KAO WAO NEWS No 50
An electronic newsletter for social
justice and freedom in
************************************************************
READERS' FRONT
MON NOT WORRIED BY
GIRL PORTER KILLED BY LAND MINE
CEASE-FIRE GROUP UNDER A CLOSE EYE
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES FORCED INTO MILITARY TRAINING
NMSP VOICE SOFT ON RESISTANCE DAY
RESISTANCE: A BITTER EXPERIENCE FOR THE MON PEOPLE
REVOLUTION, CEASE-FIRE AND DEMOCRACY IN MONLAND
OVERSEAS MON STUDENTS ELECT NEW BODY
BUDDHIST MONKS: STAY AWAY FROM POLITICS
WORLDWIDE PROTEST FOR 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF 8888
*************************************************************
READERS' FRONT
Dear Readers,
We invite comments and suggestions
on improvements to Kao-Wao newsletter. With your
help, we hope that Kao-Wao News will continue to grow
to serve better the needs of those seeking social justice in
Regards,
Editor
http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1215&lo=d&sl=0
_______________________________________
Dear Editor,
I totally agree with Bop Htaw’s, “Talk in
The international community
is good enough to pressure but many of us (freedom fighters) are giving up our
arms now. Even non-cease fire groups are
doing political campaign rather than fighting in guerrilla war. The regime will never listen to us if we
speak softly.
Than Win
**************************************************************
Grassroots people support
MON NOT WORRIED BY
(Kao Wao,
The
When they learned the news from
the BBC, DVB and RFA radio stations, people grew excited and hope for a change
now, said Nai Tin, a businessman at Sangkhlaburi border town.
“The
The State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) receives aid for infrastructure development such as the building
of roads, they use it mostly for expanding the military forces into the ethnic
areas throughout the whole country, plus they force civilians to do the dirty
work on these projects without payment, the people do not benefit in the
slightest.
If the SPDC is unable to export
rice, the junta will not force the farmers to pay or work for them. For many years, the people in
However, another source from 3
Pagodas Pass (Thai/Burma border town) said the
The Communist Party of Burma
(CPB) opposes the American sanctions against the Burmese military regime issued
a statement on July 30.
“The American Government and
Congress are not the World's Government and World's Congress. They have no
rights to do whatever they want. We oppose any action in principle. The Americans make decision by themselves and
interfere in other’s internal affairs without seeking consent from
international communities”, said the CPB.
Nai
Nyunt, a community leader and NLD member of Thanbyu Zayat in southern
Under Ne Win’s BSPP government,
************************************************************
GIRL PORTER KILLED BY LAND MINE
(Based on IMNA report:
When the Burmese Army conscripts
villagers as porters they are used as human mine shields during military
offensives in southern
According to local sources, the
Light Infantry Battalion No. 273 took 4 to 5 people from each village in the
southern part of Ye Township to carry ammunition during their offensives
against Mon guerrillas led by Nai Hloin
and Nai Bin.
The BA indiscriminately targets
all age groups including young girls and older people; many step on hidden land
mines and killed or are physically maimed during the BA’s search for the Mon
splinter group.
In mid July, a witness from Krein Kanyeh village who was
taken as a porter said a young girl named Mi Aye Thar
stepped on a land mine and died instantly.
Shortly after this incident, three days later, 3 other porters stepped
on land mines, Nai Hein, a 38-year-old man, died
instantly, while the other two men were physically maimed for life when with
their legs were cut off after serious injuries from the explosion.
Fighting continues unabated
between the BA and the Mon guerrilla group in southern
Whenever villagers leave their
villages they need to carry travel ID cards issued by the local battalion,
signed by the military officer and stamped with the name of their battalion. If
arrested outside of their villages without ID cards, they may be fined, beaten
or shot said the source.
The BA military operation is
launched to wipe out the Mon armed group led by Nai Hloin and Nai Bin who broke away
from the New Mon State Party after it reached a cease-fire agreement with the
Burmese military regime.
********************************************************************
CEASE-FIRE GROUP UNDER A CLOSE EYE
(Kao Wao,
The New Mon State Party is under
close scrutiny of the Burmese Intelligence after an officer was arrested and
accused of being involved in a State assassination plot.
According to the state run media,
authorities of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) arrested 12
suspects including two members from the cease-fire NMSP on July 17 and were
charged of being involved in an explosion that occurred in
The Military Intelligence (MI 5)
raided the house of Nai Yekkha
(Mehm Ne Win) in
The NMSP officer Nai Yekkha was later tracked down
and captured by the intelligence and tortured.
Following the brutal investigation, on August 2, the MI raided the Mon Dhammar Sarlar (community center)
looking for other NMSP members who work with Nai Yekkha.
The Mon community centers in
The NMSP liaison office on the
Thai/Burma border says the MI has tracked some members supporting Nai Yekkha. The NMSP activities in
Many Mon activists fled from
their homes because of the MI raids. In
Pegu, a respected community leader Nai Min Kyi and
two youths were arrested and sent to
Nai Min
Kyi was a member of the Township Judicial Board during the BSPP government and
the MNDF candidate for the Pegu Constituency during the 1990 general election.
*************************************************************
State Paranoid by international pressure
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES FORCED INTO MILITARY TRAINING
(Kao Wao,
All government employees are
forced to attend a one-month basic military training facilitated by the Burmese
Army in
According to IMNA report, about
800 civil servants from
Local army officers instruct all
civil servants to attend the training, they are housed temporarily in the city
hall, which is used for a training camp, and the Township Soccer Ground is used
for training exercises.
Both male and female staffs,
mostly schoolteachers, were divided into two groups, the first group numbers
around 433 trainees, reported an officer from Mudon.
The BA teach their students how
to use small arm weapons and how to fire up the propaganda machine to defend
the State against foreign invasion (American) and other destructive element
forces as defined by the SPDC authorities, said a trainee from Mudon.
In some places, the Army replaced
police officers for this training, reported a town man.
Last month, over 200 civil
servants from
Some women are frightened and
upset because of the harsh training methods, said a schoolteacher from Kyaikmayaw. “The
authorities say we must attend this training to defend against an American
invasion and other outside destructive forces.
They say they are not afraid of foreigners, but we (civil servants) are
annoyed with this statewide paranoia. We
are not professional soldiers, only they (soldiers) will know how to fight the
Americans, if it ever comes to that.
Many of us are discouraged to be forced into training, we don’t
understand it,” said a senior schoolteacher from Kyaikmayaw.
Most government offices are
closed during the training, only a few are working in some offices. However,
only those who have already attended the
**************************************************************
56th Anniversary of Mon Resistance Day
NMSP VOICE SOFT ON RESISTANCE DAY
(Kao Wao,
The New Mon Stated Party celebrated
the 56th anniversary of Mon Resistance Day in different locations including at
its Headquarters and Districts offices in the liberated area in Monland.
The NMSP demanded that the
The NMSP has continually insisted
upon a political dialogue to solve the political crisis in
The President of New Mon State
Party, Nai Htin also issued
a commentary statement on the significance of armed resistance day in
recognition of the struggles for self-determination and a federal union in
The Mon armed struggle has
continuously fought against the Burman central governments for over five
decades, but decided in 1995, along with pressure by the Thai government, to
sign a cease-fire agreement hoping to resolve political problems and to end the
conflict with the junta.
Some say that the “NMSP’s statement is nothing but rhetoric, its voice has
grown weak among the people who are not happy with their work”, as argued by a
former member of NMSP who now lives in
The Mon Resistance Day
commemorates the beginning of the armed struggle against the Burmese government
in 1948. When the British granted
independence to
To enforce control over the Mon
population, over 100 Mon villages were burnt down during that time; this is the
way the Burmese military controls conflict or dissent, by killing innocent
people and dehumanizing their culture. This triggered the resistance movement,
which began in 1948 when a group of young Mon patriots seized arms from the
police station at Htow Plang
(Zar Tha Pyin) village near
************************************************************
Civil war and personal accounts
RESISTANCE: A BITTER EXPERIENCE FOR THE MON PEOPLE
(By Sunthorn
Sripanngern)
Fifty-five years ago on the
full-moon day of Khadosoi (Wagaung
in Burmese) the Mon political community in
At
Following this triumphant
occupation of Saplang, the militant group hijacked
all passenger cars and boats from
Why did the Mon people take up
arms and spend their lives in the jungle?
Successive Burmese governments have always accused the ethnic
nationalities of splitting up the union, but never accepted any of their own
mistakes. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Moegote just a few
days before she and her party members were violently attacked on
The cultural, social and
political problems in
Even without ethnic Mon and Karen
participation, the AFPFL faced conflict from within. After the election,
competing power interests among the Communist Party of Thakhin
Thein Pe Myint, Socialist of Kyaw Nyein and Pyithu-Yebaw
led by General Aung San surfaced and challenged the stability of the party and
the country. Eventually the Communist Party members of Thakhin
Thein Pe Myint were forced to quit the AFPFL. Apart from the AFPFL, Galon U Saw's Party, a jealous government rival to General
Aung San was also seeking to establish a power base. Despite the setbacks, the
AFPFL successfully called for the First Parliament Assembly and adopted the
Constitution for the first time in
Three months after the election, on July 19, 1947, at 10:37
in the morning Prime Minister Aung San was assassinated together with half of his
cabinet members namely, Minister U Ba Khaing, U Ba
Win, Thakhin Mya, Sao San Tun, U Razat,
U Ba Cho, Secretary U Ohn Maung and a body-guard Ko Htwe. U Nu succeeded as the
AFPFL leader and became the prime minister designate and formed the
government comprised of Sao Shwe Thaike, Shan national, as President, U Nu
as Prime Minister, Saw Kun Cho as Foreign Minister, U Kyaw Nyein as Interior,
Gen. Hla Kyaw as Defense, Gen. Smith Dun as Army Chief Commander, Ministers of
Chin Division, Kachin State, Shan State and Kayah State respectively.
When
The Board of Land Reform approved
up to 50 acres only for its AFPFL members. The Communist Party condemned the
law and organized a "Farmers Conference" in Pyinmanar.
In the Mon area, particularly in the Chaungzon and Paung Townships, the land reform board confiscated
thousands acres of land from the farmers and allocated it to their party
members, the Mons were pushed aside and left with 10 acres for each family without
compensation.
To represent the farmers, the Mon
activists formed Mon Affairs Organization; it held a conference in Pha-auk near
On
The first group was an illegal
group while the second group remained within the government. Members of the
illegal group were fervent nationalists and dead set against the ethnic
nationalities of ever having a share of power in
There were three prominent Yebaw Byu leaders who committed
various crimes in the Mon area, namely Yebaw Thein Pe
in
My father told me this cruel
personal account. In February 1950, a
group of bandits had kidnapped Miss Sellma Martha
Maxville (native of
Bo-Ma said to the villagers:
"Oh my dear sons, why are you so brave, you know they (bandits) all have
machine guns, it is dangerous".
(Miss Maxville spoke the Mon language). The villagers cut down the wooden
post of the hut, then put Bo-Ma on a bullock cart and returned back to the
village.
They arrived at the railroad at
dawn where members of Yebaw Byu
led by Thein Zan were waiting; they fired machine gun rounds into the bullock
cart carrying Bo-Ma and the whole group. It was on February 23, 1950, when Bo
Ma died on the bullock cart with iron chains still locked on her wrists, along
with 14 of her rescuers, villagers, including the village headman, most were
killed, but some were able to escape (some of them are still alive today).
Later on the local villagers
decided to build a pagoda in front of their village, they named it "Lwun Zedee", which means
Pagoda of Remembrance, in memory of those who were killed by the Burmese Yebaw Byu. The site is situated on the side of the main
motor road, about 3 miles south of Mudon.
For future generations, we add to
the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for social justice.
Pyan-bay asa Thein Pe ka (Kidnapping
has begun by Thein Pe);
Thein Zan tortured
American lady;
Than Shwe tortured Aung
San Suu Kyi;
The Mon people pray at Lwun Zedee for democracy in
Author’s Note:
In 1974, a young NMSP leader Nai Kyan Sein (elder brother of
author) was killed during the four cuts operation by troops of the Ne Win
government near the place where Miss Maxville was held. In a brutal act to
intimidate the villagers, the Burmese soldiers then brought the head of the
freedom fighter and showed it to public and his ailing father who was in
detention at Mudon.
****************************************************************
Feature:
REVOLUTION, CEASE-FIRE AND DEMOCRACY IN MONLAND
(By Banya
Hongsar)
The lunar calendar falls on the
5th month, kha-doi-sei-poiy, and appeared on August
12 this year. Hundreds of thousands of Mon people gathered to commemorate the
start of the Revolution. It was held in the liberated areas within
The party’s official statement
released to the public said the organization opposes all forms of terrorist
activities as a means to gain political motivation. Furthermore, the NMSP remains loyal to the
people of Monland for the cause of
self-determination.
Countless men and women have
sacrificed their lives for the cause of a
The New Mon State Party and its
armed wing unit the Mon National Liberation Army view the “Mon Revolution” as
the personal cause of every single man and woman. The NMSP, however, has achieved limited
positive outcomes for the majority of our people for over 40 years. The MNLA is
a small well-equipped armed force that was formed in 1971; at present there are
less than two thousand troops. The army controls small pockets in southern
NMSP releases official statements
every year on “Revolution Day” often saying something like, “we have fought for
equal rights for our homeland while our rights have been denied by the Burman
majority nationality. We are no longer able to tolerate oppressors who discriminate
against us using the “Burmanization Policy” and
“Military Operations”. Hereby, we hold arms to resist”. Lacking skill in media
relations, the message isn’t getting out to the community. Since the ceasefire,
party members have become more concerned with their own personal interests;
they have fallen out of step with the needs of the grassroots community.
A turning point in our
revolutionary struggle occurred when the New Mon State Party reached a
ceasefire agreement with the
A new appointed Major General
Aung Naing of the MNLA looks at a new opportunity to reform, a source from the
party’s circle said. The MNLA is threatened from over 4-5 years of military
expansion of
The Mon have resisted and fought
back Burman rule for centuries. Today, other factors from outside the country,
forces like globalization have affected the nature of the revolution; the
leadership of the New Mon State Party and the urban-based Mon political parties
have sought a new political revolution to build a true political culture based
on peace rather than armed resistance. The NMSP party has sought for wider
public support in the urban area after the ceasefire talks in 1995.
According to the late President Nai Shwe Kyin in 2001, “the New
Mon State Party is a national party. Our revolutionary struggle will not cease
unless we gain our independence, we ought to keep our path moving forward to
achieve this”. It is clear that the NMSP is not a monopoly seeking
organization, it lacks the manpower to do so, but its mandate is to represent
the whole Mon population both home and abroad.
The
For federalism and peace in
Mon leaders have concentrated more
on political engagement rather than armed resistance. When the Mon Peoples’
Front reached a ceasefire in 1958, the urban based political leaders wanted to
organize politically rather than engage in an armed struggle. When “democracy” was released in the streets
of
The New Mon State Party is in
debt to the whole Mon population who have sacrificed
their lives for freedom.
The first freedom fighter Bo Pan
Tha, a young man who looted the Zarthapying police
station marks the Mon Revolution, deserted the party in 1990 (today he is in
his 80s) and lives in the monk-hood in Rangoon for retreat. Nai
Pan Tha was the party’s political and military architect for the NMSP and MNLA
for over twenty years.
“I have done good and bad things
in my revolutionary days but now I am only doing good things to clear my
spirit,” he told friends recently in
The Mon revolution was born on
***********************************************************************
OVERSEAS MON STUDENTS ELECT NEW BODY
(By Sanin Bop/ Kao Wao,
The “Election Commission” led by
Rev. Ajar Ponnya and Nai Phong, key advisors of the organization observed the
AGM. Among those elected, Ong Tala Nai
(Nai Sao Ma) was selected as Chairman, Cheam Rot as
Vice-Chairman, Mon Chan Mon (Sein Tun) as Secretary General and Saw Mon Eim as Joint Secretary General.
Newly elected Chairman of the
Overseas Mon National Students’ Organization (OMNSO), Ong
Tala Nai was a former
student from
The organization assigned three
members led by Ajar Ponnya of Wat
Prok Temple who has English language and management
skills to organize a self-help education class.
“We plan to develop skills and education for our members and supporters
as a top priority.” Mr Ong
said.
The organization slightly changed
its image with a new outlook and has restructured the central committee body.
The new elected members are responsible for fostering the role of OMNSO in
politics, democracy campaigns, foreign affairs, language and culture as being
at the top of the agenda and the EC will lead all tasks in the forthcoming
two-year term.
The new elected members are young
but have worked in various fields for the last 3-5 years in national affairs
both in
Since 1990, the overseas Mon
students have actively worked for human rights and democracy in
Since the crackdown on democratic
organizations from
“Members of Foreign Affairs will
contact other organizations for assistance and support to run self-help
classes, newly elected chairman Mr Ong said. Over the last over ten years, the OMNSO closely
work with overseas Mon organizations. It
has published journals and opened a
The OMNSO was founded in early
1990 while many
Its founders and leaders Nai Cham Toik,
Nai Myint Soe, Nai Ong Mon (Tun Yee) and Nai Weang Murn now reside in exile (
*******************************************************************
News Report-Current Affairs
BUDDHIST MONKS: STAY AWAY FROM POLITICS
(By Banya
Hongsar)
For over ten years, the
Pro-democracy Buddhist monk
communities especially in
The
Last year, the
According to a media release by
“Central Mon Literature and Culture Association” on June 2002, 34 senior
representatives of a language committee has a policy to foster the teaching and
learning of Mon language with a collective effort of local Buddhist temples and
community halls.
The Department of Religious Affairs
never acknowledges the existing Mon Civil Society led by senior monks in the
Local Buddhist monks do not seek
power in
Senior Buddhist monks are banned
from publishing public statements of social concern to the nation, a practice
that has been part of Buddhism for at least 2 thousand years. The Ministry of
Home Affairs employs thousands of military personnel as informers in major
temples in
The Rangoon Regime fools the
public by holding its own ceremonies and religious events while joining in the
gathering in full uniform. Moreover, Pro-Regime senior monks are offered
television sets and other luxury items for the temple as a bribe.
Some Buddhist monks have gone to
great lengths and have risked their lives in promoting national reconciliation.
The role of senior monks and monk scholars cannot be overlooked and must have a
place in the future of
Rev Uttama,
Rev Wisara and their fellow monks were against
British rule and the monks in
For many years, leading senior
monks have distanced themselves from the corrupt
There was a well-recorded history
of Monk’s initiatives in the Burmese political context but its track record has
been removed from the archives. The Buddha once said: “A man without moral
principles should not receive homage of others”. However, the Rangoon Generals
have forced ordinary people to “worship” them in public events.
The Rangoon Generals treat the
Buddhist monk as a religious worker and receives no social access to government
services. Educated monks have left to other countries for further studies
because they are excluded from participating in society.
********************************************************
WORLDWIDE PROTEST FOR 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF 8888
(Kao-Wao:
The exiled Burmese community held
protests against the
In
According to BSDO leader Min Thura Wynn, members of Burma Students’ Democratic
Organization (
In
In
In
It looked like democracy was at
hand on August 8, 1988, when students, Buddhist monks and civil servants from
all walks of life were singing, chanting, and marching together in the streets
demanding democratic reform in the country, but the army pounced on the
demonstrators in a bloody coup and killed thousands in September of that year.
*******************************************************
(Kao Wao,
From
The event was hosted by the MCS
and MWO which offered various entertainment activities including cultural
performances and traditional sport demonstrations, such as the popular Rael, LakPloey, followed by
Karaoke singing and dancing in which everyone happily joined in, free snack,
coffee and tea was offered for refreshment.
Alberta MLA Hon. Wayne Cao and community leaders, Ramanya
Kelasa, Cham Toik and Nai Chan Tha delivered
speeches to over 150 supporters who joined in the fund raising night which
lasted from
“Everyone enjoyed the party; we
raised about 1,400 (Canadian $) for a future temple, construction is planned
for 2005”, said Nai Simon, organizer of the event.
The
Buddhism
shaped Mon history and culture more than anything else with the majority of the
Mon population following the teaching of Theravada Buddhism that strongly
influenced the cultural development of their old Kingdoms in lower
*************************************************************
KAO
WAO NEWS GROUP
Email: [email protected],
[email protected]
Phone +
66 -1 561- 0860, + 1- 403 - 248 2027
On line
archive at
http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1215&lo=d&sl=0
Online
ABOUT
US
Kao-Wao Newsgroup is committed to social justice, peace, and
democracy in
SUBMIT
YOUR NEWS
If you
are an organization or individual who is committed to the same principles as
Kao-Wao, please use this eNewsletter
as a tool to disseminate your views, articles, and issues pertaining to social
justice and political, social and cultural freedom. We are open to all but
please ensure to source your material either through email contacts or website.
To ensure that it is widely read, you can use this email: [email protected] to
tell others about this newsletter, and to let them know about your work,
events, and public debate.
TO
UNSUBSCRIBE
If you
wish to stop receiving this newsletter send a message from the address you want
to remove to us. Please contact editor should you need further assistance