"One of Southeast Asia?s oldest cultures is under threat of extinction. Defenders of Mon identity and language are working to ensure its survival... During his defense hearing at a court in the Mon State capital of Moulmein, Mon Buddhist abbot U Palita refused to speak in Burmese, even though he knew it well enough. "This is Mon-land," he argued, "where I should be able to speak Mon in official matters." The authorities eventually acquiesced and arranged for an interpreter to translate his words into Burmese. That was 1975, a year after Burma?s socialist government granted statehood to the Mon in Burma?s southeast. Yet despite this concession, the Mon were without any real autonomy. Rangoon continued to control many of the state?s affairs and insisted that the Mon speak Burmese in all official matters..."