KAOWAO NEWS NO. 98

Readers’ front

Flood of Burmese causes concern

Human traffickers coming under scrutiny

Corruption among new military intelligence continues

Mon National Day Committee in Canada formed

Bush welcomes young Burmese activist to White House

Kyats notes seized in Mon State

Explosion in the capital

Ceasefire groups defiant

Rangoon's generals prepare for the changing of the guard

Readers’ front

Dear readers,

We invite comments and suggestions on improvements to Kaowao newsletter. With your help, we hope that Kaowao News will continue to grow to serve better the needs of those seeking social justice in Burma. And we hope that it will become an important forum for discussion and debate and help readers to keep abreast of issues and news.  We reserve the right to edit and reject articles without prior notification. You can use a pseudonym but we encourage you to include your full name and address.

Regards,

Editor

kaowao@hotmail.com, www.kaowao.org

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In the article An Ethnic Perspective: Democracy Is Not Enough by Maxmilian Wechsler, Dr Lian Hmung Sakhong is quoted as referring to Ne Win's BSPP as the Burma Socialist Progress Party.  The Party's actual name was Burma Socialist Programme Party.

Regards,

Bush Gulati (Toronto, Canada)

_________________________________________________

Dear Kaowao News Group,

Thank you for posting the latest news “Explosion in the Capital”. I think the whole country is ready to explode soon. Let's pray for our homeland.

Sincerely,

Dong Khup

Maryland, USA.

MIGRATION WITHIN BURMA

 

Flood of Burmese causes concern

(Reported by Toay Htaw and Lavi, Kaowao: October 31, 2005)

The number of Burmese moving into Mon State has risen dramatically over the past year with many concluding it is the SPDC’s latest policy to assimilate Mon communities in Mon and Karen States, say residents from the area.

“A number of Burmese migrants have moved down from upper Burma over the past year into Ye Township, there are as many as 30,000 recent Burmese migrants,” says a Mon Buddhist monk commenting on the presence of migrants in the village as the result of the SPDC’s policy.

New Mon State Party’s senior members estimate the number of Burmese moving into Mon State could be higher. They figure that between 40 and 60 per cent of recent Burmese migrants are living in Mon villages; spread out across 10 Townships, each township has over 40 villages. 

“There are about 60 Burmese migrants in our village,” says Ms Mi Kun Say of Durae village, Ye Township in a correspondence to Kaowao recently.

She hires Burmese migrants to work on her farm because they are a cheap source of labour compared to Mon workers.

“We don’t know about any long term policy of the SPDC with the intention of assimilating and mixing socially, but we know that cheaper Burmese laborers will work at the wages we offer compared to the Mons,” she pointed out.

There are about 30 and 40 Burmese migrants in a small village Palaing-hmuh, Thanbyzayat Township, a villager, Nai Kun Chan said. “Some migrants are coming to Mon State with their families,” he added. Some get married to local Mon women.

Burmese migrants seem unaware of any SPDC policy to transfer them to Mon State. Most are happy to have a job on the farms and plantations in which they can earn a higher wage compared to upper Burma.

“In our area (Taung Ngoo town), we earn 700 Kyats per day, but here (Mon State) we earn 1500 Kyats per day, including having things to cook with,” said a young migrant, Mr Win Tun who worked in Thanbyuzayat Township, central Mon State.

“Our employer here gives us everything, including food such as rice, vegetables and salt, we didn’t have these in upper Burma.” Tun said that he could only save 300 Kyats after expenses, but in Mon State he can save over 1000 Kyats per day.

“In Karoppi village, there are over two hundred migrants, they are aggressive toward Mon villagers,” said Nai Htaw aged 34, a community worker.

“The young people are not patient with the new migrants, the local people say they interfere in village affairs by joining with the local SPDC Battalion,” Htaw said.

Villagers from Durae village, Ye Township, say Burmese migrants join with local commanders and Township authorities to interfere in Mon community affairs. “The Burmese (SPDC) troops give them priority and appoint them to manage our labor work,” said a young Mon community worker.

The major concern among the local Mon population is that the Burmese troops and the Burmese migrants will join forces to influence Mon community affairs.  Villagers in Kaw Pawk (Koh Pok in Mon) in Kaw-ka-reik townsip, Karen State, for instance, are now dominated by the Burmese, they say it is because the Burmese migrants moved there two decades ago.

Some migrants have become a target for Mon splinter armed groups, the source from southern Mon state said. Recent tensions provoked a Mon guerilla armed group in southern Mon State to kill over ten migrants last March after it was learned that new comers were providing information to a local commander on their (guerrilla group) movements.  Some local people say the guerillas have adopted the policy of killing migrants suspected of informing local authorities.

The source from the NMSP says that some migrants in Kyaik-ma-yaw Township are SPDC informers.  Burmese migrants and SPDC join together in the local administration and military operation.

The SPDC township authority arrested a village headman of Kun-done in the northern part of Ye Township last year, suspected of being a Mon guerilla sympathizer after a Burmese migrant informed on him to the authorities.

“The migrant was an informer and was protected by the authorities and local troops,” said Nai Akah, Ye Township, a young Mon political activist.

The source from southern Karen State said that many Burmese migrants and their families are coming to the area to live there.

“Some children of the families work in the labor field with their parents,” Miss Mi Smoh Chan, a Mon employer from the area said. “They are aged between 12 and 13 years old.”

Most migrants, she added, have no education, but some have finished primary school. There are no university graduates. Some, over the age of 18, are short from a poor diet and look about 13 years old. 

The migrants seem unaware of the SPDC’S population transfer. Most of the migrants, she added, are from a poor educational background. 

Human Traffickers coming under scrutiny

(Kaowao: October 23, 2005)

Three Pagodas Pass -- Human trafficking industry is coming under scrutiny by the local police authorities in Karen State, amid concern of future arrests, according to sources from Pha-ann Township.

“The human smugglers in Karen state have been asked by the police to hand over their address,” says Nai Gore Lavi, a Mon businessman. “The traffickers in Mon State were also asked two weeks ago to do the same, but I have no idea what they will do with the addresses.”

Adding that, “human smugglers usually just bribe their way out of arrest to keep their business in trafficking moving along, so to speak, but it is not so easy to bribe now.”

The human smugglers do not face arrest at the moment.

Other local sources in Mon and Karen States reported that unlicensed motorbikes and mobile phones bought in Thailand were listed this week for confiscation.

Some mobile phones, such as cordless and satellites, are widely used in both two states illegally. The owners are able to go about their business by bribing the police and local authorities.   

A major part of the illegal business industry, which includes trafficking, smuggling, money exchange, mobile and satellite phones, illegal football gambling, and underground lottery are run by local businessmen under the protection of police and authorities who get rich from kickbacks. The whole racket employs agents, brokers, and transporters and their subcontractors, all of who have the ability to sneak merchandise and people across the border.

Even though a prohibition on local people to work in other countries is issued by the government, the checkpoint officers, on the way to Three Pagodas Pass border, are ignoring the orders and collecting money from travelers instead of arresting them, the source said.

The immigration police at Three Pagodas Pass collect 500 Baht from each migrant arriving at the border town on their way to Thailand.

Corruption among new military intelligence continues

(Independent Mon News Agency: October 21, 2005)

New Military Intelligent, Sa Ya Pha (known as Military Security Force in Burmese Army) involves taking bribes said businessmen.

The members of Sa Ya Pha, Military Security Force are taking bribes from the businessmen and they are simply following the style set out by previous MI (Military Intelligence) headed by ousted Prime Minister Lt. General Khin Nyunt in corruption, black-mailing, harassment and involvement in illegal businesses.

The regime in Rangoon has sent Sa Ya Pha to all townships for the replacement of the previous MIs who were fired after Gen. Khin Nyunt was arrested in October 2004. Although the SPDC de-commissioned the MIs accusing them of corruption, Sa Ya Pha are now also involved in similar corruption activities.

“They just arrived here. They met our businessmen and demanded money. Each of our jewelry traders had to pay 3000 Baht per month,” said a jewelry trader in Three Pagodas Pass said.

The payment is illegal and it is not in the tax regulation, said the trader.  This is also illegal payment to the Sa Ya Pha in order to operate the business without disturbance created by the members of the new intelligence group.

Currently the new force is inspecting each business in the township and cracking down on private money transfer in Moulmein and satellite phone communication services in Mon State largely run by local people and migrant community.  

“If you can deal with them, you can continue operating your business.  If not, you will face more difficulties,” said an owner of the money transfer service in Mon State.  He added that this is a method of blackmailing by the new Intelligence force; they are tougher than the previous MIs.

Additionally, Sa Ya Pha does not keep good relationships with several ceasefire groups and informed village headmen or township authorities to list the names of all members in ceasefire groups and report their activities in villages or towns. 

Mon National Day Committee in Canada formed

(Kaowao: October 30, 2005)

Calgary -- The Mon community in Canada formed a working committee for the upcoming 59th Mon National Day Celebration to be held in February 2006.

According to a meeting minute of the Mon National Day Organizing Committee, it will reach out across to all Mon communities around the world that will generate a great outpouring of hope and motivation for the Mons living in every corner.

Two meetings were held in October to prepare for the upcoming 59th Mon National Day in Calgary.

The gatherings formed a Main Committee and Sub Committees for Information, Decoration, Cultural Performance, Food and Beverage, Finance and Inspection. Among those elected to lead the special event were, Nai Cham Toik as Chairperson, Ms. Zajien Htaw as Vice-Chairperson, Nai Ong Tamah as Vice-Chairman, and Nai Simon as Secretary General.

The worldwide Mon communities from around Europe, North America, Australian and Asia normally issue a joint statement on the national day.

Back home in Burma, various Mon communities celebrate the event with military parade, sports, literacy competition, cultural performances including dance and music, and political statements.

Bush welcomes `courageous and compassionate' young Burmese activist to White House

Washington (AP) - President George W. Bush welcomed a young activist against Myanmar's ruling junta to the White House on Monday, the second time within three days Bush's administration has tweaked the generals.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at his briefing that Bush's meeting with activist Charm Tong was scheduled only a few hours earlier.

"The president is pleased to welcome such a courageous and compassionate woman to the White House," McClellan said, "and I know he's been looking forward to that meeting since it was scheduled earlier this morning."

On Friday, the State Department took a dig at the junta in Myanmar, also known as Burma, with an official statement about a critical report issued by the International Labor Organization.

The report "highlights the Burmese regime's unwillingness to cooperate with the international community and details actions it took to intimidate the ILO, the statement issued by department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Tong, 23, was one of four young activists honored by the athletic shoe maker Reebok this year with its annual human rights award. The others were from Chechnya, Mexico and Liberia.

McClellan described Tong as "a 23-year-old woman who has dedicated her life to helping those who suffer under the military rule in Rangoon and to exposing the regime's abuses, particularly against women."

Tong is a Shan refugee who campaigns for the rights of refugees. She helped found the Shan Women's Action Network, aimed at stopping violence against women and children.

The network has documented 109 incidents of sexual violence committed by Burmese soldiers in Shan state since 2002. The Shan are Myanmar's second-largest ethnic group after the Burmans.

Its Shan Nationalities League for Democracy is one of three legal political parties that boycotted the government's national convention called last year to draft a constitution. Its chairman and general secretary were taken from their homes in Yangon, or Rangoon, and arrested early this year.

MONEY

 

Kyat notes seized in Mon State

(Kaowao: October 25, 2005) 

Police in Mon state seized kyat notes valued at one hundred million in Burmese currency last Saturday but no one was arrested, a source from Moulmein said.

The money was being transferred from Rangoon to buy goods made in Thailand at the Mae Sot border, a Mon businessman, Nai Lwin from the capital told Kaowao.  “The money belonged to a Moulmein resident of Mon nationality who has close tie with top businessmen in Rangoon,” he said.

Businessmen in Burma cannot deposit large amounts of currency in the banks and it is also difficult to transfer money from Rangoon to Mon state, since the banks are monitored and vehicles are checked.

The notes were seized in Mottama town of Paung Township close to Moulmein city. They were discovered at one of the checkpoints in the town.  Authorities accused the businessmen of being involved in the bomb blast that took place in Rangoon on the same day.   Some houses in the capital city were raided, the businessman from Rangoon said. But no one was arrested.

Explosion in the capital

(Kaowao: October 21, 2005)

A bomb exploded in the capital city of Burma on Friday, October 21, says an eyewitness from the Rangoon.

According to a Rangoon resident, the bombs exploded in the evening near the Trader Hotel in Rangoon, but no causalities were reported. The general public is concerned that the explosion may lead to civil unrest and turmoil in the country.

The witness, who spoke to Kaowao over the phone, said a group of people recently set fire to a petrol store in Hmawbi near Rangoon, expressing anger over the government's recent policy to increase the price of diesel fuel. 

The government introduced a new set-price of 1,500 kyat per gallon from 150 kyat, while the diesel price in the black market is about 3,800 kyat per gallon.

A source in Rangoon said the U.S dollar jumped rapidly from 1260 kyat per dollar to 1280 kyat half and hour after the explosion. The Burmese currency fell from 6.42 to 6.30 per Chinese Yuan. But the money market is very quiet as nobody wants to sell, but only looking to buy foreign currency at the moment.

A number of bomb explosions have occurred in Rangoon and Mandalay in recent years, but no group ever claims responsibility.  On May 7, 2005, dozens were killed and more than 160 injured when bombs exploded at Dagon Shopping Centre, Myenigone junction and two other locations in Rangoon.

OPPOSITION

 

Ceasefire groups defiant

(Shah Paung, Irrawaddy: October 14, 2005)

Ethnic ceasefire groups in Burma will not surrender their arms to the junta, despite the government’s stated claim that all such groups must disarm, said officials from three ethnic ceasefire groups.

On October 11, Burmese officials told Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar that their first priority was to “unite the country” and to do so would require the surrender of all weapons by ethnic armed groups, in order to prevent the disunity and instability that can be seen now in Iraq.

But ethnic groups such as the New Mon State Party, the Kachin Independence Organization and the Karen Democratic Buddhist Army have refused to surrender their arms.

Nai Han Tha, general-secretary of the NMSP, said the group will not disarm without some assurance from the government that they will be safe from persecution by government soldiers.

“We have agreed to stop fighting, but not to surrender. We need a dialogue. Until now, they [Burmese military government] have never talked with us,” said Nai Han Tha, adding that issues relating to Mon State have generated only limited discussion at the National Convention, set to resume in the next two months.

The NMSP brokered a ceasefire agreement with the Rangoon government on June 29, 1995.

The KIO and DKBA have also stated that they will not surrender their arms to the military government.

“The Burmese military government should know that we will not agree to everything they ask,” said Major Chit Thu of DKBA battalion 999. The group broke away from the Karen National Union in 1995 and negotiated a ceasefire agreement with Rangoon.

“This is what they [the junta] want,” said an official from the KIO. “It is clear that we have agreed to a ceasefire, not surrender, for the sake of peace in the country.”

He added that the junta is planning to disrupt cooperation among armed ethnic groups, but that the KIO should not be affected. The group—one of Burma’s largest armed ethnic organizations—has maintained a ceasefire agreement with the junta since October 1993.

Analysis / Burma

 

Rangoon's generals prepare for the changing of the guard

(By Larry Jagan)

Burma's top military leaders are planning a massive shake-up in the army and government. The major changes are expected to emerge at the end of the quarterly meeting of the country's governing State Peace and Development Council or SPDC.

The top military ruler, General Than Shwe, is also expected to stand down as the junta leaders pass power to the next generation of generals. The country's top 12 generals are currently meeting in Rangoon to discuss their plans and strategy for the future. The meeting comes at a particularly crucial time for the military as the National Convention prepares to complete the draft of the new constitution before the end of the year. It is likely to be put to a referendum, with fresh elections being held within the next 12 months.

The planned changes are the most dramatic since the army seized power 17 years ago. The top general is reportedly planning to give up at least one of the three key posts he holds as chairman of the SPDC, supreme commander of the army, and defence minister.

''We expect Than Shwe to relinquish his position as defence minister in the forthcoming reshuffle,'' said a senior Southeast Asian diplomat who has regular contact with the Burmese regime. Gen Than Shwe recently told the visiting Thai army's supreme commander, General Chaisit Shinawatra, that he would retire soon and that General Thura Shwe Mann would take over as the country's leader in due course.

There are increasing doubts about the senior general's health. Six months ago he had a very mild stroke, but has recovered from that. Dr Kyaw Myint, the health minister and Gen Than Shwe's personal physician, visits him every day to monitor his medical condition, according to family friends. A Singaporean doctor also recently visited Rangoon to attend to him, according to Burmese military sources.

Time appears to be catching up with the 75-year-old general, say diplomats who have recently met the Burmese leader. Gen Than Shwe is known to suffer from hypertension and is a diabetic. ''He's subject to frequent diabetic rages when his sugar levels get out of control,'' a Burmese army doctor said. But many Burmese analysts believe much of the old man's deteriorating health is largely a psychological illness, the result of a depression caused by the increasing public revelations of his wife and children's rabid corruption.

He was particularly shocked when, during his trial for corruption, the former agriculture minister, Nyunt Tin, disclosed that he had presented Gen Than Shwe's wife and their daughter with five diamonds, each worth US$1.5 million. ''He was so shocked by these corruption revelations and the extent of his daughter's business dealings that he took to his bed with depression for days,'' a Burmese source said.

This may have prompted the senior general to withdraw from the public eye and take a back seat for the time being. Although he may even retire as the SPDC chairman, he is unlikely to give up the post of supreme commander of the army. ''Even if Than Shwe officially retires he will not give up his power. Instead he'll remain the grey eminence behind the throne, along the lines of the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the years before his death,'' said Burmese analyst Win Min, based in Chiang Mai.

Gen Thura Shwe Mann is tipped to replace Gen Maung Aye as the army's commander-in-chief, paving the way for him to take the reigns of power sometime next year. And Gen Maung Aye may well become the SPDC chairman.

There is no doubt that at present Gen Than Shwe is taking a back seat. ''Than Shwe has withdrawn from involvement in the day-to-day government of the country and Maung Aye has effectively taken over the former prime minister Khin Nyunt's role of running Burma,'' said a senior Asian diplomat based in Rangoon.

In recent weeks, it has been Gen Maung Aye who has dominated the front pages of the government-controlled newspapers, with Gen Than Shwe increasingly less prominent. ''Maung Aye's mug is everywhere in the Burmese media _ a clear sign that he has strengthened his influence and control within the junta,'' according to a Rangoon-based Western diplomat.

But others believe this is only a ploy by the senior general until he is ready to resume his central role and become the country's first president under the new constitution that is expected to be
adopted early next year. ''Than Shwe is only giving Maung Aye enough rope to hang himself,'' said a Southeast Asian diplomat.

''The National Convention will have drawn up a new constitution by the end of the year and it will be put to a referendum in early 2006,'' said a senior Chinese diplomat.

And new elections are likely before the end of next year. Beijing believes Gen Than Shwe will stand down next year and become the civilian president. ''He wants to be president for life,'' a senior military source close to him said.

Gen Thura Shwe Mann is scheduled to take over as head of the army and replace Gen Than Shwe as head of the junta, according to a senior Chinese diplomat.

When that time comes, he will grant a mass amnesty to all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, Khin Nyunt, and the former military intelligence officers who were sentenced to hundreds of years in prison for corruption and economic crimes earlier this year, according to Asian diplomats.

To prepare for these momentous political changes, Burma's top leaders are planning to hand over control of the military to the next generation of army officers. Gen Thura Shwe Mann will head the new triumvirate of military leaders, supported by Prime Minister Gen Soe Win and Secretary One, Gen Thein Sein.

''This is the new generation of military leaders who are being readied to take over power,'' according to senior Indian diplomats who deal with Rangoon. But, they warn, this group of generals lacks the manners and intelligence of their superiors. ''These men are uncouth, uneducated and only know how to bark orders,'' said a former Indian diplomat who has been based in Rangoon previously and knows the new generals well.

This new generation of leaders is likely to be just as preoccupied as their predecessors with holding on to power. And they are certain to be unprepared to compromise with either the pro-democracy parties or the ethnic minorities.