BASIC EDUCATION
FEES INCREASED
MIGRANTS
AND THE ONSLAUGHT OF MALARIA
RICE
EXTORTION FOR ARMY FOOD SUPPLY
A tribute to Nai
Panthar
FORCED SECURITY ALONG YADANA PIPELINE ROAD
WILL EQUAL RIGHTS EXIST IF BURMA IS A DEMOCRACY?
racism:
JUNTA’S BIGGEST WEAPON in WAR
DIALOGUE WITH A SHAN LEADER,
H.R.H HSO KHAN PHA
THAI
ARREST MIGRANTS AT THREE PAGODAS PASS
READERS FRONT
-
BASIC
EDUCATION FEES INCREASED
-
(Kaowao: June 14,
2005)
Low-income families
are facing difficulty in paying school admission fees and will be
unable to send their children to primary school, which starts this
raining season, a source from Three Pagodas Pass border town said.
A town resident
said the Parent Teacher Association and local authorities are urging
parents to send their children to school, but many parents are unable
to meet their commitment. “Every bloc (quarter) has about a hundred
children who cannot go to school this year. About 90 % of the
families in the town have a low income and depend on a hand to mouth
living,” a businessman from the town said.
The source reported
that the admission fees at the border town have increased from last
year. Plus border trade has been shut down due to the Thai Burma
border closure and families will find it difficult to make ends meet.
The local authorities are asking parents of children from Grade 2 and
under to pay 360 Thai Baht, Grade 3 to 4 to pay 480, and Grade 5 and
over to pay 500 Baht for admission fees and general expenses.
Last year, schools
in Mudon and Thanbyu Zayat townships of Mon State charged 2,500 Kyats
for primary school, 2,980 Kyats for middle school and 3,600 to 41,000
Kyats for high school, some schools are asking for about 6,700 Kyats,
which includes the fee for renovation.
Parents are also
required to pay other costs for textbooks, paper, pens and a yearly
contribution to the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) fund. The books
at government schools are twice as expensive as those available in the
market, but the students are forced to buy the books from the
government schools instead.
Despite education
at the primary level being free under the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC), many parents cannot afford to send their children to
primary schools in Mon State.
Migrant Watch
-
MIGRANTS AND THE ONSLAUGHT OF MALARIA
-
(Kaowao: June 12,
2005)
Hospitals and
clinics near the Three Pagodas border are overcrowded with malarial
patients according to a Mon medic from Sangkhalaburi border town.
The Palaing Japan
hospital administered by the New Mon State Party daily receives about
50 malaria patients seeking treatment for malarial like symptoms.
“The majority are
migrant workers waiting to enter Thailand. This is the most dangerous
time for them because of the rainy season and they have no mosquito
nets to protect them,” said Ms. Yee Mon.
A social worker
from the Thai Burma border who spoke under condition of anonymity said
the reasons for the high incidence of the deadly disease is because
the migrant workers are restricted to certain areas and are living
under poor living conditions, plus they are not allowed to see
outsiders. Last year about this time, many migrants contracted
malaria with some dying without receiving any medical treatment or
proper food.
Hundreds of
migrants are waiting to enter into Thailand along the Three Pagodas
Pass Thai-Burma border. Many contract malaria while making the
journey to Thailand because the jungle in this region has a higher
than average rainfall that creates swampy conditions for mosquitoes to
breed that increases the risk of catching the deadly disease.
Human rights
workers are working on a booklet that will be distributed to migrants
in their own language that provides information on precautions when
making the journey into Thailand. Kaowao is asking readers with
knowledge of the situation to contribute information that may be
included in this booklet.
-
RICE EXTORTION FOR ARMY FOOD SUPPLY
-
(Independent Mon
News Agency: May 31, 2005)
The Burma Army has
been collecting rice from local farmers in Mon State, Southern Burma
for their food supplies to stock-pile for the coming rainy season.
A local source
reported that Infantry Battalion No.61, which is under the Military
Operation Command No.19 based in Ye, is force-selling rice at a low
price from local farmers in northern Ye township, Duya and An-Din
village tracts.
“They take two
baskets (about 66 kilograms) of paddy per acre. They order us to send
the rice to them on time. They don’t want paddy. They want us to crush
the paddy into rice first and then send it to the Village-tract Peace
and Development Chairperson’s house,” a farmer in An-Din village said.
“The battalion
commanders say they will pay us 1100 Kyat per basket. But they don’t
give us the money,” the farmer said.
Battalion No. 61
officer, Captain Moe Aung Khaing, together with the village-tract
headman planned to take 2500 baskets of rice from the farmers in the
area. They started collecting the rice on May 20th. The
army sets the price at 110, 000 Kyat per 100 baskets of paddy while
the paddy price in the market is 200,000 Kyat per 100 baskets.
“We have to husk
the paddy with our own money. We have to pay 100 Kyat per basket and
send it to the village headman’s home. If we are late, we have to send
it to Ye Town with our own transport costs,” the farmer explained.
The villages which
sold the rice at a low price and which have not received any money for
it are: Plaing-thein, Hnin-sone, Krock-kree, Kaw-krait, Andin,
Paw-htaw and Duya village tracts.
Although the
Burmese military regime issued a statement back in 2003 that the
government authorities would not buy paddy from the farmers, the
regime’s armed faction, the Burmese Army in Mon State, started again
to force farmers to buy paddy at a low price in Thanpyu Zayat Township
in early 2005.
From
teacher to military commander, to peace maker
-
A tribute to
Nai Panthar
-
(By Nai Sunthorn)
Nai Panthar, who passed
away on June 4 at his son’s house in Rangoon, bore several titles in
his lifetime: a teacher, soldier, carpenter, military commander,
Central Executive Committee member for NMSP, monk and finally back to
a layman. It grieves us that we were unable to attend his funeral
cremation held on June 6, 2005. The Thai Mon Youth community (MYC)
paid their respects to two Mon leaders on June 4, 2005; Nai Panthar,
and the first president of MYC, Nai Sathit Ngonhom who also passed
away recently in Bangkok.
Nai Panthar was born in
Ankhae-Waeglong village, Thanbyu Zayat Township where he graduated
from high school, he started out as a primary school teacher near his
native village. After 2nd World War and before Burma gained
independence Nai Panthar found himself caught up in the heady days of
Mon political activities, particularly in Mon youth affairs. He
organized other Mon youth in his area and found a youth organization.
In 1947 he became an active member of Mon Affairs Association (MAA)
led by Nai Hla Maung and Nai Ba Lwin (Shwe Kyin) who both later
transformed the organization into a Mon armed group.
Nai Panthar, as a true
revolutionary, is regarded as the originator of the Mon armed forces
during the Mon revolution. On July 20, 1948, a group of 30 Mon youths
led by Nai Panthar and Bo Thein seized the police station in Zathabyin
Village in the east of Moulmein with only three guns; it was
the first time in 100 years that the Mon raised the Sheldrake flag. It
was also the beginning of the Mon armed forces to fight for
independence and marked the date of the Mon Armed Resistance up to the
present day. He led the Mon armed forces together with the Karen in
taking Moulmein in August 1948.
He recalled his early
military career fighting alongside the Karen in Moulmein: "When the
Mon and Karen completely controlled the city, the local people came
out to welcome us (Mon soldiers), one of them was Nai Chan Mon, the
General Secretary of United Mon Association, led by Nai Pho Cho. Nai
Chan Mon invited me for a breakfast and while eating, I took out a
letter from my pocket and read a statement from the UMA which took a
strong stance against any Mon youth group who took up arms and went
underground. The UMA's position was to oppose armed groups whenever
they met and declare war against us as "Tweyar Thinkyaing Darmasaing"
(in Burmese). Because of this attitude, Nai Chan Mon was taken aback
and stopped talking.
Nai Panthar was a
prominent Mon military commander since the beginning of the Mon armed
revolution, but when the Mon National Defense Organization (MNDO)
exchanged their arms for democracy in 1958, he was also included in it
and was forced to retire to become a carpenter in Rangoon where he
worked for many years. Then in 1970 Nai Panthar together with Nai
Talamon (deceased) and Nai Rotsa (now NMSP's Vice-President) joined
the NMSP led by Nai Shwe Kyin in the jungle outposts. He immediately
was assigned to military commander of Mon National Liberation Army
(MNLA), later on in 1974 Nai Nonlar joined the NMSP. Two leaders soon
became rivals for the party’s leadership and since then he was
downgraded from the important position and was sometimes expelled from
the party as a result of Party’s internal struggle.
Nai Panthar stayed several
years with Captain Anond Pundharikarpha of Royal Thai Navy in Thailand
and later joined with Nai Shwe Kyin in 1981 when the NMSP split into
two factions. Since he had a good relationship with the Thai Mon
community, Nai Shwe Kyin's faction was able to settle it base on Thai
soil until it reunited with Nai Nonlar's faction in December 1987.
After a bitter battle broke out between the NMSP and Karen National
Union (KNU) over territorial dispute in 1988, it was brought in to
negotiate a ceasefire deal on the Thai soil. The KNU came along with
two Thai military colonels who were close with the KNU in order to put
pressure on the Mon to sign the ceasefire deal. Nai Panthar, therefore
invited a Thai Mon with the rank of General to come along with Mon.
Nai Panthar resigned from
the NMSP
in May 1990
while many NMSP members wanted him to stay on (quoted a former NMSP
member Nai Shwe Lwin). Nai Panthar was disappointed when NMSP leaders
ignored his demands for a thorough investigation of a joint MNLA-ABSDF
military force in 1990 that launched a major attack on Ye town in
southern Mon State. (The counter offensive was launched soon after
the Mon’s General Headquarters and Three Pagodas Pass was overrun by
the Burma Army.) The raid unfortunately ended in their being rooted
out by the SLORC's military troops with the loss of some forty
soldiers several of whom died under aerial bombardment by the Burmese
Air force.
A number of civilian
casualties were also reported, and according to the MNLA sources, some
Mon soldiers who surrendered were later executed by bayonet on the
grounds of the Ye Sport Pavilion. The Ye debacle marked the end of
ABSDF-MNLA joint military operations, and further strained relations
between the Mon nationalist and the students. (Ashley South in “The
Golden Sheldrake,Mon Nationalism and Civil War in Burma”). After
spending two years in the Mon villages of Ratchaburi, Nai Panthar
contacted the Burmese embassy in Bangkok and returned to the legal
fold in April 1992. During two years in Thailand he spent his time
writing about his lifelong experience in Mon politics.
Nai Panthar sent me a
letter after he arrived in Burma, saying, "I did not consult with you
about my surrender. I am sure you would have stopped me from doing
it.” It was my own decision to do so. I always have thought very
carefully about making the right decisions at important junctures in
my life, I have done a lot for Mon national affairs, in the remaining
days of my life before I die, I want to do good merit and go back home
and practice meditation for further enlightenment."
In March 2003, on the
occasion of Nai Shwe Kyin's funeral ceremony, I met Rev. Nai Panthar
in his yellow robe in a meditation center and it was the last time
that I would see him. Together with my fellow comrades, we deeply
express our condolences on the passing of Nai Panthar and we regret
not being able to attend his funeral cremation. I believe deeply his
spirit will continue to live on in the MNLA until it reaches its goal
of independence for the Mon people.
Sincerely,
Nai Sunthorn
-
FORCED SECURITY ALONG YADANA PIPELINE ROAD
-
(Kaowao: June 4,
2005)
Villagers have been
forced to guard the motor road close to the Yadana gas pipeline of Mon
State – Tenessarim Division since the third week of April.
Despite a
settlement reached in the California courts in March 2005 between
Unocal and Burmese villagers in which promises were made to improve
human rights for local villagers living in the area, the Burmese
authorities are ordering villagers from Aleh SaKhan village in Ye Byu
Township to attend the military training to protect areas around the
Yadana gas pipeline, the single largest investment in Burma.
“Over 50 Mon,
Tavoyan, and Karen villages situated along the motor road are ordered
to keep watch while buses are traveling during the day,” a Mon
humanitarian worker told Kaowao.
One person per
household from ten Mon and Karen villages attended one-month training
provided by Burma Army Light Battalions 282, 409, 410 battalions.
During the training the villagers had to provide their own food and
drinking water, he said. Battalion 282 has been responsible for the
pipeline since it was first built in the early 90s.
“The Burma Army
ordered one unarmed villager per post to protect against any attack by
the KNU, they watch out for any troublemakers,” a local villager said.
“Some women are also required to keep watch, they have to walk to
remote areas along the motor road to get to their post,” he explained.
The Burma Army
battalions are also extorting and forcing the villagers to work and
using them to porter their supplies. Those with the money to bribe
military authorities pay up to 10,000 Kyat if they want to avoid the
training.
The motor road is
100 miles long, 50 of which is located in the northern part of the
Tenessarim Division close to the Karen Nation Union (KNU) area where
local busses were attacked last April.
Opinion
-
WILL Equal Rights Exist If Burma IS A Democracy?
-
(By Lawi Weng)
In recent weeks,
Burmese society has become familiar with the word “secede” after Shan
leaders declared an independent State. “Secede” is familiar even in
their society today, though it has its detractors as well as its
supporters.
Among the
supporters are the ethnic groups who long for the freedom they once
enjoyed in the their kingdom centuries before they were colonized by
the British.
Even though today
they might wish to declare independence, they must consider deeply
their unity, geography, and their timing before attempting any such
move. If not, declaring independence can place ethnic groups at risk
of persecution by the military junta.
People who do not
like the word “secede” are mostly Burmese. Many Burmese believe that
the ethnic people are trying to split or destroy the “Union of Burma”
when they hear the word. After exiled Shan Leaders announced
independence for their State, many Burmese exiles, including some
media, criticized that the action could create damaging unity among
the ethnic groups.
“Declaring Shan
independence does not work” is the updated title on the Irrawaddy web
site. BBC (British Broadcasting Center) quoted the negative view of U
Kanbazawin, a Shan political analyst, written in English on web site.
It did not present Pado Mansha, a leader of KNU, optimistic regarding
Shan Independence.
But there are some
people who stated on BBC that Shan has the right to declare
Independence. Such people might be difficult to find either in or
outside of the country.
U Lwin, NLD
(National League for Democracy) spokesperson, said, “We are against
the Shan Independence declaration, which does not give regard to the
party principle. Many ethnic leaders criticized him because of his
words.
After hearing him,
we can decide whether U Lwin is a person who respects ethnic equal
rights or not. His discussion suggests that when Burma has democracy
near the future, may be difficult to obtain equal rights for ethnic
groups. Surely, he is against “Secede.” Even his word could not affect
all Burmese people, but it can lose the credibility of NLD.
He also harmfully
states: “We do not know the tripartite dialogue. Even within our party
we do not hear the word.” Many ethnic leaders do not share his view
and, it seems, that it will not be believed in the NLD in near future.
The UN (United
Nations) set up a principle of tripartite dialogue in order to solve
Burma’s problems in 1990. The UN thought the tripartite dialogue
appropriate for Burma.
Does U Lwin forget
that the UN established the principle? Or is he going to attempt
tribal dialogue between just two parties in the future?
The international
community, neighboring countries, and ethnic leaders are trying to put
pressure on the Burmese regime in order to bring about a triple
dialogue. It seems that because of U Lwin comments, their efforts for
Burma will be in vain.
Many people believe
that a tripartite dialogue can solve the problems in Burma. I asked a
Southeast Asia writer Ashley South, regarding the dialogue, “Should
Burma begin with a tribal dialogue? Will a tripartite dialogue with a
third party solve such problems?” He recommended that a tripartite
dialogue be the first thing initiated. He does not approve of having a
prior tribal dialogue because if the Burmese and Burmese get consensus
between them, the ethnic groups will lose their right.
His words recall
for me the case of Burma’s independence in 1948. Before Burma obtained
independence, all Burmese leaders and ethnic leaders urged
independence from Britain as one. In 1947, the father of independence,
General Aung San and other ethnic groups agreed to sign on Pain Lon
Treaty that if ethnic people did not approve of the main state after
ten years, they can secede in accordance with the treaty.
Regarding the
treaty, should we blame the Shan leaders for declaring independence?
Does U Lwin not recognize the treaty of Panglong Agreement? Or does he
forget it?
Burma held a free
and fair election in 1990. The NLD, the opposition party, won this
election in a landslide. But the Head of the State refused to transfer
power to the opposition. People called for the Junta to recognize the
election’s result. The junta, however, has ignored the results to this
day.
After the election,
Gen. Saw Maung who implemented the election was dismissed from office.
Those with power today do not recognize the election results. U Lwin
should not act like the Junta. He should recognize the agreement
between Gen. Aung San and the ethnic leaders.
Burma will have
democracy in the future. When it has, every one should recognize each
other’s rights. The majority of people should recognize the minority
rights. According to U Lwin words, it makes me skeptical about whether
equal rights will exist for all if Burma goes democratic.
-
racism: JUNTA’S BIGGEST WEAPON IN WAR
-
(By Mahn Kyaw Swe)
Civil war broke out
when Burma gained independence from Britain. Within 6 decades, the
civil war caused so much bloodshed in our homeland. To this day,
there is still no sign that the SPDC is willing to talk with the NLD
and the ethnic armed groups to end 6 decades of civil war. Instead,
the SPDC’s secret agents roam around and create confusion and hatred
between the Burman and none-Burman groups by sparking racist
propaganda in order to hold onto power.
Whether during the
national convention, intellectual debates, or in everyday conflicts
all Burmese discussion groups and communities, racism is burning us
all. Some of us have third degree burns; while others have died from
it effects, and many live in the charred wreckage. Most of us have
suffered first and second degree burns at some point in our lives. We
all live in fear within the glow of the fire’s menacing and distorted
light. We see the fire flare up every now and again and we are
frightened by it. Many of us want to do something, to pick up a
bucket of water and throw it on the flames, but the sheer size of the
blaze seems to make our individual efforts useless.
The majority of
Burmans are scared of the ethnic nationalities’ desire for
self-determination, viewing it as reeking with separatist ideas. For
that reason, the Burmese regime uses its army to control the ethnic
territories. The ethnic people are scared of the Burmese army’s use of
violence, economic exploitation, forced labour, extra judicial
killing, torture and looting. They move to avoid the Burmese army.
Most of the time those fears are directed toward the Burman (Bamar).
Even though many
Burmese including the ethnic nationalities went into exile after 1989
and received good education in the western countries, some feel more
insecure than ever. Once again, the agenda of the ethnic conflict is
being directed by the Burmese who have the bigger weapons, ultimately
however instigating racism is its major weapon to ensure its hold on
power.
U Tin Maung Win, a
former member of CRDB, mentioned in his book about the vicious circle
of racism as a pot of pickles (Chin Phet Oh), during his time of
struggle as an armed resistant fighter with the PDP under the
leadership of U Nu. Besides, many of us thought that we were too far
away from the cause of the fire to make a difference. Racism is often
described as a problem of prejudice. Prejudice is certainly one
result of racism, and it fuels further acts of violence towards the
ethnic peoples. A Karen I knew recalled a foiled plot of racial
conflict by the military intelligence during the 1988 uprising. In
detail, he described the way the ruling junta attempted to spark
conflict between the Burman and Karen.
An unidentified
source recalled that, “one day about five hundred Karen national
costumes were stolen from Theingee Zey department store,” in Rangoon,
the capital city of Burma. The pro BSPP demonstrators on the street
were going to use these clothes. They were not really Karen people;
they were MIs (military Intelligence) going to dress up as Karen to
create trouble. “We were going to beat them hard on the street.”
Shortly after, a Pwo Karen community leader came up to me and said, “I
received a letter from Mahn Win Maung, former president of Union of
Burma, asking me to gather up the Karen people for a demonstration
leaving from Insein junction to march along the Insein Road to
Thamaing.”
Then he asked the
community leader if he met the person who brought the letter to him.
“No, I didn’t,” he answered. He is very honest, a typical Karen ready
to follow orders. “I already told other Karen communities from
Thamaing and North Okkla to join us,” he continued. I thought they
were so willing to come out dressed in their Karen costumes. It
suddenly dawned on me what was happening, I connected the two sources
of information and made a quick decision. “Mahn, please inform all
the Karen people you invited by telling them the demonstration is
cancelled. Nobody needs to show up. Stay home and stay safe.” It
seems to me he had no idea what was in store for them. He insisted,
“Mahn Win Maung sent me this letter to get the Karen to march.”
Forget about that letter I said. The letter and the stolen costumes
was nothing but a cold plot by the MI to create conflict between the
Karen & Burman to shift their attention away from democracy and to
create an uprising of confusion through social chaos instead. He
slowly realized what was going on and showed signs of fear. He said,
“Yes, I better inform my people not to show up” and he quickly
departed from the teashop.
The SPDC regime
frequently abuses the Buddhist religion by using it against the
political opposition groups whenever or wherever they have the chance
to do so. In 1991, when the Burma army started its major offensive
against Manawplaw, the headquarters of NDF, DAB, NCGUB, and ABSDF,
using over 10 battalions with support from its artillery units. The
SPDC’s original plan to control Htwee pha kwee kyo failed with
thousands dead and injured. The commanders of the operation, Maung
Hla and Tin Oo, were killed in a helicopter crashed in Paan. Their
second plan was to divide the KNU by all means possible. A Burmese
soldier captured by the KNLA revealed SPDC’s plan B to split the KNU
between, the young and the old, between Christians and the Buddhists
and between the Pwo and the Sgaw.
For the democratic
opposition groups, Manarplaw was very important politically and
strategically because KNU had been hosting all other oppositions,
armed or unarmed organization including NCGUB. Manarplaw fell not by
sustained military attack by the SPDC regime. It fell from the attack
of political warfare using psychology, religion, espionage, drugs,
rumors as propaganda, and misinformation. It was the SPDC’s attempt
to divide the Buddhist Karens from their Christian brothers. It was
not the first time the Burmese army used religion as a weapon against
its enemies.
After Ne Win took
over power of the country in 1958-1960, the Army’s psychological
warfare department printed over a million copies of booklets known as
(Dahamma in Danger) in
Burmese. The main objective of its offensive was to attack the CBP
(Communist Party of Burma) and try to mobilize the country’s monks
against the CPB. Other editions were prepared in Burmese and Urdu for
circulation among the Muslim community. In another instance, the Burma
army published another book, The
Burning Question aimed at Christian Community and Christian
led KNU in Sgaw and Pwo Karen languages. A notebook of U Chit Hlaing,
a young communist cadre who attended CPB training classes led by
Thakhin Soe was used as a main source. The booklet contained some
anti religion teachings by Thakhin Soe like, “Religion is the opium of
the people.” In another point he noted, “Buddhism is the enemy of the
proletariat in Burma; therefore, it must be attacked at every
opportunity.”
Early in 1960, KNU
and CPB (Communist Party of Burma) reached a joint military alliance
and found (NDUF) National Democratic United Front) in 1959 with
members drawn from CPB, the NMSP and KNUP (Karen National United
Party) and expanded control territories. The effectiveness of such
anti-communist campaigns created religious argument above and
underground with total chaos. Many Karen Christians and churches
turned against KNUP for its association with the CPB.
It was sometime in
1989 when thousands of letters were dropped from the Burmese Air Force
in Karen State. Those letters contained black propaganda of the
Burmese army ordering its soldiers to take Shan women as wives to
control Shan State as a part of its plan in building the IV Burmese
empire. The soldiers who married a Shan woman would be rewarded
according to the social status of the woman. The letter said we have
a huge amount of funds for successful soldiers. Even though the
Burmese Army was targeting Shan State, those letters were dropped in
Karen State. Religion and ethnicity are quite sensitive issues today
in Burma.
From November 1988
to the end of 1992, there were thousands of Burmese students and
opposition groups taking refuge in the camps of KNU territories.
Those kinds of letters served the Burmese junta like double-edged
swords on the Burmese students and ethnic soldiers. It is a clear
attempt of the regime to persecute Burmese students and civilians in
the hands of ethnic armed groups. However, due to the efforts of
experienced ethnic leaders, things did not go as planned. Later
however the MIS spies penetrated the student groups and created splits
among them and others.
Those are clear
examples of the SPDC junta’s strategy in using psychological warfare
to split the Burman and ethnic peoples using racism. Whenever the
opposition groups come close to being united, the SPDC junta swings
into high gear to try to create another method of dividing our
people. The size of the fire flares up and SPDC’s agents make things
worse, like a powerful wind fanning the flames of discontent in every
discussion group. But to stop racism without the support of the
Burman majority of the country is impossible. Similarly, trying to
establish a Union of Burma without the majority Burman would be
definitely counter-productive for the rights of all ethnic
nationalities in Burma.
Mahn Kyaw Swe
Thursday, May 26,
2005
-
DIALOGUE WITH A SHAN LEADER, H.R.H HSO KHAN PHA
-
(Cited from Tayza Thuria’s Burma Digest)
Tayza
Thuria talks with His Royal Highness Prince Hso Khan Pha (aka) Tiger
Yawnghwe who is the eldest son of Sao Shwe Thaik, the former Saopha
(Prince) of Yawnghwe Nyaung-Shwe) and the first President of Burma
after Burma's Independence from British colonial rule. HRH Hso Khan
Pha is the leader of a Shan Group campaigning for a totally
Independent Shan State. His family has been involved with the
founding of the Union of Burma in 1948 and the Panglong Conferences
that culminated in the signing of the Panglong Agreement in 1947 - the
basis for the foundation of the Union that was so rudely destroyed in
1962 by Ne Win."
Tayza: I'm really glad to get a chance to know a
descendent of our first President of independent Burma.
Sao
Hso: Might I add that the problem that exist is not ethic
"minority" rights versus the "majority" Burmese rights but rather of
equality of rights for all.
The
1948 Union of Burma was understood by us to be a federal union of
equals. And though the intent of the 1948 Constitution was federal, in
rushing it through the Constituent Assembly by the AFPFL
(Fa-sa-pa-la), the federal Union in practice became
unitary.
When
we during 1958-62 tried to institute constitutional reforms in the
Union Parliament towards a more equitable federal system as envisaged
by the 1947 Panglong Agreement, Ne Win staged his military coup and he
and his successor Burmese military troops in Shan country raped,
murdered & tortured to oppress, suppress and intimidate.
Tayza: I support all ethnic groups' rights to have their own federal
states, probably in US style or Canadian style. I understand that
Quebec Province in Canada is an autonomic federal state.
Shan
state can be like that?
I
never believe that "total separation of Union of Burma/Myanmar into a
large number of totally separated & independent but very small tiny
little countries" might be a wise decision."
Sao
Hso: Yugoslavia did break up into its components parts and
theoretically there is no reason why the former and defunct Union -
made so by successive Burmese military regimes could not do the same.
The Shan States are larger both in population then Cambodia for
instance and larger in area than some 24 States of the US and 20 or so
Nation-States in Europe.
The
Shan & Karenni has every right to secede and so guaranteed in the 1948
Constitution. There is another alternative that we have - we could
form a federal union - United States of Southeast Asia or Southeast
Asian Union a la EU with out the Burmese for example. But the Shan
could certainly go it alone.
Shan
is a Burmese rendering of Siam as you know, & the Thai call us
Thai-yai or Elder Thai - and Tai or Thai is only a dialectical
rendering. The Tai Speaking Peoples stretch from NE India, through
Burma, the Kachin and Shan States, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
and south and southwest China - Premier Chou-en-lai of PRC[Communist
Mainland China] said in 1957 to my parents that in China there were
then 100million Tai/Dai Speaking Peoples in China.
For
myself, I believe we all should talk - as Winston Churchill said "jaw
jaw is better than war war". Some of us feel uncomfortable in talking
heart to heart with Burmese who often become belligerent and abusive."
Tayza: Although Shans can join with either Burmese or
Thais or Chinese, I think it would be better to go on joining with
Burmese; my idea is why would you topple the apple cart. We should
sort out problems between ourselves, Shans and Burmese, rather than
engaging with Thais/Chinese, it will just make matters more
complicated.
Sao
Hso: Indeed we had high hopes too in 1947 and expected to
have occupation & conflicts behind us and to avoid the sort of
fighting and bloody killings that took place between 1812-19 when the
Burmese kings of Mandalay tried to conquer and subdue the Shan Ahom
kingdom in Assam where the Burmese general Maha Bandula's troops
committed indescribable cruelties and barbarities as to dessimate
something like 2/3 of the population and certainly 1/3 of the men and
boys - disemboweling them, eating their flesh and burning them alive
in cages to intimidate and suppress the Shan Ahom of Assam ref:
History of Assam by Sir Edward Gaits. This event so weakened and
disorganised the Shan Ahom that by 1839 the kingdom was completely
annexed by the British. Before that from about 1220 - 1812 AD they
maintained themselves under one Dynasty, (that of Mong Mao 568-1604 AD
when its descendants ruled Hsenwi or Theinni in Burmese). Indeed the
Shan Ahom resisted conquest by the Mughals who had conquered much of
India before the British incursion.
We
are now in the 21st century, not 200 years ago.
After
WWII we had hoped to avoid bloodshed and war - and invasion by the
Burma Independence Army under Aung San, an army that had been trained
and armed by the Japanese while we had no army at all except police
forces. The British told my father to expect no assistance whatever
should the BIA under Aung San invade the Shan States and that they
advised us Shan to make the best deal we could - hence the 1947
Panglong Agreement or Treaty. And I might add that the Chin, Kachin
& Karenni agreed to the Union because the Shan had. Unfortunately as
it turned out we merely delayed invasion and occupation by the Burmese
Army by 14 year to 1962.
These
are issues that are not easily resolved and after nearly half a
century of being raped, tortured and murdered can you honestly say
that a battered spouse of either sex cannot sue for divorce but must
grin and bear in the hope that the abuser is going to miraculously
change and become an angel? And under these existing conditions - the
grass looks certainly greener on the other side. A magic wand cannot
be waved to wishfully make things better.
Wishful thinking resolves nothing and to solve any problem we need to
look at all angles and discuss all issues pleasant and unpleasant.
Tayza: If we are a family, I think, the oppressed Burmese
children and the bullied Shan mother should join hands to fight
against the bullying military man in their House/Home.
I
won't want my mother to leave our family and marry a Chinese stranger
or a Thai neighbour.
Anyway, thanks to your kind and patient explanation about the
background history of your Shans' struggles, I got a lot of insight on
some very important historical aspects which happened long before I
was born.
Sao
Hso: It is truly encouraging to discuss matters of common
interest, and it is only through honest discussions like these that
real understanding and mutual respect will blossom.
I
declared Shan independence on the wish and will of the majority of the
Shan people - people in 48 of 56 Se-Viengs or Townships of the Shan
States voted for Independence following a secret balloting that took 5
years to complete and 47 years after we had the Constitutional Right
to Secede. Thus this decision was not taken lightly or hastily. In
1947 at Panglong, the vote to form a Union and join with Burma was
only narrowly won after a long and heated debate - the very narrow
majority won the day and the minority who lost by a hair's breath
conceded and obeyed the rules of parliamentary democracy - this is
something the Burmese generals are loathed to do. And because the Shan
agreed, the Chin, Kachin and Karenni followed suite.
The
final say rests with the Shan People but looking at it objectively, we
have many options:
1. Confirm our Independence.
2.
Form a United States of Southeast Asia - USSA with the Arakan, Chin,
Kachin, Karenni, Mon and Karen.
3.
Form an EU like grouping with the above partners, SEAU.
4.
Negotiate a totally new federal union of equal partners to include
the Burmese or Burma State - with effective safeguards so that we do
not have a repeat of the Ne Win-BSPP/SLORC/SPDC dictatorship; and
with a totally new name.
5.
Join with our Thai brothers.
6.
Join with our Lao brothers.
7.
Form a Thai-Tai-Lao, Tai Speakjng Peoples Union.
8.
Form an association with China.
What
is happening today under the Burmese generals is real and not merely
an academic or intellectual speculation; and nearly half a century of
oppression and inhuman cruelty that is still on-going as we speak
cannot ever be forgotten, though in time may be forgiven.
Tayza: Here I'd like to send my, rather late, condolences
for the great lady Maha Davi, your mother, who passed away in 2003 and
for the great Shan leader, your brother, who passed away last year.
And I also want to remind you a small point, with
due respect. As you know, your grand father Saopha Sao Maung once got
in a very difficult position and Burmese King helped him out, Right?
Sao
Hso: Yes, I am aware of the help given by Mindon Min when he
became king, to Saopha* (Sir) Moung and his mother when his father
Sao Suu Deva the Kye-Mong (Crown Prince) of Yawnghwe was assassinated
by a rival half sibling who supported Pagan Min and whose sister was
Pagan Min's Queen. I am also aware that Saopha Sao Maung opposed the
Limbin Confederacy and that he employed many of Thibaw Min's
ex-Ministers in the Yawnghwe Administration after Thibaw went into
exile. This was why my father felt that he could work with the Burmese
and with General Aung San. But as events are to show in 1962,
disastrously as it turned out for us , my father's hope and trust
was betrayed - he was put in Insein Prison in March '62 as everyone
knows, and he died that November in prison under questionable
circumstances and one of his young sons not yet 17 was murdered by
Burmese troops on our front doorsteps in Rangoon on the night of the
coup.
My
mother, as a former vocal Member of Parliament would have been
arrested too had she not been in England for medical reasons at the
time. On returning to Rangoon in November 1962 to cremate my father
she had to flee for her life early in January 1963 on being warned
that the Women's Prison was being readied for her and she fled to
Thailand together with two of my sisters and a brother, with the
assistance of the Karen Resistance. Arriving there, the King of
Thailand, on hearing of her sent an emissary to extend to her and her
children his personal protection.
Tayza: I understand your mother founded and led Shan
State Army, and after her retirement your brother carried on leading
SSA, right? But nowadays, there are two main Shan Armies SSA and SSNA.
And they are just very recently saying that they will unitedly support
a federal state, while you are calling for an Independent State. It's
a little bit confusing, isn't it?
Sao
Hso: As for the recent merger of the SSAS and SSNA, and what
they said is really no cause for confusion. It is ultimately the will
of the People that matters and both these two worthy Commanders do not
question the primacy of the civilian authority of the Shan People whom
they have sworn to serve.
-
THAI ARREST MIGRANTS AT THREE PAGODAS PASS
-
(Kaowao, May 26,
2005)
Several Mon
migrants on their way into Thailand from the Three Pagodas Pass border
were arrested shortly after arriving at the border, said a TPP
resident.
A Mon trafficker
who speaks fluent Thai tried to free her clients from detention by
offering the Thai authorities five hundred thousand Baht, a source
close to her said. Despite having good relations with the local Thai
authorities, her clients (migrants) however, were detained with the
possibility of being sent back across.
Another human
trafficker based on the border however, well known for his connections
to the Thai authorities, bribed Thai authorities one million Baht to
have his clients successfully released from the detention center after
they were held for one week, a Mon businessman in the town told Kaowao
on condition of anonymity.
Hundreds of
migrants hope to arrive in Thailand ahead of the registration process
for migrant worker, which begins in mid June.
Making their way to
the border, the migrants pass through 32 checkpoints on the motor road
within Mon State bribing both Burmese and ethnic soldiers along the
way.
There are still
some people trying to leave their village to go to Thailand, the
source from Mon community in southern Karen State said yesterday.
Against the backdrop of contextual conflict and displacement, and
poverty brought on by land confiscation and human rights abuses in
Burma are the main reasons why people migrate to Thailand to find
employment and to support their families back home.
On their way to the
border with their clients, the Mon human traffickers are less
concerned about making the trip through the checkpoints in Mon State
for the SPDC has beefed up security in the Rangoon area after the bomb
blasts, a Mon source said to Kaowao recently.
-
READERS’ FRONT
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__________________________________
It is very sad for
all our Mon People to hear the bad news that in the near future NMSP
is going to lay down its arms to SPDC. Shan, Palaung and some Kachin
groups have been forced to handover their arms to SPDC. It is quite
sure that the time for NMSP is coming sooner or later. We all
Mons should be serious about that and we should join hands together at
this moment and should think seriously how to help NMSP in confronting
with this matter.
The arms and
ammunition are bought by Mon People's money. That means all the arms
and ammunition should be in the Mon People's hands forever. I think
NMSP should think the way SSNA did confront it. I don't want to
educate the leaders and the rest members of NMSP what to do, because
they know more than I do. But I would like to raise a question: should
all Mon people keep their mouths shut on this matter?
With Regards
Nai Za Han Mon
___________________________________
On Kanbawza Win’s FORMING THE UNION WITHOUT THE MYANMAR
Professor Kanbawza
Win has spoken out once again for the good of the people of Burma. The
article reflects the hopelessness the people face since the Union was
formed. His recommendation for forming a Union without the Myanmar
i.e. a Union of the Non-Burman Nationalities gives some thing to
ponder. At the Panglong conference also, some of the delegates voices
the same. The question is: "Can it become a reality?"
Looking at the
recent history of the Union of Burma, although a formation of
non-Burman Nationalities State has never been attempted, there had
been opportunities for the non-Burman to play a major role in the
Union.
The first one was
when the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) decided to
challenge the U Nu government for Karen's independence. The Karen who,
at that time were the most educated among the non-Burman, and who
possessed the strongest armed units in the Union Army, decided to
stand alone and fight. Had they properly spoke to the Shan, Kachin and
Chin Rifles, what Kanbawza Win suggested might be not far off.
However, because the Karen did not invite the other Non-Burman groups,
it was the other non-Burman groups who brought down the Karen
ambition.
The non-Burman
nationalities had their second chance to be a power in the Union in
1988, when the mass uprising toppled the BSPP regime. By then the NDF,
the organization of the armed resistance groups consisted almost
purely non-Burman nationalities was a strong force. It had over eighty
thousand men under arms compared to the Burma Army's 180 thousand. It
is difficult to comprehend why they did not use or see their chance of
making a difference in Burma. Without helping the masses they waited
out in their border regions. Once again they lost their opportunity to
play a major role in the Union's future.
Because of these
two major failures it is to be assumed that the EN is not in a
position to play a major role. Although it is still possible for the
EN to play a major role by taking advantage of the vacuum created by
the detention of DASSK by the regime. The regime knew that by placing
DASSK incommunicado they cut off the brain from the opposition groups
and the NLD. The EN could make drastic changes in the policy of the
opposition by prosing many of the hardline stance taken by the NLD and
DASSK.
However, I do not
believe that the EN could play a major role in Burma politics by
keeping their arms and by challenging the regime to a battleground.
They must first create a peaceful playground and atmosphere. The
strength of the present armed groups is negligible to cause any effect
in the administration of the Union. The Shan States armies when
joined together equals only a tiny fraction of the strength of the
Burmese military. They should better disband than being used as a
justification for the cruelty and brutality of the Burmese military.
With peace in
Burma, there might be a chance for the EN to play a role, if the EN
could change the present confrontational stance of the opposition to a
rather compromising trend. To try to form a Union of the non-Burman
under the circumstances presently exist in Burma, the human rights
abuses committed against the non-Burman would be such that some small
communities might completely disappear from the face of the Earth as
Prof. Kanbawza Win mentioned of the Pyu, Kanyan, and the
Thet.
Vumson
___________________________________________
Too much identity
politics... tired of it... sick of it. Some ethnic people of Burma
are consciously or unconsciously opening up two frontiers - one is the
military regime and the other is the democratic forces. This is
dangerous tactic, prolonging their dreams to be realized. Ethnic
revolution has been more than half century now and some ethnic people
are, in their spare time, projecting another century to fight. If you
have the guts to fight, go fight in the jungle, not on the net.
TMH (via internet)
_______________________________________________________
Hope Saya (Kanbawza
Win) was not instigating hatred to Myanmar (Bama). Does Saya believe
in Forming the Union without Myanmar? Saya knows that history is to
learn in any cases of Mrama or U Aung Zeya or Doh Bama Azi Ayone or
some Myanmar (Bama) leaders of past and present.
I don't understand
why Saya crossed the red line by saying these:
“As soon as the
Union was formed the Myanmar dominated government, at once launched
the ethnic cleansing policy with”;
“'Doh
Bama Azi Ayone (and not
Doh Myanmar Azi Ayone)
became a rallying point and although it worked well for anti-colonial
movement it paid no attention to non-Myanmar.
“The majority of
the Myanmar have an incurable disease 'uniformity' and 'homogeneity'
in terms of ethnicity, culture, religion, organization and even
opinion and sexuality, that tends to create varieties of social and
political problems.”
“A classic example
is that when renegade Sao Hser and Khun Hom declared independence,
most of the ethnic leaders opted for Federal Union but we sorrowfully
discovered that the tune of the Myanmar inside Burma led by NLD, the
peripherals and the Diaspora are of the same chauvinistic tune.”
“The Myanmar group
both inside and outside the country paid only lip service to the
ethnic cause and grievances and even if forced by the international
community to the negotiating table is not so sure of the latter
support, who still share chauvinistic idea.”
Then Saya said:
Hence the EN groups
should change their philosophy and goal and lobby for Federal Union of
Burma encompassing of the few Myanmar democrats that are not so
chauvinistic and who really have the union in heart
Are you really
going to build Federal Union of Burma with the few Myanmar?
Then Saya said
again:
“Of course there
will be extremist everywhere and Philip Resnick comments "Extremists
will react with hostility to moderates".
Even though I had
the personal short memories with Saya, I’ve no doubt Saya’s empathy
for the people who suffered. But, what happened now is Saya looked
like an extremist while blaming the extremists. I know, however, Saya
is not.
Always with
respect,
Aung Tin, Toronto
(via internet)
