KAO WAO NEWS No 53

An electronic newsletter for social justice and freedom in Burma

September 18- October 1, 2003

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READERS' FRONT

FIGHTING CONTINUES IN SOUTHERN YE

MON MP CALLS ON EU TO PRESSURE MILITARY REGIME

OVER 1,400 FAMILIES RELOCATED FOR NEW RAILWAY STATION

MON TEXT BOOK COMMITTEE MEETS

GEETA-WATEE: MON BAND FORMED IN MOULMEIN

FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA, CHEAP LABOUR IN MALAYSIA

MONKS ILL TREATED DURING CRACKDOWN

SUU KYI RECUPERATES UNDER HOUSE ARREST

DEMOCRATIZE MYANMAR BY 2006: UN

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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 Burma and Thailand. And we hope that it will become an important forum for discussion and debate and help readers to keep abreast of issues and news. Above all, we hope the newsletter will be used as a vehicle for those who want to share their views and experiences.  We reserve the right to edit and reject articles without prior notification. You can use a pseudonym but we encourage you to include your full name and address.

Regards,

Editor

kaowao@hotmail.com

http://www.kaowao.org

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Dear Editor,

The SPDC junta does not care whoever writes any ‘road map’. The most important thing is to reach a common agreement among all of us; the opposition forces, Burman and non-Burman, democratic and nationalist. First, we all the Mon should have one voice; second, all our ethnic non-Burman groups should have one common voice; and third, a common agreement between the Burman and non-Burman opposition forces. When too many opposition groups write too many ‘road maps’, it shows our disunity and will only make SPDC happy. The international community will not pay attention on our struggle either.

Nai Lwin (Fort Wayne, IN, USA)

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Mon State at war

FIGHTING CONTINUES IN SOUTHERN YE

(Kao-Wao and IMNA: September 30, 2003)

Fighting continues between the Burmese Army and Mon guerrilla groups in the southern Ye area of Mon State.

According to a refugee who recently fled to Halockhanee camp at the Thai-Burma border, Mon guerrillas led by Nai Bin were actively engaged in encounters with the Burmese Army in southern Ye township in mid September. Four guerrillas of the Mon National Warrior Army were killed during these clashes with Infantry Battalion No. 31 of Burma Army.

Nai Blai of Kabya Wa village said that the Burmese Army has conscripted five villagers on daily basic to serve as standby porters to accompany the army during their search operations in the area. Twenty villages from Harn Gam, Kaw Hlaing, Chang Gu, Yang Dean, Yang Rae and Kwan Tamoi were ordered to provide porters. Porters are forced to carry about 30 kilos of food and ammunition to supply army units during military patrols.

Since the area is defined as a black area, the BA restricts movements of civilians to try block off alleged support for the rebels during military operations. The escaped porter said villagers in the area have to carry travel ID cards issued by the local battalion whenever they go to their farms or other villages and if caught without their ID cards they risk being shot on sight or tortured.

In late August, Infantry Battalion No. 282 of Coastal Command surrounded guerrilla leader Nai Hloin near Mi TawHlar village and he was seriously injured according to a local Mon source.

After the New Mon State Party reached a cease-fire with the ruling military junta in 1995, Nai Hloin split from the Party in 1997 to resume fighting against the BA in the rural area.

The fighting continues to wreak havoc among rural civilians in Ye and Yebyu townships.

According to Nai Kao Charn, a Mon relief worker from Halockhanee refugee camp, villagers in Yebyu and southern Ye recently fled human rights violations in southern Burma to get to the refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border. He said over 50 Mon families have arrived at the border to escape systematic persecution by the Burmese Army from conflict areas. The Mon resettlement camp is located on the Thai-Burma border inside Burma, opposite Karnchanabui Province in Thailand.

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MON MP CALLS ON EU TO PRESSURE MILITARY REGIME

(Kao Wao: September 29, 2003)

An exiled Mon MP has called on EU governments to put pressure on the Burmese military regime by imposing strong economic sanctions on the country and getting the UN Security Council’s involved.

Nai Thaung Shein, an exiled MP based in the Netherlands, joined a demonstration with exiled activists from Germany, France and Netherlands in front of the EU Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium, and sent letters to European governments opposing the ‘road map’ of Burmese Prime Minster General Khin Nyunt.

“In reality, Rangoon’s ‘road map’ is a tactic to avoid international pressure and the same old tune of holding on to state power by calling a national convention”, said the leader of Mon National Democratic Front, who was forced to flee, after his colleagues in the MNDF were arrested by the military junta in 1998.

By ignoring the demand for the release of political prisoners and drawing up its own ‘road map’, the SPDC has demonstrated its lack of sincerity, the Mon MP said. If the junta was really willing to co-operate, it should provide a clear time frame and get all partners involved in the process, he added, but their ‘road map’ was only to gain international attention and to hold on to state power.

The Mon MP-elect for the Kawkareik constituency in Karen State sent his letters to EU governments in order to get their attention before an upcoming meeting of the EU parliament. He emphasized that the junta has never honoured its promises or the results of the election of 1990. Even though the SPDC junta claims that Burma’s economy is developing in peace and stability, there are about 200,000 refugees at the Thai-Burma border alone. The deteriorating economy and inflation rates have driven many people to seek work in other countries.

Nai Thaung Shein claimed that one of the most serious violations is the organized land confiscation by the military junta in Mon State. Since 1995, about 10,000 acres of land have been confiscated by the Burmese Army.

The MNDF won five seats in the 1990 general election in Burma. Nai Thaung Shein fled from his home after the arrest of Mon leaders, Nai Ngwe Thein, Dr. Min Soe Linn and Dr. Min Kyi Win. They are still being held in Moulmein prison because of their political beliefs and their support for the CRPP.

Inside Burma, the Youth Wing of the National League for Democracy (NLD) has called on the United Nations Security Council to urgently intervene and help implement the results of the 1990 elections. A petition signed by 252 members of the NLD Youth Wing was sent to the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, via the UN office in Rangoon.

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Forced Development

OVER 1,400 FAMILIIES RELOCATED FOR NEW RAILWAY STATION

(IMNA: September 24, 2003)

Residents in two wards in the Mon state capital of Moulmein have been ordered to abandon their houses for a new railroad project.

According to local sources, over 1,400 houses in Myenegone and Hlaing wards have already been destroyed, following order by the SPDC authorities.

A businessman from Moulmein said the authorities will compensate those whose houses are being relocated, but the price varies from a thousand kyats per square feet for brick houses to 200 kyats for wooden houses and 140 kyats for thatched roof houses.

In return, local residents will be granted land available for housing in Phetkhin and NganTe wards. They will have to buy their land in these new areas but prices are not yet known. The new sites will be on lots approximately 80 by 60 feet per household, according to a report from Moulmein.

Photos of houses being destroyed were taken on September 21 by ward authorities. The owners had to pay 1, 500 kyats to get a photo taken.

The source reported that the authorities would resettle those who can afford to build more expensive brick houses along the main road, while those who can afford wooden house will be on side streets and the poor, who can only afford thatch roofed houses, will be given land farther away from the main scene/streets.

The Burmese junta has launched a mega project to make the capital of Mon State the terminal point for the rail line from Rangoon. The railway station itself is scheduled to be built at the Myenegone cemetery in Moulmein. The space reserved for the new station occupies about 200 acres.

Up until now, the Rangoon-Moulmein railway line ended at the terminal in Mottama, on the opposite bank of the Salween (Thanlwin) river, but when the new road and rail bridge presently under construction across the river is opened passengers will be able to ride all the way by train without taking a ferry.

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Literature and culture

MON TEXT BOOK COMMITTEE MEETS

(MUL: Bangkok, September 30, 2003)

Mon Text Book Committee met today at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok for reviewing proposed papers of publishing text books in Thai Mon communities.

New school policy developments in Thailand have allowed about thirty percent of class time to be spent on the teaching of ethnic languages in schools where ethnic people reside. This policy will provide many students with the opportunity to learn their language and increase the odds of survival for Mon language.

Academics and some Thai-Mon leaders developed the textbooks derived from old and culturally rich Mon storybooks and hundreds of palm-leave scriptures found at monasteries in Thailand.

According to a committee member, Mon language textbooks will be divided in four levels from Grade 1 to 12 in schools that provide basic education to the Mon children in central Thailand. Students will learn level one from Primer 1 to 3, level two from Primer 4 to 6 for Primary School, level three from Middle 1 to 3 and level four from Middle 4 to 6 for secondary School.

The primary students can learn about Mon traditional games, common words, history, folk stories, legends, Mon traditions and cultures while high school students will learn more on philosophy and the way of thinking.

Most of the Thai Mon people lives in central Thailand Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Lopburi and Samutsarkhorn. Many thousands of Mon migrated to Thailand over 240 years ago after the Burmese king annexed the Hongsawatoi Mon kingdom in 1757.

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Entertainment news

GEETA-WATEE: MON BAND FORMED IN MOULMEIN

(By Bop Htaw)

Over twenty Mon students from various universities have joined a Mon music band named “Geeta Watee” led by Ai Mon, a well known Mon musician.

Ai Mon said the team is seeking new instruments including guitars, drum set and key-board with Yamaha or Roland brands in order to better entertain the Mon public and fans. According to him, a senior Mon monk will donate an audio set, but the group will be seeking contribution from friends and Mon music lovers both home and abroad for the other things they need.

The Geeta Watee will perform for their audience both modern and traditional, music including dance and drama on the stage. Ai Mon is now consulting with other traditional Mon musicians and dancing groups in various places to secure their cooperation and partnership for the shows.

The new band is not only doing stage-shows but also planning to open a formal Mon Music Training Centre in the future. The centre will cater to music-minded boys and girls. Some talented youths have already joined the band and they are in a training under Ai Mon and his senior staff in Moulmein for concert shows in year 2004. His personal assistant, Kun Jot Mon, is in charge of recruiting members and the training program.

“Our great interest is to promote traditional and modern Mon music while we are emerging to a new age of geopolitics. However, without the support of friends and fellow Mon musicians in abroad, the prospects for the project would bleak because we have very limited financial resources”, said the popular Mon celebrity at his apartment in Malaysia. He is on vacation visiting his sons who work in Malaysia.

The Geeta Watee now has four contracts in 2004, the first for A-Ning monk funeral ceremony, the second for KwanBoe Village Festival, and also for 50^th Anniversary of Kaw Bein Monastery and the 57^th Mon National Day celebration in Mudon.

The group was formed last August in Mon State with over twenty members. Ai Mon, who graduated from Mandalay University, founded a popular Geeta-Mon band in the late 1980s. He has inspired the younger generation to become musicians rather than politicians in Mon State.

(For general information and to make a contribution, please contact to Kun Jot Mon at +95-57 22137 in Moulmein, Mon State, Union of Myanmar).

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Migrant Watch

FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA, CHEAP LABOUR IN MALAYSIA

(By Banya Hongsar)

Penang, September 19, 2003 -- Thousands of teenagers who fled from Burma to Malaysia through Thailand to avoid forced labor and porter-duty are now the victims of cheap labor practices in the host country. These migrant workers who lack formal training and information about employment and the democracy struggle are now leaving Malaysia. The majority could not find jobs and were forced to return Thailand in order to survive.

Over a hundred thousand Burmese nationals are working in Malaysia without work permits or other valid documents. Many of them eat on the ground and sleep in the bushes. They heard about “democracy” at home but know nothing about their rights and employment regulations in Malaysia. Undocumented workers from southern Burma told their stories to Kao Wao. But the question is who will listen to them?

A banner on the back windshield of a taxi proclaims “Malaysia for Peace”. But migrant workers who have been mistreated by bosses and contractors have found no ‘peace’ at all and some have not been paid for up to six months by local employers who claimed that there was no cash flow from the ‘Big Boss’. The majority of the migrant workers know nothing about their rights because they could not access to legal assistance when they are abused by employment contractors.

Many young Mon nationals work at construction sites, small factories and fishery businesses on Penang Island. They can see the Penang skyscrapers from their work sites in the distance but they are afraid to visit them on Sundays fearing arrest by the Malaysian police. Many thousands more who cannot find regular jobs have no choice but to return Thailand with heavy debts.

“I thought I could make more money here than at home. I earn 28-35 ringgit (Malay currency) per day;” said Ko Lay, a former trader from Thanphyu Zayat, in Mon State. Many factory workers like Ko Lay work 10-14 hours per day but have no legal document or work -permit. They have had to keep a supply of cash on hand to bribe police or inspectors as a crackdown on illegal migrants is increasingly making its impact felt. Ko Lay who has three children studying in public schools said he had left his trading business at home earlier this year because he was unable to support the children’s education.

Most migrant workers are in their 20s and 30s and lack formal education and employment training at home. Kao Wao asked whether they had heard about the ‘trade unions’ that exist in overseas countries. They all replied “No”. At the construction work sites, VCD/DVDs and CDs are available on the black market but most productions are adult sex and karaoke shows. As they cannot leave the worksites, groups of 6-10 workers buy audio and video sets for entertainment. The few family men feel homesick when they are dumped from their jobs. Sadly, they know nothing about the help available from the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) and other human rights groups.

A few lucky migrant workers find good bosses or employers who pay them regular wages. Three out of ten workers are able to send money back home via the black market money exchanges operated by border based traders. Some single men enjoy a bit of relief by playing cards, smoking cigars and hanging around in the shopping center in the heart of Penang Island. There are a few Burmese shops at the BM Centre where workers can buy Burmese music and other goods from their home country.

Malaysia, like neighboring Thailand, benefited from the valuable contribution of cheap Burmese laborers, after Burma sank down to become an under-developed nation in the 1970 and 80s. A normal wage for an illegal migrant worker is less than 40.00 ringgit (US$ 10.50) per day, but they have to spend at least 15.00 ringgit (US$ 4.00) for food and drink for a day.

“I have saved my wages to get about 300.00 ringgit (US$ 79.00) to send home for my wife and children but I will never make it this year” said Ko Way from Mudon who works as head of the group at the construction site. According to Ko Way, they only can work 3-5 days a week but sometimes they only work for three days because there are no goods or materials for the building.

“I really get upset when my wife calls me to send some money home for the children” said Ko Lar, a building painter. His wife and three kids at home depend on him for a living. He asked, “When will we get democracy?’’ Most migrant workers look forward to returning homes and living with their families when Burma becomes a democratic country. .

Burmese migrant workers lack access to information about Burmese politics. They don’t have access to the BBC, VOA and other radio channels in Malaysia and long for news from their home country. They asked that newspapers, magazines and labor related information be sent to them. A few migrant workers use mobile telephones to keep in contact with their homes but they can only speak ‘non-political conversation’ on the phone line. Unfortunately, they cannot send goods to families and parents at home, due to their illegal status in Malaysia since the Burmese authorities seize all goods and packages shipped to Burma without passport numbers on the address label.

According to an Economic Report for 2003-4 in the New Straits Times, the federal government of Malaysia received 42.7% from income taxes. The report said that the government would begin construction of low and medium-cost houses. It indicated that the construction business would prosper for a few years and that there would be a massive demand for labor for the project. Sadly, most migrant workers do not read daily newspapers in either Malay or English for general information.

The long-serving Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohammad said during his remarks on the Supply Bill (2004) in the second week of September, that the National Social Policy had been launched, with the objective of promoting social development based on noble values and self-enrichment to achieve unity and stability.

Burmese migrant workers who left their country not by choice but seeking a chance to feed their families at home have no clue about the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) or about the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Democracy in Burma is a hope for all migrant workers both in Thailand and Malaysia. Burma or Malaysia could not bring democracy and national building process where workers have no rights. The current Rangoon regime, the State Peace and Development Council, proudly announced that most young workers left for Malaysia and Singapore in order to generate income for their homes, but the majority of the workers do not have passports and work permits. They cross Thai and Malaysia border with the help of dealers or human traffickers.

Many end up in the circle without jobs, paying bribes to the police and cheated by the employers. “I have lived here over ten years and I haven’t been home,” said Nai Shwe, a former boatman from Mon State.

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MONKS ILL-TREATED DURING CRACKDOWN

(Kao Wao: September 24, 2003)

Buddhist monks have been ill-treated by Thai authorities during crackdown on illegal entry to the kingdom, according to deported monks who have arrived at the Thai- Burma border.

From August 26 to 28, the Thai police arrested Buddhist monks in various temples near Bangkok and those who could not present Thai identification cards were disrobed and deported to the Burma border.

A local source reported that 103 Buddhist monks at Wat Bangyar, Wat Sudhammavadee, Wat Mai KlongJet and Wat Nongkhaem temples in the Bangkok area had been arrested and deported to Three Pagodas Pass and Maesot western Thai-Burma Border.

Mon monks who arrived at the border complained that they were forced to disrobe and detained over two nights before being deported. Properties belonging to them were occupied by some of the police officers. “We have no idea how it happened. We were invited for a meeting at the temple and then they detained us without warning and clarification. Some senior Buddhist monks requested the officers not to disrobe them but this was rejected”, said a Buddhist monk who was deported to Sangkhalaburi.

According to Nai Teyja, a Mon monk, it is believed that the police action was taken to prevent ‘illegal entry’ into Thailand for employment purposes and to tighten up security ahead of an upcoming APEC meeting.

According to a Thai source, 189 temples with an estimated number of 8,000 foreign clerics were targeted. The majority of these are young monks studying at various temples to complete courses in Buddhist studies leading to certificates, diplomas, or a bachelor degree in Thailand. The crackdown had led to the dislocation of thousands of monks and novices who also lost their opportunity to continue their studies.

ID cards issued by one of the most respected monks in Thailand, Rev. Uttama, were rejected as ‘invalid’ during the raids. Some monks were verbally assaulted by the police officers, according to one deported monk.

The source said those arrested include some whose parents were already naturalized citizens and are Thai nationals. Some were born in Thailand and their parents hold ID cards issued by the Thai government, such as the displaced person card (pink) and the highlander card (blue). They face several bureaucratic hurdles in continuing their studies outside districts where they are allowed to reside.

Following the crackdown that began last month, the Australia-based Mon National Council issued a statement on September 11 and the Monland Restoration Council (USA) sent a letter to the Royal Thai Government requesting fair treatment to Buddhist monks. In Chiang Mai, the Young Shan Monks for Education also drafted a petition letter.

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SUU KYI RECUPERATES UNDER HOUSE ARREST

(By Aung Hla Tun, Reuters: September 28, 2003)

Yangon - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was recuperating from major surgery under house arrest Sunday as the military government maintained her four-month isolation from friends and supporters.

Friends, neighbors and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) said they knew of no visitors to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's lakeside home in Yangon since she left hospital Friday night.

Myanmar's generals, who have ruled the country since 1962 and are now promising a renewed push toward democracy, gave no hint of when she might be free to meet whoever she wants.

They have said only that she would continue to rest at home and the government would ensure she got good medical care, but Suu Kyi's doctor said no one would be allowed to visit her without the generals' permission.

One person almost certain to be allowed to see Suu Kyi is U.N. envoy Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat due to arrive in Yangon Tuesday on his 11th visit in a so far vain effort to revive reconciliation talks between the NLD and the military.

But there was no word on who else might be allowed to see Suu Kyi, despite her doctor saying she was recovering well from what the government called a gynecological operation.

Saturday, U.S. and European diplomats were turned away from her house, which the military put under tight security, setting up road blocks and checking cars.

"She is recovering from her illness and not in a position to receive anyone at the moment," a security official told Reuters at the time.

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DEMOCRATIZE MYANMAR BY 2006: UN

(AP: United Nations, October 1, 2003)

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the United Nations and the international community to work together to bring about a transition to democracy in Myanmar by 2006.

In a report to the UN General Assembly yesterday, he said there has been "no substantive progress towards national reconciliation and democratization in Myanmar," but "there is still a small window of opportunity at the present moment to save the process."

He urged the military rulers to immediately release the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy colleagues and quickly initiate a "substantive dialogue" with them.

Otherwise, Annan said, the UN General Assembly will have to review the situation and decide on further action that the United Nations and the 190 other UN member states can take to promote reconciliation and democratization in the country.

The target, he said, should be a democratic Myanmar by the time the country takes over the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2006.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

"The United Nations, ASEAN and the international community at large must join hands in order to facilitate the democratic transition in Myanmar in time for 2006," Annan said.

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KAO WAO NEWS GROUP

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Kao-Wao Newsgroup is committed to social justice, peace, and democracy in Burma. We hope to be able to provide more of an in-depth analysis that will help to promote lasting peace and change within Burma. Editors, reporters, writers, and overseas volunteers are dedicated members of the Mon activist community based in Thailand. Our motto is working together for lasting peace and change.

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