KAOWAO NEWS
NO. 86
An electronic newsletter for social justice and
freedom in
March 20-
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WOMEN SAVVY IN BUSINESS
MON LEADER NAI AUNG TIN FOLLOWS LATE
PRESIDENT
ARE
THEY HOMO SAPIENS? BY KANBAWZA WIN
VEHICLE PRICE GOES DOWN
DISPUTED HOUSES AT
BOMB EXPLODES AT THREE PAGODAS PASS
BORDER
LOCAL TYRANT KILLED BY UNKNOWN GUNMAN
READERS’FRONT
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WOMEN SAVVY IN BUSINESS
(Taramon/
Sangkhlaburi,
Over 70 percent of the passenger
cars that travel along the Thai Burma border to
“Almost all passenger cars are managed by women,†said the businesswoman on the condition of
anonymity. The women are savvy in business ventures, much cleverer than
man in doing business especially in dealing with the local SPDC authorities and
checkpoints along the motor road, she said.
The road from the
“The
women are better able to take control of the situation when dealing with the
soldiers in negotiating bribes and other such activities while traveling along
this motor route with their passengers. The women managers can easily
deal with these problems created by the BA,†the
other businessman said.
Even though the majority of Mon
women traditionally spend their time with household chores, looking after the
children and cooking, some important business activities in the community are
controlled by Mon women, said the source from the border trading business.
Women have a good reputation for
doing business, most of whom have very little education. Such as Ms. Mi Yein of
Many Mon women have been involved
in the national movement such as joining the New Mon State Party and the Mon
Women Organization. However, these activists and politicians are more
educated than the businesswomen and many have degrees from university and
colleges in
As well, Mon women work for the
SPDC as teachers and civil servants, with female teachers outnumbering male
teachers. A former university student observed that nowadays more Mon
women are attending universities than men in
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MON LEADER NAI AUNG TIN FOLLOWS LATE PRESIDENT
(Kaowao,
A senior member of NMSP, Nai Aung
Tin passed away on 2005, March 30 at noon local time in Kaw Dut, Ye Township,
The humble and quiet nationalist
Nai Aung Tin joined New Mon State Party in the early 1970s and served in
various positions as Township Chairman, Secretary of District Administration,
Foreign Affairs Committee, Central Committee and Central Executive Committee.
He was the second son of Nai Hla and Mi Hla Yin and studied
Buddhism and Mon literature when in the monk-hood. He received his B.A.
degree at
In mid 1980s Nai Aung Tin led a
Mon delegation with the National Democratic Front mission in the long march to
meet with other armed alliances including CPB (Community Party of Burma).
Nai Aung Tin married late in life to a community leader and school teacher Mi Kyin Hla of Hamgam,
Southern Ye; but she passed away at the jungle camp.
He took a strong position against
the NMSP cease-fire agreement with the military junta in 1995 and retired after
negotiations believing that the agreement would bring about no results for the
Mon, but rejoined in 2000 realizing that it was best to work with the party.
Min Thant
Zin, his nephew from
He left no personal property
except some books, testimony to his passion for reading. He was a
committed patriot who devoted his entire life to the Mon national
movement. Nai Aung Tin spent most of his time in meditation and was an
avid reader.
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Commentary
Are they Homo sapiens?
(By Kanbawza
Win)
Sawasdee, welcome to
Casualties and destructions are all reported in
the media but the concerned authorities endeavour to minimise it, lest the
tourist would not venture and the TOT (Tourist Authority of Thailand) may lost
its precious revenue. Compassionate and sympathetic individuals, governments
and non-governmental organization poured in tons relief goods, services and
millions of dollars to show their solidarity with the victims of
The Thai government took every possible step to
ensure the grieving tourist families to locate the bodies of their loved ones,
proper funeral and burials, deep sympathy and condolences etc. The Scandinavian
countries whose citizens top the list are encourage to inaugurate their
consulates in Phuket while the Foreign Ministry with
the language experts are at the monasteries which served a huge morgue.
Thousands of dead bodies, which are not buried on the shores, were divided into
three categories, the Thais, the farang (Caucasian)
and the Asians. Obviously, the local Thai and the farang
could soon claim their bodies and able to perform their last rites before they
were laid to rest. But nobody come to claim the Asian bodies. The bare truth is
out of a total of 169,000 killed
Raison d'être
is that they are Burmese workers and whenever one dares to claim the body or
even venture to beg for the relief goods they are arrested and deported back to
The international mission formed
by IOM (International Organization for Migration), the World Bank, UNHCR
(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCHR (United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights) and UNDFW(United Nations Development Fund for
Women) have often reported that Burmese migrant workers were finding
extremely difficult to get help, fearing discrimination, arrest and
deportation. Vernacular Thai language press also fanned the flames of hatred by
wrongly labeling them as looters. The meticulous scrutinizing found out that of
that 17 persons caught for looting only three of them were Burmese who had to
do this criminal job under compulsion by their Thai mafia.
When former US presidents Bill
Clinton and George H.W. Bush, leaders of the American effort to help tsunami
survivors, visited a devastated areas of Thailand they may not see a single
Burmese worker, not that they were carefully orchestrated from coming to the
foe but they belong to the alleys and back lanes where every morning, seven days
a week, they have to gather before the light comes, a pick up truck pick them
up and they were working hard in their respective work sites by the time the
sun smile over the horizon. It was here that their better- half, accompany them
with a suckling child or two to cook for their daily resilience. Poverty,
marginalization, exclusion, conflict and discrimination amplify vulnerability
of the Burmese in the disaster area were all evident in that area.
The Burmese workers of Phuket are categorized as 3 Ds workers because they are the
one that implement all the dirty, degrading, and dangerous jobs. Dirty, but
indispensable jobs like sewage, septic tanks, and toilet cleaners, undertakers,
and morgue up keepers, where an average Thai would hesitate to take up the job,
are all done by the Burmese migrant workers. Degrading tasks like house
keepers, hard labours, (Kawsang),
and very dangerous jobs like climbing high buildings or going down to the depth
of the foundation where there is insufficient oxygen, or mixing dangerous
chemicals etc are the kind of works which the Burmese are doing. Yet, in spite
of these hazardous works they are not properly treated. They have to work much
harder than an average Thai worker for long hours and more often than not are
working half the salary of a Thai worker and double the working hours. The
standard labour laws apply only in cities, where a VIP can see things and these
migrant workers are at the mercy of their greedy employers.
Today
hundreds of thousands of illegal or undocumented Burmese working in different
sectors and industries all over Thailand have been marginalized especially in
the aftermath of the tsunami catastrophe They are unable to locate their
missing loved ones or hold memorial services. It seems that
For the Burmese migrant workers
it was something similar of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. They
have come to 'Thailand just to eke out their living, even though they know that
they will be ruthlessly exploited but far better than staying in the hands of
the Junta where they are exposed to forced labour and forced relocation. Most
of the Thai have exploited these unfortunate workers to the full very much
encouraged by the Thai policy.
On my trip to Phuket
I met a person who narrated to me that his employer and his friends have gone
with the waves taking his employer card and that he has not reason to continue
to stay. Obviously he wanted to head back home to
Of course this is natural by product
of the local employers as they are out and out to exploit the human and natural
resources of a neighbouring country spearheaded by the so called
"Constructive Engagement" policy hatched decades ago by the Thai
Generals. Even now, the new Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi
Supamongkhon has indicated that he will not lift a
finger to help the Burmese attaining democracy by not joining
Phuket
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Opinion
(By Harn
Yawnghwe: Shan Herald:
The S.H.A.N. news article on
But a nation's freedom depends on
many factors - the cohesion of the people, the economic might of the nation,
the military strength of its army, the vision of its leaders, and, more
importantly, historical circumstances. We have only to look at the fact
that
World politics after the Second
World War pushed the Federated Shan States into the Union of Burma. Our leaders
had no choice.
Critics of the Panglong Agreement have said that the Saophas
wanted to protect their privileges and that my father wanted to become the
president of the Union of Burma. These allegations are not based on
facts. The question of who should be president was never part of the
agenda. In fact, Aung San almost walked out of the Panglong
Conference because he was so infuriated by my father's insistence on the rights
of the ethnic nationalities. The Saophas were, on the
whole, not self-seeking feudal lords. They were definitely not protecting their
privileges at Panglong. Since the 1930's they had
been training young men to take over the leadership. They were in favour of democratization and in 1959 they gave up all
their rights to rule to the Shan State Government.
Whether at Panglong
or today, the key question has always been what is best for the people of
My questions to those seeking
independence are these: Will we have more chances of success if we seek
independence? Which country will recognize an independent
Of course, we are all outraged by
the arrests of Hkun Htun
Oo, Sao Hso Hten and
others. And of course, I am outraged by the continued killing of our people and
the raping of our women by the Burma Army. It is very painful to see our people
suffering. But the future of the people of the
The generals are not afraid of
wars of independence. They have perfected their technique of destroying the
land and terrorizing the people to get at the armed few. They have also been
amassing new weapons since 1989 to hit the remaining pockets of resistance.
They are just waiting for the right time and the right excuse to put their plan
to annihilate the opposition into action and win the praise of the world for
eradicating drugs and terrorism. The generals, however, are very much afraid of
politics. They know they cannot win in this field if people are free to really
express their will. Just look at the 1990 elections. That is why they nullified
its results. The generals are also very afraid when people unite. Their
strategy has always been to divide and rule. Look at the KNU and the DKBA. Look
at the KNPP and the KNPLA. Look at the KIO and the recently formed KSC.
Hkun Htun Oo and Sao Hso Hten's greatest crime in the eyes of the generals was that
they tried not only to unite the Shans, but all the
ethnic nationalities; not only the ethnic political parties, but also the
ceasefire armies; not only the ethnic nationalities, but also the political
opposition parties - including Burman leaders. This was something the generals
could not tolerate. This shows that by working with all the peoples of
Another point to consider is
that, after five decades of struggle, the United Nations for the first time
acknowledged our status in 1994 by adopting a resolution calling for a
'tripartite dialogue' - the military, democracy advocates, and the ethnic
nationalities. Prior to this, ethnic rights were not recognized. We were just
rebels. But since then, our demands to have an equal say in
So are we in our frustration
going to throw away everything we have achieved? Do not forget, our efforts
have also thrown the Burma Army into disarray. Did they not just turn on each
other? Was Khin Nyunt not arrested? Are Than Shwe and Maung Aye not distrustful
of each other? Is there not confusion in the Burma Army ranks? This has never
happened before in
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(Cited from AP:
Rangoon-- Two private banks in
In an announcement Friday night
on state television, the Ministry of Finance and Revenue said the licenses of
the Asia Wealth Bank and the Myanmar Mayflower Bank were revoked effective
Thursday, March 31.
"It was found that these two
banks have not strictly followed the banking regulations, thus their licenses
were revoked effective March 31," said the announcement. It did not
specify what the violations were.
Both banks have been accused by
the U.S. State Department of being involved in money laundering and having
links to Southeast Asian drug trafficking groups.
In December 2003,
The investigation was supposed to
take three months, and under the rules, the banks could have their assets
seized if found guilty of money laundering.
The announcement did not say if
the bank closures were linked to that investigation, whose results were not
made public.
The rest of
It said central bank
administrators would take over operations and begin the process of winding up
the two bank's affairs.
Depositors could come to the
banks beginning Monday to withdraw their money, the statement said, also
warning people owing money to the banks to make their payments or face legal
action.
No banks were open Friday because
it was a banking holiday, the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Both the Asia Wealth Bank and the
Myanmar Mayflower Bank had been ailing since a national banking crisis in
February and March 2003, when there were panic withdrawals by depositors from
most of the country's banks.
The central bank was forced at
the time to temporarily ban money transfers and limit withdrawals. It was also
reported to have made huge loans to several banks, including the Asia Wealth
Bank, to help keep them solvent.
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VEHICLE PRICE GOES DOWN
(Independent Mon News Agency:
When the SPDC authorities
announced they would seize public cars without licenses by the end of March,
the price of the cars dropped lower than motorbikes along the Thai Burma border
area.
“
Another car called SURF made in
1998 is only 2, 500, 000 Kyat (2500
The cars are cheaper than
motorbikes; no one dares to buy those cars except some Buddhist monks.
“Only the monks have an opportunity to drive or
ride in cars. The most luxurious cars on the road today belong to the monks.
One had to pay 5, 000, 000 Kyat in the past, now they are a bargain at
1,500,000 Kyat today,â€
said, Nai Par, who is from
The SPDC authorities announced
that cars without licenses driving in the country are illegal. After this
announcement, many car owners stashed their cars in the outreaches of the
forests and at plantations and covered their cars with haystack.
“Because I worry that someone will see my car, I
hide it in a pile of haystack. The car for transporting passengers today is now
eating hay,†a
car owner, Nai San Khin told his friend secretly.
Some car owners stashed their
cars for several months, but some decided to strip off some parts and sell them
on the black market. Others have done some body work to make them look old,
while others added fake licenses. Those with good relations with the commanders
of South-East Military Command in
The seizing of unlicensed cars
began after Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt was relieved of his post as Prime Minister by
the current SPDC commanders. The SPDC accused Khin Nyunt who led the
Military Intelligent faction as being involved in illegal car trading, the
current SPDC leaders, Lt. Gen. Shwe Murn and PM Lt. Gen. Soe Win ordered that
all cars exported from
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DISPUTED HOUSES AT
(Kaowao,
The disputed houses at the Three
Pagodas Pass Thai Burma border area are to be relocated after a meeting between
the Thai and Burma Army.
In late March, the relationship
between the Burma Army and Thai grew tense after the Burma Army issued an order
to the Thai government to relocate about 50 houses from the border area.
Both the Thai and Burma armies were on alert and local civilians at the Three
Pagodas Pass area were given a curfew notice by the Thai authorities not to
travel at night due to possible clashes between the Thai and Burma Armies last
week.
However, during the meeting on
The villagers have lived on the
border line for over twenty years, most of them are local Mon people who have
no citizenship or registration cards from either
Many of them went back to
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BOMB EXPLODES AT THREE PAGODAS PASS BORDER
(Kaowao,
A bomb exploded at the
An eyewitness reported that a
bomb exploded in front of the administration office at the
The cause of explosion is still
to be determined.
But the local sources say that
the Burma Army could be responsible or civilians upset with the government’s order to surrender their vehicles.
About 30 vehicles at the border town were confiscated by the authorities.
The relationship between the
Burma Army and Thai has been tense since the Burma Army issued an order to the
Thai government to relocate about 50 houses from the border area. Both
sides have been in a state of readiness and the civilians at the
However, during a meeting on
March 31 they agreed to relocate houses in the disputed area. “They agreed to relocate the
houses requested by the Burma Army, many villagers have already moved out from
the area,†said
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LOCAL TYRANT KILLED BY UNKNOWN GUNMAN
(Kaowao:
A well-known militia leader was
assassinated along with his wife on his way to Thanbyu
Zayat, southern
Chairman of An Khae Peace and Development Council and militia leader Nai Nyein Maung (63 years) was killed together with his wife,
Than Than Aye (42 years old) by an unknown gunman
between Karoppi and Panga
village of Thanbyu Zayat
township in the morning about 9 a.m. local time on March 24, 2005, while the
couple was returning home to Thanbyu Zayat town riding on a motorcycle.
An eyewitness came across the
bodies of the couple shortly after the killing; the motorcycle engine was still
running. There was no sign of any gunman in the vicinity and no
eyewitness reports of anyone witnessing the incident. The gunman or gunmen had
been following the couple into an area where there were no witnesses.
Nai Jaon
Htow, a liaison officer of the New Mon State Party
said the NMSP had no knowledge of who was involved in the killing.
Nai Nyein
Maung was village headman for over twenty years and was infamous in
In the past, Nai Nyein Maung escaped a couple assassination attempts on his
life. He moved to Thanbyu Zayat
for safety and frequently traveled to the village for administrative work and
doing business with local authorities and military commanders. With him
in charge, his militia group was responsible for committing abuses such as
extortion, extrajudicial killings, torture, and land confiscation.
According to villagers from An Khe, he killed people without a trail while his militia
group was out patrolling in the remote area. The villagers, including NMSP
members were arrested and tortured by his militia group. Some still remain at
the police detention center.
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READERS’ FRONT
Dear Readers,
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Editor
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