KAO WAO NEWS No. 70
An electronic newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma
June 17- July 3, 2004
**********************************************
READER’S FRONT
STEP OUT OF LINE AND YOU’LL BE SHOT
THE JUNTA’S WAY OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
FORCED
JULIA TRYBE THAI/BURMESE BORDER TOUR
BENEFIT
CHALLENGING THE 9-year old cease fire
agreement
MON OPI
FOREST AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT NOT A
CONCERN
PASSENGERS HELD UP BY BOMB THREAT
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READERS' FRONT
Dear Readers,
We invite
comments and suggestions on improvements to Kao-Wao newsletter.
With your help, we hope that Kao-Wao News will continue to grow
to serve better the needs of those seeking social justice in
Regards,
Editor
kaowao@hotmail.com,
kaowao@shaw.ca
___________________________
KaoWao website
is missing, that I have been looking for is, good detailed map of
Mon state and immediately adjoining areas. It
would provide the average reader with much needed orientation in
locating the place mentioned in news stories.
Eric
(
_____________________________________________
Thank you for
the useful resource Kao Wao News. I have been reading it for
several years. I have 1 question. In the article below it
states that middle school charges are between 3,600-41,000 Kyats.
Is it actually 41,000 or 4,100?
Thank you!
Michele Keegan
*
Correction
Please
accept our apology for the mistake. Please take the middle
school charges 3,600 to 4,100 Kyats (instead of 41,000) in our
pervious “Poor Forced to Pay for Basic Education by Taramon
and Lita Davidson:
__________________________________________________
Reader
Thanks
Dear Kao
Wao,
Even though
I am very interested in Mon organizations, I have no chance to
join in any politics. I read news from Kao Wao and I am
very proud of Mon organizations around the world and your media
work.
Kyaw Hlaing
__________________________________________
On Mon Opinion Split Over National
Convention: Cham Toik
It is good to
know your views on NC, my friends. Mon national leader Nai Tun
Thein, who is the leader of MNDF and a prominent leader in CRPP,
clearly showed the way to the people that NC is a fake. I believe
MNSP should review its self-serving approach in regards to NC.
MMT
_________________________________________
For ethnic
nationalities, either reaching cease fire agreement
or continue to fight the junta, there is not much different.
The SPDC continue to violate human rights including unlawful
killing, rape and torture.
With regards,
Mahn Kyaw Swe
_______________________________________________
It's such a good
stuff that we've been informed about the opinions of Mon people.
The Mon, as a minority group, have full rights to express their
voices and concerns in whatever way the chance comes up, but
not to be twisted by the thuggish regime in exchange of personal
business opportunities.
In Solidarity,
Min Thura Wynn
********************************************
STEP OUT OF LINE AND
YOU’LL BE SHOT
(By Banya Toay
Taw:
Burmese Army
reprimanded local people who were recently kidnapped and
harassed, with a young man being executed by the Burmese Army,
when they informed the local community and New Mon State Party
about their case.
In early June,
the Infantry Battalion No. 106 abducted three men and four women
from Ham Gam, southern Ye, Mon state. A soldier from the
troops of Captain Myint Naing disguised himself as a Mon rebel
and spoke in Mon when he abducted the 7 villagers. The
victims were later released after paying a high ransom.
The source from
the Mon community said the BA soldiers abducted the victims and
extorted 50,000 Kyats from each of them. In the middle of
the night in the forest nearby the village, four women were
threatened and sexually assaulted by the soldiers and Nai Acuu
(age 18) was shot dead while trying to protect the women. The
witness said Accu was shot after being accused of grabbing a gun
belonging to the soldier.
Local villagers
and the New Mon State Party were informed about the incident and
the case was reported to the senior members of State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC). Instead of charging the
soldiers with kidnapping and murder, the victims were reprimanded
for spreading the news to the local people. The local commander
ordered them to come to the camp every week as a punishment,
reported a local headman who spoke under condition of anonymity.
“It’s
a psychological attack because the SPDC wants them to keep busy
working as slaves and not to report incidents on any wrong doings
of the hard-line BA,” said Nai Hong, the community leader in
Ye.
********************************************
THE JUNTA’S WAY
OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(Banya Toay;
The Burmese Army
has confiscated more land for the Agriculture Research Centre in
southern
A senior officer
from the New Mon State Party (NMSP) that reached a cease-fire
with the military regime said that the State Peace and
Development Council took over 800 acres of land owned by about a
hundred farmers.
The confiscated
land in southern Ye Township,
The majority of
landowners are Mon farmers who rely on their land for a
subsistence way of life and there is no other choice for them to
survive reported Mon community leader in Ye.
The area is
under the BA’s military offensive against Mon armed group
Hongsawatoi Restoration Party and the local farmers need
permission to go to their farms since it was defined as a black
area.
The SPDC
government has confiscated over 5,000 acres of land in Ye
Township after the cease-fire agreement between the NMSP and
military regime, which has left people impoverished. The land is
used for military purposes and the crops are ruined by the
military, causing environmental degradation.
**********************************************
FORCED
(By Lawi Ong,
southern
Use of forced
labour continues in southern Ye,
Mon local
community reported Ye-Khawzar road is under construction for the
military purpose and villagers were forced to work for completion
of the road.
When asked by
Kao Wao about the forced labor, a Mon health worker said,
“They order villagers to work on daily basic to connect the
road to Ye.”
The source from
Khawzar said the Burma Army local commander has also started a
high school construction in the village and about five acres of
land owned by Nai Shwe Pha and Mi Kyi Linn was confiscated by the
army.
Khawzar is one
of the biggest Mon communities in southern Ye and a strategic
command office led by Burma Army Colonel Than Toe is based at
present. The SPDC has launched a military offensive against
Mon armed group since December last year in southern Ye area.
About 70 Hongsawatoi Restoration Party Mon guerillas led by Nai
Hloin and Nai Bin brothers are active in the area.
*****************************************************
Entertainment
(Kao Wao,
The Salween
River Band will perform a Burmese concert this summer in August
in
According to
Than Soe Win, manager of the band, entertainers include famous
Burmese singers Mar Mar Aye, May Sweet and Lashio Thein Aung
(Jimmy Jack).
Two brothers Moe
Nyunt and Thiri Nyunt first founded the band in the summer of
1998, it later on grew to include other musicians, dissident
students, and ethnic youths based in the
The band’s
name,
The founders Moe
and Thiri have performed with several other Burmese celebrities
including Sai Htee Saeng, Than Naing (Playboy), Soe Paing, Kai
Zar, Academy Soe Thu, Lwin Moe, Ye Aung, Mar Mar Aye, Nwe Yin Win
and Aye Chan May in the USA on many occasions.
The band is scheduled to play on
Please visit http://www.salweenriverband.com
for more information.
**************************************************
JULIA TRYBE THAI/BURMESE BORDER TOUR BENEFIT
(Cited from
Julia TrYbe Concert:
Australian
singer-songwriter and performance art-activist Julia TrYbe has
been invited to sing at the United Nations’ XV International
AIDS Conference in
Julia will be
performing 9 concerts with other international acts such as
Caravan, including the AIDS 2004 Film Festival gala opening with
Richard Gere, and for children in the Klong Toey slums of
Julia has
written a new song to perform at AIDS 2004 in
In 2003 Julia
opened Small World at Glastonbury
Festival on the same stage as an acoustic LAMB. She
organised 1 Voice 1 Day Festival at
Ginglik in London, featuring TrYbe with special screening
of Faithless founder Jamie Cato’s acclaimed music-film 1
Giant Leap, and performed at RAWPEACE during
Bush’s London visit with GM Baby at Sahara Nights, Kings
Cross. Returning to
She will be
staging a special Bangkok/Burmese Border Tour Benefit on Sunday,
July 4 at Gertrudes, 30 Gertrude St, Fitzroy and doors open 5 pm Julia
TrYbe solo show upstairs at 6.30pm, $5/$8.
For more
information please contact; juliatrybe@lycos.com.
*****************************************************
Perspective on the 9th
anniversary of cease-fire agreement
CHALLENGING
THE 9-year old cease fire agreement
(By Sunthorn
Sripanngern:
The obscure
cease-fire agreement between NMSP and SPDC has lasted for 9
years. Some veteran Mon leaders in exile in reviewing this
agreement view it as a complete failure having no advantage at
all for both the Mon people and the NMSP itself. But the NMSP
leaders claim that there has been some progress, such as the
expansion of Mon national schools; the freedom of party members
to travel freely; and having access to the Mon population.
General Khin Nyunt, when he first met the NMSP leaders in
Many
thousands of acres of Mon farmlands have been and continue to be
forcibly confiscated by the military. As a result the local
people are unemployed and have to flee from their homes seeking
jobs with the poor in neighboring countries. The remaining people
in the village, unable to flee due to poor health and family, are
forced to work for military purposes. The military authority
without any sense of future considerations forcibly extorts money
and properties from the local people. They behave as they did
centuries ago; no idea of modernity exists in the minds of the
Burmese authorities.
Apart from
the right of free _expression, the rights in living according to
Mon traditional and cultural rights are consistently violated.
For the NMSP, after the cease- fire there was disunity among the
party members. Some party members grabbed at the opportunity as a
cash cow, to advance their personal business interests. After
they were successful in their ventures they left the party. Also
within the party's military force, some soldiers were not
satisfied with the cease-fire and split the force into groups and
left the party. These are only some of the situations which
have led to the disadvantages caused by the cease-fire,
destruction to the environment and loss of our heritage has
changed the picture. We respected the goodwill and political
decisions of the NMSP leaders who advocated for their people and
their country. But they had no choice at that time because
of internal problems and strong external pressure from the Thai
government and other groups that made the NMSP fall into the trap
of agreeing to a cease-fire agreement. There was no choice; it
was something they couldn’t get away from.
Also in the
latest situation of
According to
the Mon saying “Chot Mooa Kataing, Kyaing Mooa Sako" to
die in the one grave or alive together on the one mat—so
they are dancing to the same tune. NMSP and their cease-fire
alliances are in a small boat relying on their own rowers, trying
their best at rowing toward the goal of Federal Democratic
Country. Now they are in the middle of ocean, they cannot see the
shore; they are preparing to face a rough sea and a severe storm
that is developing around them.
I deeply
hope that the NMSP along with the other ethnic nationality
parties do their best to achieve their goal of democracy and
independence for our country.
*********************************************************
New
MON OPINION SPLIT OVER NATIONAL CONVENTION
(By Cham Toik:
President Nai
Htin of the New Mon State Party recently visited Mon communities
and senior monks in
Support for the
NMSP has gradually declined since it reached a cease-fire
agreement with the military regime in 1995. This was not
always the case. For decades following its founding after
the surrender of the Mon People’s Front in 1958, the NMSP
was known as the vanguard of the Mon freedom movement. Under the
leadership of Nai Shwe Kyin and Nai Nonlar, it was the main Mon
political party. Together with its military wing, the Mon
National Liberation Army, it was active in rural guerrilla
warfare and warmly welcomed by
The Mon people
have paid the bitter price of lives lost, lands confiscated,
houses uprooted, during this struggle. Many have sacrificed for
the dream of regaining sovereignty. Frustrated by the
protracted civil war, civilians have rarely seen the silver
lining and have fallen out with each other and complained against
their leaders. Especially since the cease-fire, support for the
NMSP among the public has been on the decline. The party
has been criticized by many for its failure to protect against
human rights violations by the Burmese military regime. Many
cadres and freedom fighters have left the party accusing it of
making a deal for the benefit a few which failed to provide a
lasting political solution. The expansion of the Burma Army
in the Mon region has proved a real threat to the local
population and thousands of acres of land in
An opportunity
for the NMSP to speak out arose when the military junta initiated
its ‘Road Map to Democracy’ and reconvened the National
Convention. This offered room for political manoeuvre and a
little hope for the NMSP which has been longing to get into
dialogue with the regime ever since it made the cease-fire deal
-- a chance to take advantage of its engagement with the regime.
The day before
entering the National Convention camp in Nyaunghnapin near
However,
political analysts are of the opinion that the NMSP was pressured
by the SPDC and only decided to attend the NC at the last moment.
Opponents say the Mon leaders were summoned to
Following an
invitation to attend the NC by Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt
in December 2003, the NMSP reluctantly provided a list of a
five-member delegation led by Nai Chan Toi. But before
reaching a final decision, the party faced the difficult choice
of whether to take a stand with democratic forces or to side with
the regime. Finally, and only at the last minute in early
May, following a tough political debate, the party’s Central
Committee (CC) voted 16 to 8 to join the NC. Those
favouring participation said it would was an option for further
dialogue and that the Party would demand freedom of _expression
and a change in some of the NC’s principles.
Even though the NMSP is in the junta’s camp, the SPDC has
not been happy with the NMSP and other cease-fire groups because
of their demand for changes in the basic principles set out for
the Constitution. General Khin Nyunt was upset when the NMSP and
five other groups (Kachin Independence Organization, Shan State
Army North, Shan State National Army, Palaung State Liberation
Organization and the Kayan New Land Party) on
“The SPDC
did not expect that we (cease-fire groups) would be united and
put forward an alternative proposal regarding state constitutions
and power sharing between the central government and the federal
states. They were upset with our proposal,” said Colonel Kao
Rot, a senior leader of the NMSP. He said the Mon delegation was
very optimistic but he wondered if the dream would come true.
Many regulations and restrictions were set by the SPDC and even
taking group photos with other Mon nationals who attended the
convention has been viewed unfavourably by the junta. The
delegates are restricted from leaving the convention site and are
unable to gain access to other groups and organizations for
consultation.
Public opinion
in the Mon community has been split over the NC. In March
2004, at the Mon National Affairs Seminar held in eastern Ye,
politicians and community leaders called the Road Map a trap and
said it should be avoided. Buddhist monks and local
communities spoke about the broken promises of
The Mon National
Democratic Front took its stand by joining with the democratic
forces and opposing junta’s Road Map. “We have no
confidence in the National Convention, unless the National League
for Democracy participates in it,” said an MNDF youth
leader, quoted in by Kao Wao News. Even though imprisoned
MNDF leaders Nai Ngwe Thein, Dr. Min Soe Linn and Dr. Kyi Win
were conditionally released after signing a document in mid June,
the MNDF has not yet shown any sign of support. It has been
speculated that the junta released the Mon leaders in a bid to
persuade them to attend the NC.
Grass root
leaders from overseas and
There are
differing opinions in the Mon community. Many expect that
the Mon people may even gain political advantage and that
something new will happen after the NC. Many
“We have
already decided to attend the Convention and we will try our best
to persuade the regime to change its political will. We
also understand the frustration of the general pubic and we
don’t blame them for not supporting us,” said Nai
Hongsar, the Secretary General of the NMSP during an interview
with local media.
***************************************************
(By Banya Toay;
The cease fire
group have been involved in the illegal logging business in
Tenasserim Division, southern
Nai Ong Lawi, a
Mon teacher from Ye Byu Township says since last year two Karen
cease-fire groups that have a tight working relationship with the
BA have been ripping down the forest bit by bit for easy money.
The two groups
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and KPF (Karen Peace
Force), Lawi said, are freed from paying taxes or pay less when
charged by the Forestry Department and Military Intelligence.
Some other dealers who have a good relationship with the Army
also get tax breaks.
“Every
village in Ye Byu Township has at least two sawing machines which
are used for cutting down trees, sawing and trimming,” he
added.
During the rainy
season the loggers haul the logs down from the deep forest using
elephants, loaded onto bamboo rafts and transported to the
villages, situated along Mon State-Tenasserim Division motor road
Ye-Tavoy. Harvesting and pulling logs from the jungle is
dangerous work for the loggers as the stream is too small and has
a strong current besides, losing control of the logs can cause
serious problems when logs are maneuvered onto the bamboo rafts.
The SPDC
junta’s Forestry Department in Ye Byu Township collects
roughly between 40,000 and 50,000 Kyats in taxes for a truck
carrying ten tons of logs. The department and the local
Military Intelligence (MI) illegally charge most of the taxes.
According to a
Mon community leader, the senior members from the department lack
forest management capabilities, do not dare go into areas under
the control of armed rebels and have no political will or idea of
the damage being done to the forest and wildlife.
The logging
trucks pay about 300,000 Kyats to pass through checkpoints on the
way to
The logging
dealers also pay the cease-fire New Mon State Party (NMSP) about
20,000 Kyats for one truck. Nai Blai, one of the dealers said
that some NMSP members have been involved in the illegal logging
business for some time.
The local
communities are disappointed with the logging business because
the people in this area subsist on wild animals and search for
food in the forest. “Over the past twenty years there
were many areas where we could easily find animals to hunt, but
now animals are difficult to find, there is no more now,”
said Amaung a local hunter who used to hunt wild pig, various
monkey species, and tigers.
Monkey (Gang in
Mon language) are extinct in this area after the high rate of
deforestation and over-hunting for over five years now, said Nai
Cay Mon, an environmentalist. “The weather in Ye Byu
Township has gradually changed, it is different from last year
and the water in the stream is getting more shallow.
“Our
villagers (Kwan Rot Ta mah) have to dig a canal in the deep
stream to keep water in summer. In the past, this stream
was deep and clean throughout the whole year. The summers
are longer and hotter than before,” observed a village
headman in Ye Byu.
********************************************
PASSENGERS HELD UP BY BOMB THREAT
(By Taramon,
Sangkhlaburi; June 24, 2004)
Passengers were
ordered to wait until thorough search over the news of bomb
threat to destroy national convention.
Nai Taming, a
Mon trader from Three Pagodas Pass Thai Burma border said traders
and migrant deportees returning from
The source close
to the security unit said the SPDC received information that some
parcel bombs were being brought in by opposition groups to plant
inside
“The
SPDC’s border security forces, led by officers Myint Htwe,
Than Winn and Nyi Lay Naing, have checked passengers on the way
to Kya-in Seik-kyi,
“Until now
a thorough search failed to turn up an explosive devices, but we
have been under threat by the Burmese Army,” said another
businessman Myo Win.
The traders and
passengers were exhausted with the long wait and could only
travel around
The passenger
boats usually take off at
*********************************************
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