which is located near Thanbyu Zayat Town.

The AMDP has tried to make aware the problems in Mon State and occasionally has called on the new government for cultural rights, including the right of the ethnic groups to teach in their own languages at the government schools and to improve economic development in Mon State.

AMDP Chairman, Nai Ngwe Thein, recently told the Myanmar media that he called on the present government to create productive employment opportunities in Mon State or more people will leave the country to seek better employment due to the poor economic prospects in their home villages.

While the political situation remains unpromising, the security situation in the border areas remains bleak and continues to jeopardize any positive change to the country. Military conflict has continued unabated since the election along Myanmar’s eastern and northern border areas with the Burmese Army moving in troops and targeting unarmed civilians in the ethnic areas to counter fresh attacks by the ethnic armed groups.

Shortly after the election, the ethnic armed groups rejected orders from the Burmese government to disarm and form into border guard forces, but instead over the last six months, have intensified their rebel attacks against the Burmese Army.

The Three Pagodas Pass border town has seen an increase in guerrilla attacks against the Burmese soldiers and civilians who support the Burmese government, while in recent weeks pockets of armed conflict have broken out between the BA and the Kachin, Shan, and Karen ethnic groups in other areas along the border region.  According to local sources, the Burma Army is beginning to move in their troops to the Three Pagodas Pass area in preparation for a military campaign against the Karen armed groups.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur, said: "The situation of ethnic minority groups in the border areas presents serious limitations to the government's intention to transition to democracy."

Debbie Stothard, coordinator for the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma), says a major problem with Myanmar’s political insecurity is the impunity of government officials who escape accountability for committing human rights violations. According to Amnesty International, Myanmar officials, who have committed human rights violations in the past, are granted immunity by the constitution in Article 445.

Many civilians in Mon State worry that the security situation may deteriorate even further. “The BA may decide to attack the Mon (NMSP), so we have to prepare for the worst,” said Chan Mon, a young activist from Ye.  Ye Township is the Mons strong hold area where the AMDP candidates Nai Myint Swe, Dr. Banya Aung Moe and Ms. Mi Myint Myint Than won seats.

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Burmese communities hit hard by the declining value of their earnings
Kaowao: June 19, 2011

Burmese villagers struggle to make ends meet as an increasingly stronger Burmese kyat results in less money to live on when exchanged from an ever weakening foreign currency sent to them by their families working abroad, Kaowao has learned.

Burmese migrant workers living in Thailand and abroad are resisting sending their money home to Burma due to the rise of the Burmese kyat against the US and Thai currencies.

According to Burmese money exchange trader, Chan Ong in Bangkok, the Burmese kyat is valued at K 26.75 to the Thai baht and K 780 to one US dollar.

Ong says his business is declining since most of his Burmese clients are holding out for a better rate instead of sending their earnings back home.

“The Burmese kyat was worse last week, but it bounced back a little yesterday.  It’s been like this since the collapse of the world economy three years ago,” said Nai Myint Shwe, another businessman who lives in Samut Sakhorn, a central Thai province.

There are approximately one million Burmese migrant workers in the Kingdom of Thailand employed in the 3D jobs, with approximately 200,000 working in the Thai central provinces of Samut Sakhorn and Samut Songkhram, where most are employed in the fishing and prawn export industries located near the Gulf of Thailand.

Burmese migrant workers remit a large proportion of their earnings back home to Burma, vital for their families’ survival, which in turn, boasts the local economy.

“Even though the current rate was only K 750 to one US dollar, I sent it to my parents who need it desperately back home,” said Mi Mi Win, who works in Canada.

Commodity prices in Burma have risen since the collapse of the world economy and without remittances from their families living abroad, many Burmese will face difficult times in making ends meet.

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Military demands cash and transport from travelers
Mi Sandar Oo, Kaowao: January 25, 2011

Three Pagodas Pass – Burmese military border guards in the Three Pagodas Pass area have been demanding both cash payments and the use of civilian vehicles to transport supplies in Mon and Karen State, according to local sources.

Vehicle owners are troubled over being stopped in areas where the ethnic armed groups, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) are planning guerrilla attacks against the ruling military regime since December, 2010.

 “I saw a passenger car pulled over to the side with passengers getting out and bringing their belongings with them,” says a local witness.

“No cars are leaving Three Pagodas Pass town while the town is being occupied by soldiers in uniform.”

The drivers of the vehicles are forced to drive the car and risk their lives during ambush attacks. The vehicles being used by the military can be blown up by landmines and damaged by stray bullets when the Karen rebels open fire on the Burmese military.

“No compensation will be paid if you get wounded and your vehicle will be damaged by any attack,” says the Mon source. He added that most of the passenger vehicles are owned by Mon nationals.

According to the source from the town, the military tried to collect thirty passenger cars for carrying military rations and office equipment for the Three Pagodas Pass sub-town office during the winter season after the four month raining season.

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Two Karen youth caught in the firing line
Mi Sandar Oo, Kaowao: January 19, 2011

Three Pagodas Pass -- Two Karen youth were wounded when fighting broke out between the Burmese government troops and the Karen National Union (KNU).

The fighting occurred on January 17 near a small Karen internally displaced village under the administration of the New Mon State Party along the motor road to Three Pagoda Pass, Mon State; says a Karen national to a Kaowao reporter under the condition of anonymity.

The two SPDC columns under battalion No. (406) were ambushed by the KNU battalion No. (16) near a small stream close to Hti War Doh village of Kyar-inn Seik-kyi Township in the Three Pagodas Pass area.

“The KNU soldiers had planted landmines and were waiting to ambush patrolling SPDC soldiers when the two sides opened fire on each other. “Two SPDC soldiers were killed on the spot and three were wounded,” said the man from Myine Thar Yar village who witnessed the conflict.

The man says 17-year-old Saw Sha Poung and 12-year-old Kyaung Kwut from his village were seriously wounded in the arteries of the hands and legs. The SPDC at the Three Pagoda Pass Township blocked them from receiving treatment at the International Red Cross clinic along the Thailand-Burma border.

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SPDC human porters caught in line of fire
Naw Ae Ni, Kaowao: January 13, 2011

The DKBA troop has accidently shot prisoners who were used for portering by the SPDC units on the border after fighting broke out earlier this week according to the DKBA military personnel officer from the Thailand-Burma border.

The five prisoners with their legs in shackles were carrying rations and ammunition while being used as human shields on the frontline to set off landmines. It is believed that both the SPDC and the DKBA use landmines.

“They were purposely ordered to stay close among the military soldiers in the manner of mixing,” said Saw Kyaw Thet, a DKBA military officer who heads a battalion on the frontline.

“We find it difficult to avoid shooting them because they are amongst the SPDC (soldiers). Very often they get shot along with the SPDC soldiers,” the DKBA military officer said.

“We saw some of them walking ahead of the SPDC soldiers.”

The SPDC uses many rounds of mortars in their battles against the DKBA group who recently broke away from the SPDC. The Burmese Army is fighting to clear away areas under the control of the DKBA’s military base in southern Maesot along the Thailand-Burma border. Their tactics have had some success in targeting DKBA soldiers who are hiding along the main routes waiting to ambush approaching SPDC soldiers.

The DKBA spokesperson says that they have used guerilla tactics against the SPDC columns led by Military Command Number (8) based in Karen State.  According to the DKBA, about a dozen SPDC soldiers have been wounded in this manner in which three have been killed.

At the time of reporting it is difficult to verify who and how many have been wounded on either side in recent clashes.

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Security Fears Rise After Three Pagodas Pass Border Siege
Kaowao: November 21, 2010

Three Pagodas Pass – Residents who have returned home after a 3-day siege on the remote Three Pagodas Pass border town live in fear of further conflict between the Burmese Army and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

“Some villagers are still in Thailand and I am preparing to flee there as well,” said Ms. Mi Dut from the Three Pagodas Pass border town.

On November 8, a day after the first General Election in 20 years in Burma, the (DKBA) launched an offensive against the Burmese soldiers stationed in the town and burned down government buildings including the Special Branch (SB), Agriculture and Forestry Department buildings. The villagers started to return to the area on November 12 when the DKBA retreated three days later.

Nai Win, a town resident, says the town residents are expecting more conflict and are living in fear after the arrival of government troops in the remote border town. The 300 troops from three battalions under the command of the Front Line Commander Colonel Thein Zaw are now taking position to reinforce the area with another on patrol between Anan Kwin and the Three Pagodas Pass.

Karen villagers from Aplon, Ta-Dein and Thet-Kae, situated along the border area, have also left their homes to avoid from being forced into portering and used as human shields by the Burmese Army, a Karen villager told a Kaowao reporter.

According to the local source from Sangkhlaburi, District Chief Chamra Kongnoi ordered the refugees to return back across the border after the Thai authorities were sure that the area was secure when the Burmese authorities reopened the border.

“We do not want to go but the Burmese and the Thai authorities insisted that we return - if we fail to do so they (BA) will burn down our homes if they are not occupied soon,” said Mi Ngwe from the Burma side of the border town.

About one thousand refugees are still taking shelter at the Japanese Well (Palaing Japan) village under the control of the New Mon State Party.

Tension between the ethnic groups and the Burmese government had been rising after the government’s Border Guard Force ultimatum. The Burmese government wanted the ethnic armies to give up their arms and join the Burmese Army to act as border security personnel. Some of the DKBA soldiers roundly rejected the offer and broke away from their main group ahead of the country’s first General Election in 20 years.

According to a military observer Nai Ong who lives in Sangkhlaburi, the Burmese Army may launch a military offensive against the DKBA and KNU forces in the area.

General Joel Yeh of the Mon National Liberation Army, the military wing of the New Mon State Party, said his troops are on alert to protect the villagers, but will continue to maintain their ceasefire unless the Burmese Army first launches an offensive against them.

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AMDP Wins Opposition Party in Mon State
Kaowao: November 19, 2010

Moulmein -- According to the list of winners issued by Union Election Commission, the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMDP) will become the Official Opposition party to sit in the Mon State Parliament.

The government backed USDP (Union Solidarity and Development Party) gained 14 seats followed by the AMDP with 7 seats and the third was the NUP (National Unity Party) with 2 seats in the 23-seat Hluttaw State Parliament.

Those AMDP leaders elected include;

1.    Dr. Min Nwe Soe from Mudon 2 Constituency
2.    Min San Tin of Kyaik Mayaw 2 Constituency
3.    Nai Myint Swe (aka) Colonel Lawee Ong of Ye 1 Constituency
4.    Min Thein Han of Ye 2 Constituency
5.    Min Aung Naing Oo of Chaung Zon 1 Constituency
6.    Tala Chan (aka) Nai Naing Oo of Thanbyu Zayat 2 Constituency
7.    Min Chan Myint of Paung 2 Constituency
Amid allegations of irregularities in Burma’s first General Election in 20 years, the AMDP won most of seats in the Mon rural area and the junta backed parties took the rest of the seats in Mon State.

Local observers and volunteers for the AMDP told a Kaowao reporter that the AMDP had won more than 16 seats in both the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and the State Hluttaw Parliaments but the results were later changed when the UEC officers filled the votes for the USDP by Pre-Votes.

“It is unfortunate, but we knew they would change the results against the AMDP,” said Chan Saik, a volunteer for the AMDP in Kyaik Mayaw Township.

The Union Election Commission (UEC) released a statement on November 16 informing political parties they can present their objections to UEC about the representatives-elect in accordance with its rules and regulations.  Political parties are required to send a letter of objection to the commission claiming the voting in the constituency was unfair.

An AMDP leader says that even though the government has given the authorization it would be very difficult to follow through given the high fee of 1 million kyat to process a complaint to the UEC for each candidate.

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Readers' Front

Dear readers,

We invite comments and suggestions on improvements to the Kaowao newsletter. With your help, we hope that Kaowao News will continue to grow to better serve 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 Newsgroup
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