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Mon National Relief Committee Repor



Subject: Mon National Relief Committee Report, January 1996

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THE FIVE POINTS OF THE AIM OF THE MON
NATIONAL RELIEF COMMITTEE

1. Resettlement of the refugees who become homeless due to
the oppression of Rangoon military regime.

2. To help for the welfare of the refugees who become jobless
due to the oppression of Rangoon military regime.

3. To take care and look after the health of the refugees.

4. To fight against illiteracy for the children in the refugees
camps.

5. To struggle for human rights.

The Organization of The Mon National Relief Committee

1. Phra Wongsa Pala  Chairman
2. Nai Shwe Thein  Vice- Chairman
3. Nai Banya Leir  Secretary
4. Nai Kasanh Mon  Joint- Secretary
5. Nai Chit Nyunt   Member
6. Nai Pho Sein  Member
7. Phra Tay Jae  Member

MONTHLY REPORT OF MON NATIONAL RELIEF
COMMITTEE
(January, 1996)

Difficulties in Repatriation Process

Even though the MNRC would like to repatriate the Mon
refugees according to international refugee principles like
other repatriated refugees over the world, the situation in
Burma has not been allowed and decided to move them back
into areas under control of New Mon State Party (NMSP) to
ensure for their safety and defend human rights abuses. The
MNRC has realized that human rights situation in Mon State
and Tenasserim Division is still worsening and at the same
time, the Thai government never agreed to recognize the
victims who escaped for persecution from Burma as refugee
status, and thus, even the repatriation program should not plan
in the time of NMSP - SLORC cease - fire, but it has no more
choice except moving back to NMSP territory.

The Mon refugees, they also understand the situation due to
their past experiences and decided to move back to NMSP
control areas. To plan to return back to their native places,
they may wait for some time. At the moment, the NMSP will
provide for safety for those returnees, but it is still not enough
according to consideration of MNRC. The international
community should also provide regular monitoring for safety
of them and protect for committing human rights abuses on
those returnees. Hopefully, the international access or presence
in ethnic areas of Burma enable to collect accurate information
from concerning ethnic community and such facts must be
helpful to solve the problem of Burma to attain genuine peace
by initiating or attempting so called reconciliation of all groups
that have been participating in prolonged conflict.

For the time being, the Ye - Tavoy railway construction which
connected the Mon State and Tenasserim Division, is still
implementing to complete section by section. Since June of
1995, the SLORC's railway authorities and the military have
consistently conscripted local inhabitants to provide manual
labours in the construction work sites. On May 30th of 1995,
the most southern 12 miles long Tavoy - Yebyu section was
completed and the SLORC officials also arranged an opening
ceremony. Then, in June, the SLORC has constructed the
Yebyu - Kalein Aung section, about 40 miles long and
completed the embankment of the route in second week of
January, 1996. Because of the present conscription of forced
labours, many thousands of local villagers have to work in the
construction work sites, at the end, they were suffered for
shortage of foods and no cashes for payment to hire labourers
for replacement of defined work duty. Similarly, the SLORC
troops also mistreated to Karen local populations in Yebyu
township harshly after they were attacked by KNU guerrillas.
As a result, over 100 families of Mon and Karen villagers from
Yebyu Township has steadily arrived to Payaw, an only Mon
refugee camp in Thai territory, since last week of November.

At the same time, while many families of new arrivals were
reaching to border area, the MNRC could not send the needed
assistance for Payaw refugees in time, because of the delay of
extension of MOI permission for December and January
assistance. Moreover, when the Mon Resettlement Committee
arranged to get the bulldozer to rebuild the road to Payaw
camp from Sangklaburi, it has faced delays to get permission
for crossing the reforestation area and only in last week of this
month the road was started for rebuilding. Due to April 30
death - line, the smooth transportation of assistance must be
provided to MNRC by all concerning organizations. As
MNRC has consistently suggested before, it would like to
transport all assistance allowed by MOI without waiting the
permissions of district level which have made time - waste and
delay all arrangements to complete in time.

The Visits of US Embassy and UNHCR Team

On January 18, an official from refugee department of US
Embassy, based in Bangkok, visited to Payaw refugee camp
and investigated the repatriation process of Mon refugees.
When he arrived to the camp, he also met with camp leaders,
members of resettlement committee and many new comers
from the railway construction and fighting.

Additionally, a team of UNHCR officials also visited to the
camp on January 25 and also met with camp leaders, members
of resettlement committee and many new comers from the
railway construction and fighting. Before the team visited to
the camp, they arranged a meeting with MNRC and
investigated for development of repatriation process.

The MNRC explained them the difficulties it has been faced
for building the road and transporting assistance to Payaw. The
situation is very complicated for the repatriation of Payaw
refugees while many new arrivals have been arriving to camp,
but the refugees have no more choice. The most new arrivals
have not built their houses yet and they are staying with
refugee families in the camp temporarily and registered to
resettlement sub - committee to get land for house surrounding.

Both US and UNHCR officials talked with camp leaders and
resettlement committee members to get information on
repatriation. According to the registration of resettlement sub -
committee, the Payaw returnees can obtain enough lands for
plantations and house surrounding for all returnees in NMSP
control areas. But to achieve self - sufficiency of those
returnees, they may need some emergency assistance for foods
and development assistance for three years after they were
resettled. And the resettlement areas must be safe or where
there will be no more fighting, the returnees can make their
farmlands in stable situation. If the situation was not stable
enough like they hoped or the fighting occurred again, they
will separate into Thailand.

Then, the officials also conducted interviews with new arrivals
who were recently suffered from forced labours in the railway
construction and the victims who were tortured by SLORC
troops after fighting occurred with KNU. The most slave-labour victims explained their terrible experiences in the work
sites. According to the interviews, the railway authorities and
military used more villager labourers than last year. In the
work sites, about 60% of all labourers are women and children
under 16. For every family has had to dig at least five holes of
10 square feet and one foot depth and carry dirt to the
embankment. For the families who could not provide manual
labours had to hire for labourer replacement. They had to work
in the construction work sites for two weeks in every month
since June and if one family could not provide labours for a
defined work duty of two weeks, they had to pay 2500 up to
3500 Kyat to headmen of village group or railway authorities.

In such situation, the MNRC is still requesting the presence of
international community in the repatriation process and to
provide possible protection of human rights committed by any
armed groups.

The Refugee Population of the Four Camps are as follows:
Camp      Families  Total
Bee Ree   271       1645
Payaw          697       4170
Prachaub  317       1725
Halockhani     852       5219

Total          2137      12,759

(N.B.  Of the total, 7,319 are children)


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