December 9, 2004
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Villagers forced to build 90 houses for government
employees in new
town
(2) Kyaw Win still in hot water
(3)
(4) Northeast Buddhist scholars team to visit
(5) Visiting general also carries alms-bowl
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Villagers forced to
build 90 houses for government employees in new town
========================================================================
Independent Mon News Agency
People from Khawzar village, a
government new town created by the
Burmese military government, and nearby villages have been
forced to
build 90 houses in the town for
government employees.
The Burmese government created two new towns in Ye township,
Mon state,
at the beginning of 2004 to control
the area where the Mon splinter
group Hongsarwatoi
Restoration Party was moving.
The local-based Burmese army forced each village nearby to
build at least
10 employee houses in Khawzar.
"We have to build with our own equipment and raw goods
for the house.
Our village headmen collected money from our villagers to
pay for the goods
Such as wood, nails, sand, cement etc.," said a
villager from Yin-yea
building a house . "About 30
houses have been built in the employee
house construction," he added.
“They told us to build the houses until finish. We have to
stay there,
not to return home if 10 houses not
finish,” a village headman said. “A
villager from Sa Khorm village died with food shortage during he
building the house,” he continued.
In Khawzar, where the regime SPDC
is building Township administration
offices; immigration, court,
hospital, high school and other offices in
order to formulate the Town
structure, the Burmese Army also forced some
resident houses to move.
According to Khawzar
residents, the military regularly used villagers
to build its army base and
collected money from residents for building.
Currently Khawzar residents have
been forced to build military shelters
every day for No. 31 Infantry
Battalion.
Before the government made villages into towns, it put in
more army
bases and launched military
operations against Mon splinter groups in
the areas. During operations, many
human rights violations such as
killing, rape and forced labor
committed by the army. <br>
<br>
People in the area, including many women and children, were
forced to
pave a more than 30-mile-long road
in the beginning years. More than 10
women were raped by soldiers and
more than 10 people were killed by the
Burmese army during their operations.
In mid-year, military tactical commanders set up a
government high
school and tried to build
primary schools in small villages around
Khawzar, and on the other hand
pressed 30 Mon National Schools in the
area run by the New Mon State
Party.
Lt-Gen. Maung Bo from the Defense Ministry and Southeast
Command
Commander Major Gen. Thu Ra Myint
Aung also visited to set up the school
in mid- year. The Southeast Command
commander visited again recently to
check developmentsin
the area.
At the moment, town residents have been forced to build
military
shelters everyday in No. 31
Infantry Battalion in Khawzar town. It is
likely residents of Lamine, another new setup town, will also be forced
to move their houses to extend
road, Many Lamine people have also had
land confiscated to build
government offices.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kyaw Win still in hot
water
===========================
S.H.A.N
Former Maj-Gen. Kyaw Win may be
teacher's pet in the top quarters, but
he is still a pet peeve in some
other quarters that have stubbornly
refused to allow him to go scot free as the sole survivor of the
business sector in Muse, opposite
Two weeks earlier, Muse's top tycoons, Sai
Htun Aye "So So Pyay Pyay,"
Ah Hong and Ah Hua were summoned
to the township law court to testify on
Graft cases against deposed prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt
and his
followers.
Detailed questions were asked about the role of Gen. Kyaw
Win in the
MI's(Military Intelligence) shady
activities," the source said. "Their
testimonies, they say, may be used
against him in accordance with
evidence Act Section 164."
Sai Htun
Aye owns
reportedly the unofficial tax
collector for the Burma Army's top brass.
For more information on him, see Sai
Htun Aye, Pocket druglord,
S..H.A.N., July 10.
It is believed one of the recipients of his "unofficial
tax" was Kyaw Win.
Kyaw Win was described by
softly-spoken spook who served on
the frontline in
battalion commander Than Shwe, who
in 1992 became head of the ruling
military council. It was Than Shwe
who moved Kyaw Win to
1993 as deputy to Khin Nyunt, then
To date, his fate is still unclear. "He wasn't under
arrest, but he
wasn't going to the office
either,"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Bangladesh Army
seizes arms at Burmese Border
=============================================
Narinjara News
The Bangladesh Army and local security forces seized several
more hauls
of illegal arms last week in
regions bordering
operation, an official report said.
Another stash of arms consisting of 8 AK-47s, 8 SMGs, and 4,000 rounds
of bullets from two camps were
discovered seven kilometres from the border.
The arms seized were from Bandraban
District,
and insurgent groups from
military junta.
The Arakanese opposition groups
see this current Bangladeshi military
campaign in border areas as part of
a plan to clear the path for the gas
pipeline from
yield $US150 million dollars a year
to
related to local gunrunners and
engaged in arms smuggling and illegal
arms dealings in
During the operation, there were some casualties from the
rmy.
According to
insurgent groups and three
Bangladeshi personnel were killed and two
wounded.
Though authorities did not specify which group caused the
casualties,
rumors suggest the skirmishers were
from the Arakanese insurgent group
Democratic Party of Arakan based
in Roakhung Khali (
Township, Bandraban
District.
Due to the violent clashes with DPA forces, local Arakanese people and
monks, from Arakan
state,
livelihood, says an Arakanese monk from Bandraban
District.
During the battle with the DPA Nov. 27, the
to use helicopters.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Northeast Buddhist
scholars team to visit
===============================================
Nava Thakuria
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
In view of strengthening the socio-religious and cultural
ties with
South Asian neighbouring countries
including
scholars from
programme.
The 12-member team will visit
“The team, during the visit in the middle of January next
year will meet
priests to common people to rulers
in these countries and try to
rediscover the age-old cultural and
religious relationships of Northeast
with these countries,” said Dr Lalit Shyam, the secretary
general of the
Federation.
Dr Shyam, who will lead the
delegation, is also scheduled to deliver a
series of lectures on Buddhist art,
culture, history, architecture,
sculpture, literature and
philosophy of Northeast during the visit.
biggest Buddhist monasteries of
the home to around 500 monks. There
are four monasteries exclusively for
nuns also in Tawang.
The province bordering
different parts of the state.
where Buddhists in particular and
others in general pray.
“You may remember a delegation of eminent scholars,
educationists,
diplomats and Buddhist monks from
these countries earlier visited the
Buddhist monasteries in the Northeast.
The team even found time to visit
some other cultural centres and few villages too,” added Dr Shyam.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Visiting general also
carries alms-bowl
=======================================
S.H.A.N
Lt-Gen. Thein Sein,
first secretary of the ruling State Peace and
Development Council, on a two-day visit Dec. 4-5 to Lashio, the Northern
leaders of the ethnic ceasefire
armies, but also to raise funds for the
new pagoda to be built at the
town's entrance, reports Hawkeye:
"The total projected expenditure is said to be 120
million kyat
($120,000)and he was able to
collect half from Muse, 110 miles north of
Lashio, and on the border with
Thein Sein
was reported to have secured 36 million kyat ($36,000) from
Sai Htun
Aye "So So Pyay Pyay" alone. [For more information on Sai Htun
Aye,please
consult Sai Htun Aye -
Pocket druglord, S.H.A.N. 10 July 2004]
A learned source commented, "There is an ancient Shan
saying:
* Shan conquerors organize offering
trays,
* Chinese conquerors scoop tunnels
* Burmese conquerors build pagodas.
These age-old practices have only one aim: To subdue the
enemy by
Occult powers and keep him subdued."
Scores of religious structures and Buddha statues have been
constructed
In
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media
groups
such as Mizzima
News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,
Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press
Network,
Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information
Network Group and Network Media Group.
.........................
Contact: Duty Editor
+66 9 54 94 296