The BurmaNet News - 29 January, 199

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-------------------------- BurmaNet -----------------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: January 29, 1998
Issue #923

Noted in passing:

"The people of Burma, despite their situation, are very empowered and there
are lessons to be extracted by all of us in the global community."  -
Jeanne Hallacy (see BURMANET EDITOR: 'BURMA DIARY' - CREATIVE ACTS OF)

HEADLINES:
==========
ABSDF MEDIA RELEASE: ONE THOUSAND DEMONSTRATE IN
BKK POST: DELEGATION DROPS IN ON KAREN CAMP, PRAISES
BURMANET EDITOR: 'BURMA DIARY' - CREATIVE ACTS OF
BKK POST: CHETTHA TO VISIT RANGOON FOR TALKS
THE NATION: PIPELINE PANEL MAKES LITTLE HEADWAY
THE NATION: BURMA PLANE CRASH KILLS 14
SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A -0298(I)
SHAN: SPDC BEGINS CLAMP DOWN ON CEASEFIRE GROUPS

Karen Reports --
KNL: STATEMENT OF POLICY OBJECTIVE, CHARACTERISTICS
NCGUB: STATEMENT ON SPECULATION OF KNU WEAKNESS
HISTORY OF THE KAREN NATIONAL NEW YEAR

Announcements -
ORGANISATIONS IN INDIA
BURMANET EDITOR: BURMANET SUBJECT - MATTER
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ABSDF MEDIA RELEASE: ONE THOUSAND DEMONSTRATE IN ARAKAN STATE
28 January, 1998
 
About 1,000 people, including high school students, held a
demonstration last Friday in a town in Arakan State in western
Burma, to protest against the actions of three local policemen,
according to an ABSDF source.
  
The demonstration occurred on Friday January 23, 1998, and
involved students from No. 1 State High School in Kyauk Phu
township in Arakan State.
  
The day before the demonstration, a student from the school was
involved in an incident with local policemen. The student and his
mother were riding a bicycle on the way to the night market when
they accidently hit a policeman. 
  
Both mother and son apologised many times, however the student
was violently beaten by three policemen, according to the local
source. The student was seriuosly injured in the attack and was
later hospitalised.
  
The following day about 150 students from the high school, who
were dissatisfied with the lack of action taken against the
policemen, staged a peaceful demonstration in town. According to
the source, other people in town joined the students in the
protest and the number of demonstrators swelled to more than one
thousand.
  
The demonstrators dispersed at about seven o'clock in the evening
after a compromise was reached between high school authorities
and the township police chief, the source said. During the
demonstration, the students demanded the following:
  
  1. that the authorities pay for the student's medical expenses
  2. that, if necessary, the authorities send the student to a   
     hospital in Rangoon 
  3. that the authorities introduce a regular flow of electricity
     to the town to enable students to study properly
  4. the abolition of the SPDC's new educational system
  5. that the authorities bring charges against the three   
     policemen who attacked the student
  6. that the authorities announce details of the incident the   
     the newspapers. 
    
Central Committee, All Burma Students' Democratic Front 
For further information please contact 01 654 4984.

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BKK POST: DELEGATION DROPS IN ON KAREN CAMP, PRAISES THAIS FOR GOOD JOB
28 January, 1998

US SHOWS WAY TO GET EXTRA CASH FOR NEEDY
Supamart Kasem, Umphang, Tak

A US delegation called on the Thai  government to upgrade a
refugee shelter - in Umphang district to refugee camp status in
order to attract extra funds from the US government and other
foreign donors. 

US Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration,
Julia V. Taft, yesterday led US representatives on a visit to
Karen refugees at the Nu Pho site.

The delegation included US Ambassador William Itoh, Deputy
Coordinator for the Refugee and Migration Affairs Section John W.
Crowley and the US consul in Chiang Mai Scoot Bellard.

After inspecting the shelter and receiving a briefing on the
refugees' living conditions by Umphang district chief Charoen
Singhayakul, Mrs Taft praised the Thai government for taking good
care of the displaced.

The Nu Pho camp, about 13 kilometres from the Burmese border, was
built in the middle of last year to accommodate more than 10,000
Karens who have fled to Thailand in the last 12 months.

Thai authorities evacuated these refugees from border camps to
the new Nu Pho site to prevent them being attacked by rival
Burmese forces.

Mrs Taft reportedly expressed concerns about the rising
population in the camp and proposed that the shelter be declared
a refugee camp. It could then get more aid from the US government
through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Tak Governor Phongphayom Wasaphuti said the proposal, which 
Would see the UNHCR playing more of a role in taking care of the
refugees, would be submitted  to higher authorities for
consideration.      

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BURMANET EDITOR: 'BURMA DIARY' - CREATIVE ACTS OF DEFIANCE

American documentary maker Jeanne Hallacy does not apologise for stepping
across the line of journalism into the realm of personal story telling in
her documentary 'Burma Diary'.

'Burma Diary' has been a five year labour of love for Hallacy who began
filming in 1992 without financial backing but with a committed desire to
explore the role of children in revolution.

Following a five year stint as a journalist in the Philippines covering
stories on youth involved in the New Peoples Army guerilla movement,
Hallacy made the decision to document the role of young people in the
Burmese struggle.

"When I heard that there were a lot of young people involved in the civil
war in Burma, I wanted to come and see for myself," Hallacy says.

"I never foresaw that it would be a five year commitment, but I was so
taken with the situation that I just began despite having no money and no
explicit agenda about where it (the film) would go or what it would become."

What Burma Diary became was not a story about children in the resistance
(although this is certainly explored) as Hallacy originally envisaged, but
a window into the lives of 'revolutionary' families. Families living
outside the norms of existence, living in fear and struggling with the
uncertainty of never knowing when they can be reunited with their relatives
and friends in their homeland, never knowing when they can resume 'normal'
lives.

The film is also as much about Hallacy's own personal odyssey into the
Burmese trauma, as it is about her interpreter Tint Aung whom she chooses
as a mirror to the complex and difficult story of those Burmese living in
exile and struggling for democracy in the jungles bordering Thailand and
Burma.

Hallacy's deep friendship with Tint Aung, an active member of the All Burma
Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) who escaped into the jungle following the
1988 student demonstrations, led her to develop the final script for the
documentary around him.

Faced with a terrifying 60 hours of footage, Hallacy says she decided that
the story of Tint Aung, his wife, ABSDF nurse San San Myint, and their twin
daughters was a story people could not fail to relate to.

"?the best service I could do in  portraying the depth and complexity of
what had been given to me - this great gift of passion, of people's
passion, of people's defiance and people's hope in the face of incredibly
challenging odds - the best way was the simplest way, to tell a story about
my friend who moved me."

The impact of the Burmese military regime on people's lives, both inside
and outside Burma, is powerfully portrayed through Hallacy's five year
documentation of Tint Aung's life and the difficult and complex decisions
he is faced with every day.

A recurring theme in the film is the depth of personal and collective pain
generated by fear and uncertainty for the future, and the dreams people
dream to help them survive this dreadful uncertainty.

At the beginning of the documentary Tint Aung says that all Burmese have
been traumatised by the 'separateness' of their families and dream of the
day they can be reunited in their homes in Burma.

The pinnacle of the film and for Hallacy in her relationship with these two
exceptional people is the final interview with Tint Aung and San San Myint
in Bangkok on the eve of their departure as refugees to Australia.

"I had to push them ? I had to strip away what had been an accrued form of
survival for them, for most people from Burma, not to indulge their
feelings," says Hallacy.

"The whole time they had been reserved in displaying the depth of their
pain and what they had internalised, because pain, suffering and separation
and not knowing - the huge unknown void of not knowing when you will be
able to return to the people you love - to get extremely emotional about
this is an indulgence that cannot be afforded.

"It was a symbiotic process. One makes a film because one believes that you
have a small piece of a vision that you want to share with others about
others, but they stripped me away as well - they penetrated some barriers
that I had as a film maker.

 "The camera is always such an incredible buffer but in that moment it was
gone.  There was no camera, it was just me and her (San San Myint) weeping
for all of the things that were never going to be said."

One of the criticisms of 'Burma Diary' is that it may give the impression
that the solution for people involved in the fight for democracy along the
border is to leave and rebuild their lives elsewhere.

"That's not at all what I wanted to say and nor do I believe that's what
Tint Aung and San San Myint wanted to say," says Hallacy.

"It is about the complexity of decisions and it is also about the
transformation - of seeing that there are a multitude of ways to fight, not
only with a gun."

Tint Aung, now living in Sydney with his family, remains an active and
tireless worker in the ABSDF's information department.

In the decade since the SLORC's bloody suppression of the 1988 student
demonstrations, the world appears to have fallen into a fugue of 'Burma
fatigue' - a 'we have heard it all before' syndrome.

With the release of Hallacy's documentary the world community is reminded
that the story of the Burmese people's struggle is not over and that real
people with real children and real lives are continuing to suffer
deprivation and pain.

Hallacy ends her documentary with a message framed by the Buddhist concept
of 'metta' or loving kindness, calling on all of us to open ourselves to
the "grace of compassion."

"The force of compassion as a weapon of transformation for humanity is
unfathomable ? and this to me is what is at the epicentre of the struggle
for democracy in Burma ? because compassion is an incredible resource of
individual and communal strength," she says.

"The people of Burma, despite their situation, are very empowered and there
are lessons to be extracted by all of us in the global community." 

Hallacy believes that the leader of the Burmese democratic movement and
1991 Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has come to embody this ethos of
compassion and non-violent struggle.

In the final moments of the film Hallacy reaches out to the audience
through the eyes of the Burmese, "a place where dreams can only exist when
you are wide awake."

An expression which conjures forth thoughts of the Latin American magic
realists who explore the extremes of their political and cultural realities
through  fantastic yet essentially real images based on their experience of
corrupt government.

Chilean film-maker Miguel Litten, who risked his neck to travel
clandestinely through his native land documenting the oppression of
Pinochet's dictatorship, once said: "Nobody is the product of individual
effort but, rather we are the sons and daughters of a time and a history,
conscious or unconscious instruments of the people."

This belief is at the core of Burma Diary, a penetrating piece of political
and social history calling on us to be 'wide awake' and to keep our hearts
and minds open to all of humanity.

"I think individual consciousness does contribute ? in the linkage of your
individual consciousness and mine, and the person in Zaire and the person
in Northern Ireland ?it does matter in saying that the state of things as
they are is unacceptable," says Hallacy.

"Human beings don't want to kill each other, human beings don't want to
live in a constant state of fear, oppression and depravity.  Human beings
want to celebrate their humanity which is why we have - despite all these
horrors - we have art, poetry, music, colour, talk and song."

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BKK POST: CHETTHA TO VISIT RANGOON FOR TALKS
28 January, 1998
by Wasana Nanuam

FISHERY PROBLEMS TO BE DISCUSSED

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro will visit Burma
next month for a meeting with Lt Gen Khin Nyunt, first secretary
of Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council, to seek
solutions to fishery problems between the two countries.

Gen Chettha said he would begin his visit once the Agriculture
Ministry completes the drafting of a plan on joint Thai-Burmese
fishery projects.

"The talks will be straightforward. Everything must be based on
fairness as problems cannot be solved if one party tries to take
advantage of the other. Both countries must abide by contracts
for long lasting cooperation and better relations," Gen Chettha
said.

According to him, Rangoon is demanding state-to-state talks with
Bangkok over the sharing of benefits from the proposed joint
fishery programmes and measures to take action against
individuals violating contracts and flouting other regulations.

An army source said the meeting between the two is expected to
take place in Kawthaung, opposite Ranong province.

*************************************************************

THE NATION: PIPELINE PANEL MAKES LITTLE HEADWAY
28 January, 1998 [abridged]
by Nantiya Tangwisutuit

THE Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) yesterday put up a
barrier on the access road leading to the cam site headquarters
of environmental groups opposed to the construction of a section
of the Yadana pipeline through protected forest area in
Kanchanaburi, conservationists reported.

Late yesterday afternoon, PTT workers dumped dirt to create
several barriers on the unpaved road leading to the Huay Khayeng
forest cam site. Vehicular access both in and out of the camp was
completely cut off. The PTT could not be reached for comment
yesterday.

Meanwhile, environmentalists said a new mediatory committee would
not be able to settle the impasse between the two factions if
construction in Kanchanaburi's protected forests continues while
the panel meets. When environmentalists and PTT representatives
met yesterday to discuss the panel's duties, conservation groups
proposed that the committee order a temporary suspension of work
on the section of pipeline that runs through Saiyoke National
Park and Huay Khayeng National Forest Reserve before negotiations
with the PTT started. If the construction does not stop while the
committee is working, the committee will not be able to look at 
alternatives to mitigate the impact of the project on the forest.
Our major concern is that the pristine forest should not continue
to be destroyed," Narong Changkamol of the Seub Nakhasathien
Foundation said.

He noted that if the construction was allowed to continue the
pipeline might be completed before the committee reaches a
solution.

Representatives from the PTT insisted that the construction must
continue in order to meet July's deadline. The 260 kilometre
section of pipeline being constructed by the PTT stretches from
the Burmese border to Ratchaburi province.

About 30 conservationists and student activists have camped in
Huay Khayeng forest since December in an attempt to block
deforestation by Tasco Manessmann  Co, a  PTT sub-contractor.

Conservationists say the two forests should be left untouched
because they contain ancient native timber stands and are home to
any large mammal species, including elephants. They claim the PTT
overlooked the biological value of the forests in its
environmental impact assessment, which claimed that the areas
were degraded. The group has released a series of pictures of big
trees being chopped down by PTT sub-contractors and photos of a
wild elephant being trapped by a villager living near the
pipeline route. They claim the elephant was forced to enter
farmland because its habitat and food sources in the forest were
disturbed by the construction. The newly-appointed committee
consists of renowned social thinkers and businessmen including
Prof Prawes Wasi, Government Savings Bank governor Paiboon
Wattanasiritham, Bangchak Petroleum Plc president Sophon Supapong
and  Iudustry Council of Thailand president Chokechai
Aksornranand.

*************************************************************

THE NATION: BURMA PLANE CRASH KILLS 14
28 January, 1998 [abridged]
REUTER

RANGOON - A plane crashed on take off in Burma yesterday killing
14 of the 45 passengers and crew, including three foreigners, a
Transport Ministry source said. 
     
The Fokker F-27 aircraft owned by the state-run Myanmar Airways
was half-way down the runway at Thandwe airport, about 320
kilometres northwest of Rangoon, when its right engine failed and
the plane veered into an embankment, the source said.

He said 20 people on board suffered injuries in the crash and the
remainder were unhurt. 
     
It was not immediately clear how many passengers or crew were
among the dead, but three of the victims were foreigners -two
French and one Italian, the source said. 

*************************************************************

SPDC: INFORMATION SHEET NO.A -0298(I)
28 January, 1998

ASTONISHINGLY FICTITIOUS

On 27 January at 07:00 hrs the (Radio Free Asia) Myanmar Language 
Version broadcast some news items in which one was on the dissolving of the
State Law and Order Restoration Council administration. It was quite an
interesting story which was heavily spiced with fabrications, exaggerations
and total untruth. 

(a) It also mentioned that the source of the news was from the diplomatic
 circle and the people in Yangon. 

(b) It also mentioned that on the evening of 14  November barb-wired 
barricades were put up in the crowded downtown areas and on the       
night of 15 November Lt.Gen.Tun Kyi was being arrested with a 
shoot-to-kill warrant if he resisted arrest.

(c) It also went on to say that several weapons were seized from 
Lt.Gen.Tun Kyi and Lt.Gen.Kyaw Ba's residence and that (30) 
battalion officers loyal to them were being demoted. 

(d) It also accused Lt-Gen Tun Kyi of being the person who was 
behind the bombing of Secretary-2, Lt-Gen Tin Oo's residence in Yangon. 

(e) It also created a story that while Senior General Than Shwe and 
Lt-Gen.Khin Nyunt were attending the summit in Malaysia there 
was an attempted coup in Yangon. Another story stated 
funnily that the attempted coup has been failed because of the 
timely information  received by U Ne Win and U Sein Lwin. 

(f) It mentioned that there was a serious conflict between Secretary-1,
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and Lt-Gen Sein Aung.  Then it went on to say 
that the writer and movie director Tin Than Oo was Lt-Gen Sein Aung's
son-in-law and that legal action has been taken against Tin Than Oo. 			
(g) Finally, it concluded that  it broadcast with a story where the security
troops when sent to search and raid the residences the following 
numbers of motor vehicles and gold were seized:-

(1)Lt-Gen Tun Kyi - (23) motor vehicles and (3) tons of gold.
(2) Lt-Gen Myint Aung - (3) tons of gold and over (400) million worth
      of jewellery.
(3) Lt-Gen Myo Nyunt - (8) tons of gold bar.
(4) Lt-Gen Kyaw Ba - (5.5) tons of gold, over (700) million worth 	
of  unrefined gold blocks, (44) motor vehicles and (105) apartment rooms.
(5) Lt-Gen Tun Kyi - Over Kyats (600) million.
	
It is also quite interesting and disappointing to learn that Radio Free
Asia has become a platform for broadcasting fabricated and distorted news
to its listeners. Anyhow, this piece of story has opened the eyes of its
listeners for they can now clearly judge the credibility of R.F.A.which now
has proven to stand for "Rumours and Fabrications for Asia. (R.F.A.)" 
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BurmaNet Editor's Note:

It is interesting to note that the daughter of Lt-Gen Tun Kyi (whose
residence is mentioned as one of those raided) recently fled Burma,
arriving in Thailand on 20 January with her husband and two of her children
(see BKK POST: CORRUPT GENERAL'S DAUGHTER FLEES in 26 January issue of
BurmaNet News)

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SHAN: SPDC BEGINS CLAMP DOWN ON CEASEFIRE GROUPS
28 January, 1998

Units of Shan ceasefire groups south of Mongkung-Kesi motor-road were
instructed by SLORC /SPDC to move north, according to recent reports
received by S.H.A.N.

Reports indicate areas south of the road have become an all-out war zone
where SLORC / SPDC troops and their militia are allowed to kill, loot, rape
and burn at will. Even stragglers of the Shan State National Army, a.k.a.
the Shan State Army Central, were shot to death and their weapons
confiscated during last month's operations against forces of the Shan State
Army Southern, the group that was not permitted by Slorc to become a
ceasefire group like others. It is led by Yordserk, a 22-year veteran of the
Shan resistance.

People are being forced to relocate in barren places under SLORC / SPDC
control. Commander of the Northern Command, Brig. Gen. Tin Aung Myint Oo,
was reported to have threatened both the Shan State Army (Northern) and the
Shan State National Army at a meeting late last month  that villages in the
Northern Sector would also be relocated if both allows Yordserk's group to
operate there.

When S.H.A.N. argued that the obvious solution was for SLORC / SPDC to
accept the ceasefire offer from Yordserk, the source replied everyone else
also thought the same but so far no satisfactory answer from SLORC / SPDC
commanders was forth coming.

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KAREN REPORTS 

KNL: STATEMENT OF POLICY OBJECTIVE, CHARACTERISTICS AND BELIEFS (DRAFT) 
16 January, 1998

The Birth of Karen National League (KNL)
Statement of Policy Objective, Characteristics and Beliefs (draft)

Karen National League (KNL) was formed at the Second International Karen
Youth Conference held on December 22-26, 1997 in Ottawa, Canada.  KNL
defines its main policy objective, characteristics and beliefs as follows.
 
Our Policy Objective
 
The fundamental aim of Karen National League (KNL) is to contribute as a
leading international Karen organization to the struggles of the Karen
people for ethnic equality, freedom and democracy. This includes developing
the consciousness of the solidarity among ourselves, making our national
struggles better known domestically and internationally, and most
importantly, fostering effective cooperation between Karen people (border,
internal and international) and with other democratic movements.  
  
In pursuit of the above noble objective, the Karen National League (KNL)
recognizes, supports and cooperates with any individual or organization that
helps liberate and develop the Karen people and bring about democracy to
Burma.  KNL shall at each given moment creatively adopt appropriate tactics
that will help achieve its objective.  In this time of difficulties for the
Karen people, KNL will seek to expand and deepen the cooperation with all
the democratic organizations critical to our national liberation. 

Characteristics of KNL 

KNL is a product of a given historical period.  It is formed to advance the
Karen people in the struggle for freedom, ethnic equality and democracy.
Driving its approach to struggle is the fundamental national contradiction
represented by the oppression of ethnic people. The factors that help shape
the character of the KNL as a truly progressive national movement is its
cooperation and interaction with other democratic and liberation movements
within the country and all over the world.  KNL is not an armed
organization. Nor will it by any means engage in any armed activity.

At this stage, we define ourselves as a struggle for national development
and a movement for the advancement of democratic principles and ideals
within Burma.  Therefore, it is our strategic objective to help build a
democratic society within a genuine union in which all the ethnic
nationalities can live in harmony on the basis of political, economic and
social equality. 
 
Our Beliefs

KNL believes that a fundamental condition for Karen national liberation is
democracy and an abiding culture of human rights.  All citizens should be
guaranteed the right to elect a government of their choice, freedom of
expression, freedom from discrimination, and other fundamental human rights.

They should have a central and state governments not only formally based on
their will but ones that are open and transparent, and ones that consult
and continually involve the people in policy formulation and implementation.

Consistent with these principles is the task of ensuring equality among the
diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious communities.  

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NCGUB: STATEMENT ON SPECULATION OF KNU WEAKNESS
18 January, 1996

In 1949, a year after the independence of Burma, the KNU had to lead the
Karen people's resistance in self-defense against the genocidal attacks by
troops from the pocket army of Gen. Ne Win, the extreme right-wing militia
force. The resistance has been continuing up to this day, through thick and
thin, because of the KNU's flexibility, the steadfastness of its leadership
based on full sense of justice and freedom, and the grass-root support of
the 7 million Karen people in the Irrawaddy Delta, Rangoon Division, Pegu
Division, Tanessarim Division and Karen State.

When the Karen resistance abandoned most of its fixed bases along the
Thai-Burma border in 1995, for a flexible military response to the massive
offensive by the SLORC military dictatorship, the SLORC and pro-SLORC
elements, among the businesses, with an eye to plundering the natural
resources in Karen State, started to spread rumors that the KNU was no
longer a fighting force. These elements tried to win over some in the KNU
leadership by dangling business opportunities on the one hand and applying
pressure in many forms on the other. This generated free and frank debates
among the KNU leadership, but sensibility and reason always prevailed. The
business opportunists and pro-SLORC agents, interpreting these debates as a
serious dissension, started to spread rumors that there was a widening
split between the younger and older generations in the KNU leadership.

The KNU had weathered worse times than what is taking place now. It has to
give up control over areas in the Rangoon Division, Irrawaddy Delta, and
Pegu Division over the years, but it has become politically much stronger
because of  the acceptance and understanding of its political aims and
objectives  by the democratic and other ethnic forces. The KNU is
determined to carry on its resistance against the military dictatorship,
many more decades, if need be, so long as there is no political settlement
with regard to the questions of freedom, democracy, human rights and ethnic
rights.

The KNU strongly reject superficial analyses of it by some agencies,
especially the analysis by the Mitsubishi Research Institute in its recent
publication titled "Forecast on Asia's Economy in 1998".  The KNU hope that
businesses in Japan will take more responsible approach with its
investments in Burma, whose people have to bear extreme sufferings under
the misrule of the past and present military dictatorships.

We have learned that the military dictatorship defaulted on loans amounting
to more than US $ 10 billions from Japan, given under the ODA. There is no
doubt that any further loan to the military dictatorship would meet the
same fate. For that reason, we would like to earnestly urge the Japanese
government not to resume the ODA to Burma until a democratically elected
government is in power. At the same time, we would like to appeal to the
people of Japan to check the actions of the Japanese businesses, as well as
the government, that would encourage and support the military dictatorship
in Burma, in any form.

Department of News, Information and Research
NCGUB Communication Center in Thailand

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HISTORY OF THE KAREN NATIONAL NEW YEAR
17 January, 1998 [translated from Burmese]
Eastern Pwo Karen Culture and Literature Preservation Committee

The Karen National New Year celebrations are held during the pleasant month
of Pyathoe (on the Roman calendar - Dec/Jan).  People mark the occasion by
sounding the Karen horn and drum, to maintain the tradition of the Karen
New Year, until the end of time.

Officially, the Karen New Year began in 1938.  Celebrations were first held
in 1939.  It was on the first of January 1938, (which that year corresponded
with the first of Pyathoe), that Karen national leaders demands to the
British administration for the Karen New Year were finally recognized, and
declared an official holiday.  That date was also formally acknowledged as
being the year 2677 on the Karen calendar.

In fact, the movement for a distinct Karen national day was begun by Saya
San Baw, in 1935.  As member of parliament for Tharyawati District, he
argued that a Karen National Day should be introduced.  However, the
British colonial administration suggested that a Karen New Year day would
be a better alternative.  In 1937, the Karen parliamentary representatives
again presented the case for a Karen National Da, again unsuccessfully.

The Karen National Association (KNA) realized that they instead had to work
towards the Karen New Year day.  On 2 August 1937, Saw Johnson Deepominn,
member of parliament for Taungoo District, presented the case to the lower
house.  However the Karen representatives in the chamber were split in
their support across the two sides of parliament - U Pu's governing
faction, and the opposition lead by Dr. Ba Maw.  As the demands were coming
from a member of U Pu's side (Johnson Deepominn was an assistant minister),
those supporting Ba Maw opposed the legislation.  It failed to be ratified.

Soon after, Dr. Ba Maw's group formed a coalition, allowing it to seize
power.  The proposal seemed to be left with no chance of getting past the
lower house.   Members of the upper house, lead by Saya San Baw, Sir San C.
Po and Saya Mahn Shwe Ba, discussed the matter together.  They lobbied for,
and gained the support of, some among the new Karen ministers.  The demand
was retabled, and passed.

Ba Maw's cabinet ratified the proposal, and presented it to the Governor
General for approval.  In late 1937, the Governor General signed the
legislation.  The first day of Pyathoe, 1938 (Karen Year 2677), was declared
the first Karen New Year.

Initially, the Karen leaders had been divided over the best day for the New
Year to fall on.  Three alternatives were put forward.

1. The same day as the Roman calendar.
2. The date when (the missionary) Dr. Judson first arrived in Burma.
3. The first day of Pyathoe.

The options were discussed and the matter resolved.  The first alternative
has global significance, and it was felt that a distinctive date for the
Karen New Year would be more appropriate.  As for the second alternative,
Dr. Judson was a Christian missionary, so this date would be suitable for
Christians, but not Karens of other religions.  The first day of Pyathoe was
best.

Additionally the month of Pyathoe is special for Karen cultural solidarity,
given the following reasons:

1. Although Karens have different names for Pyathoe (Sgaw Karens call it
Th'lay and for Pwo Karens, Htike Kauk Po) the first of each of these months
falls on exactly the same date.

2. The rice harvest is completed in the period leading to Pyathoe, and
according to Karen traditional religious practice, there must be a
celebration for consumption of the new crop.  It is also the time to divine
the date for commencement of the next crop.  Typically, this is also when
new houses are constructed, and the completion of these must be celebrated. 

3. The first of Pyathoe is not a distinct festival for any religious group,
so it is a day that is acceptable to all Karen people.

For these reasons, on the first of Pyathoe annually, we celebrate the Karen
New Year.

Produced by:
Eastern Pwo Karen Culture and Literature Preservation Committee
For Karen New Year 2737 (1997)

Reference:
'Eastern Pwo Karen' by Mahn Thint Naung
(Kawkareik District 1976)
Burmese Language Text 

************************************************************

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

ORGANISATIONS IN INDIA (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
28 January, 1998

1. AASYC (All Araken Students and Youth Congress)
2. ABDLWO (All Burma Democratic Lushi Women Organization)
3. ABSDF (All Burma Students Democratic Front/WB)
4. ABSL (All Burma Students League)
5. ABWS (Arakanese (Mogh) Buddhist Welfare Society)
6. ABYMU (All Burma Young Monks Union)
7. ABYMU (Araken) (All Burma Young Monks Union/India) (Araken)
8. AKSYU (All Kachin Students and Youth Union)
9. ALD (Araken League for Democracy/Exile)
10. ALP (Araken Liberation Party)
11. BCA (Burmese Christian Association)
12. BL (Burmese Library)
13. BLC (Burma Lawyers Council)
14. BWU (Burmese Women Union)
15. CCC (Chin Center Committee)
16. CCN (Communication Center, New Delhi)
17. CLC (Chin Liberation Council)
18. CLCC (Chin Literature and Culture Committee)
19. CNAB (Committee for Non-violent Action in Burma)
20. CNC (Chin National Council/Delhi)
21. CNF (Chin National Front)
22. CNLD (Chin National League for Democracy)
23. CRC (Chin Refugee Committee)
24. CRRW (Committee for Rakhing Relief and Welfare)
25. CSU (Chin Student Union)
26. CWO (Chin Women Organization)
27. DBCF (Delhi Burmese Christian Fellowship)
28. DPNS (Democratic Party of New Society)
29. DSB (Democratic Students of Burma)
30. DVB (Chindwin Studio)
31. FDB (Friends of Democracy in Burma)
32. FOB (Friends of Burma/Delhi)
33. FOB (Friends of Burma/Manipur)
34. FOB (Friends of Burma/Mizoram)
35. FTUB (Federation of Trade Unions-Burma)
36. IBFS (Indo-Burma Friendship Society)
37. KNA (Kuki National Army)
38. KSDF (Kuki Students Democratic Front/Burma)
39. MPU (Members of Parliament Union)
40. NCGUB (National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma)
41. NCUB (West) (National Council of Union of Burma/West)
42. NHEC (National Health and Education Committee/West)
43. NLD/LA (National League for Democracy/Liberated Area/Western Region)
44. NNLD (Naga National League for Democracy)
45. NSCN (K) (National Socialist Council of Nagaland)
46. NUPA (National United Party of Araken)
47. Panzaga Committee
48. SAG (Social Action Group)
49. SDP (Social Democratic Party)
50. SYCB (Students and Youth Congress of Burma)
51. UNDC (United Nationalities' Democratic Council)
52. WRWAB (Women Rights and Welfare Association of Burma)
53. YMBA (Young Men Buddhist Association)
54. ZNC (Zomi National Congress)

Institutions in India
1. Burmese Clinic in Delhi (WRWAB)
2. Students Clinic in Moreh (ABSDF)
3. Dawn-Yin-Byin School in Moreh (NLD/LA)
4. Dawn-Yin-Gwin School in Aizawl (ABSDF)
5. Nursery School in Delhi (WRWAB)
6. Chin School in Delhi (CNC)
7. 8888 Buddhist Temple in Delhi (ABYMU)
8. Tailoring training in Delhi (WRWAB) 
9. Handloom training in Aizawl (WRWAB)
10. Tailoring training in Moreh (WRWAB)
11. Handloom training in Delhi (CWO)
12. Handloom training in Moreh (KSDF)
13. Painting training (Sitt Nyein Aye)
14. Burma Info (CCN) (NCGUB)
15. Chin Center in Delhi (CNC)
16. Chindwin Studio in Delhi (DVB)
17. Burmese Library (Library Committee)
 
Listed by CCN as of January 1998. May not be comprehensive but defunct
groups are excluded.

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