KAO WAO NEWS No 55
An electronic newsletter
for social justice and freedom in
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READERS' FRONT
HUNGER IN
LAND CONFISCATION IN MON AREA DOCUMENTED
NEW PSYCH WARFARE
ILLEGAL FUND RAISING FOR
EQUALITY FIRST PRIORITY: MON STATE
CONSTITUTION
ANTI-MUSLIM ATTACKS SPREAD TO
GRASS ROOT CONFERENCE DECIDES KEY RESOLUTION
CAN WE TRUST PRIME MINISTER KHIN NYUNT?
MON STUDIES CENTRE A GOAL FOR ACADEMICS
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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
Regards,
Editor
kaowao@hotmail.com
__________________________________
Dear
Kao Wao,
Condolezza Rice
says they are very concerned about the fate of Daw
ASSK after talking to the UN. I don’t think talking to the UN will make
any difference to the situation in
All
available sources must work together to get the message out to the world and UN
leaders what the SPDC is really trying to do. The
Vum Son
________________________________________
Dear
Kao Wao,
Please
pass on to Mr. Lian Sakhong
our appreciation for his paper (Dialogue: Non-violent Strategy for Democracy
Movement in
Thank
you for all your excellent reporting. It
is a positive contribution to the case of freedom and justice in
God
bless you,
David
Eubank
_______________________________
Dear
Editor,
Dr.
Lian H Sakhong has clearly
pointed out in his paper, “Dialogue: Non-violent Strategy for Democracy
Movement in
Banyeh Rot (Ye)
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Plight of Internally Displaced Persons
HUNGER IN
(Kao
Wao /
Land
confiscation and forced relocations continue to deprive and threaten the lives
of the rural poor of their rights to adequate food, housing and livelihood. 176
relocation sites were identified in state-controlled areas of eastern
Thailand
based non-government organization released a timely report named ‘Reclaiming the Rights to Rice’ about food
security and internal displacement in eastern Burma, which provides an in-depth
investigation on food security and other related issues.
The
report covers six specific areas in eastern
According
to the report, 248 settlements have been affected and the paddy is estimated at
about 3,665 tones, which were destroyed by the State Peace and Development
Council, the current ruling authority in Union of Burma.
The
Survey estimates that approximately 250 temporary settlements of internally
displaced persons in eastern
The
report also highlighted local observation of issues related to food security on
crop destruction as a weapon of war, border areas development, agricultural
management, land management, nutritional impact of internal displacement and
gender –a perspective based on the lives of local community workers.
For
hard copy of full report, please contact bbcbkk@inet.co.th
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LAND CONFISCATION IN MON AREA DOCUMENTED
(Kao
Wao:
Human
Rights Foundation of Monland has released a report on
land confiscation in the Mon areas.
The
report mainly focuses on the issue of land confiscation, including Burmese
military deployment and the suffering of landowners for over six years after
the New Mon State Party and the Burmese military junta signed the cease-fire
agreement.
According
to the report, over the six-year period, the BA confiscated over 7780 acres of land
with an estimated value of Kyat 1,311 million from over 370 farmers in
The
Burmese military regime has deployed thousands of Burmese troops in the area
since 1995 causing internal displacement among the populations.
The
report, compiled with 21 case studies, was presented to humanitarian
organizations and other interested parties to review the plight of refugees,
displaced persons and illegal migrants to neighboring countries.
For
over nine years now, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland
published its regular monthly report titled the “Mon Forum.” The land
confiscation report highlights the reasons why people flee their home country.
After
loosing their land to the BA, farmers have no options; hundreds of families
load up their belongings on their backs, pull their children out of school, and
flee to refugee camps along Thai-Burma border. Thousands seek jobs in
The
army confiscates farms and plantations and forces owners to work on land they
once owned without compensation, pay or benefits. This act is inhumane and
dehumanizing and causes tremendous hardship on villagers, the report concluded.
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News report
NEW PSYCH WARFARE
Burmese Army Launches Psychological Warfare
in
(By
Banya Hongsar)
October
15, 2003, Thai-Burma Border -- The ruling regime recently ordered public
servants to gather in a field to support the ‘seven points’ political Road Map,
drawn up by the newly appointed Prime Minister this week in Moulmein,
the capital city of Mon State, Union of Burma.
Thousands
of people were sitting on chairs in a large field with nothing to do but listen
to various repetitive speeches given by senior officials led by Union
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
Over
the last ten years, since 1993, senior officials of USDA, led by military
personnel in Mon State have launched a psychological warfare by conducting
various secret training programs to counter attack the democratic forces and
repress civil society movements. Men, women, and children are ordered to dress
up in uniforms and non-Burman people were ordered to
dress in their ethnic Mon traditional clothing.
According
to sources from the New Mon State Party based in
Col.
Zaw Tun, senior military
member of Southeast Military Command based in
According
to a source from the Mon community, key members of USDA were forced to attend a
secret training held at the Capital Hall in the military compound.
The
training modules include public relation campaigns, overviews on neighboring
countries and Strategies on the Peoples’ Force with prepared textbooks. Since
2000, the 43rd training session has been conducted in
After
the newly appointed Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt announced his ‘Seven Points" political program,
the so called "Myanmar Road Map" towards democracy in August, the
Rangoon Generals have instructed local USDA members to act as core supporters
for the state and be part of the game in exploiting the local population.
According
to source from the New Mon State Party based on Thai-Burma Border, members of
the party in the capital were approached to attend the public event, but the
seniors in
Generally
Mon people, especially those who are not members of USDA or of the civil
servants, mostly support their national political organization, the Mon
National Democratic Front, but the Rangoon Generals abolished it in 1992. Most
rural based native Mon people are under the control of the New Mon State Party
and its armed wing Mon National Liberation Army. The Mon native people have no
alternative information of the "Seven Points" political programs
because the state restricts and controls the press.
The
The
State owned media television churns out PR propaganda as part of its political
game on prime time. There are over ten kinds of uniforms flashed across the
Myanmar TV screen orchestrated daily under instruction of USDA’s PR spin team
campaign, designed to both brainwash and represent the local public.
The
"This
kind of tactic has been used in the past during Ba Swe and Kyaw Nyein
era," explains Sunthorn Sripanngern,
a Mon political analyst. But finally, “they fail consistently to promote or
uphold peace in the country”, he added.
Regardless
of this massive psychological warfare in
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Life in
ILLEGAL FUND RAISING FOR
(Independent
Mon News Agency:
Military
officials of Artillery Regiment No (318) ordered village headmen to sell
theatre tickets in the community this week, a source from the village said.
A
new Artillery Regiment was built this year at Abit
village which rose the funding to supply uniforms for the troops. The senior
officials ordered headmen to hire a local drama group to perform a show in the
village and quota of ticket selling was imposed to each local headman in the
surrounding area.
Each
village is order to raise at least Kyat 150,000.00 for military fund slush. The
army is ordered by the Headquarters in
"We
don’t know how much we can sell the tickets for but the Commander already has
taken Kyat 150,000.00 from us", complained a local headman who asked to
not be named for security reasons.
According
to a village headman, the tickets do not mention when is the show and local
villagers are not interested in it.
The
BA plans to raise its military budget in the community through illegal ticket
sales for social events.
The
local military commander for such affairs orders local headmen frequently to
raise money. Villagers never complain or disagree otherwise they may be beaten
or tortured.
A
similar show was imposed on Kaloh Thog
village on 24 October. Regiment Commander Kyaw Swe Myint abused and beat three
villagers for no reason, the source from the village said.
Abit village,
south of Mudon town, is a strategic location for the
BA to block all military access of anti-government armed forces in
***********************************************************
Political development
EQUALITY FIRST PRIORITY: MON STATE
CONSTITUTION
Equality tops the list in
By-Bop
Htaw
The
Committee for drafting the Mon State Constitution sat for the two-day workshop
for a third reading session; the draft paper will be released to Mon public
before the end of the year. Members of the Committee comprised of New Mon State
Party, Mon National Democratic Front, and Mon Unity League, each had three
representatives. Representatives of MNDF were unable to attend the workshop due
to security reasons on the border areas.
“Equality
to other non-Mon native people in the territory is to be guaranteed in the
constitution,” said Nai Hongsa,
chairman of the committee. “We are unable to build peace and prosperity in our
land if we fail to guarantee equality to all,” he added in his opening address
to the session.
According
to a media release issued by the Committee, each native person in the Territory
is urged to be actively involved in political life in their respected areas and
is urged to represent their own representatives in the local State
Parliament. Regardless of the size of
population and geography, the native people should feel free to exercise all
their rights to govern their own population either under autonomy or a local
administrative council based on the will of the entire population in the
surrounding area.
The
State Constitution is firmly linked to "Federal Principles" and
members of the committee strongly focused on the issue of power sharing between
the State and Federal governments. However, the committee seriously debated on
the draft constitution, which is based on the political context of the country.
"Regardless
of their race and color, we ought to respect every citizen in our state," Nai Hongsa said. “There are Mon, Burman, Pa-o, Karen and Tavoyan
who live in the territory, including Chinese and Indian descents”, said the
chairman.
The
draft constitution contains nineteen chapters with seventy-five articles.
Members of Mon political organizations have struggled over the last two years
while they have limited knowledge on the constitutional affairs, but the paper
is finished for the State Constitution Seminar later to be held this month.
Each
State has prepared its draft constitution with the support of National
Reconciliation Program (NRP) based in
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ANTI-MUSLIM ATTACKS SPREAD TO
(DVB:
Anti-Muslim
attacks which started in central
On
25 and 26 October, a group of Buddhist monks raided the properties of local
Muslims in
Although
the authorities arrested and detained the attackers of a local businessman, U Htay Kywe on the 25th, most of
the local people believe that the authorities themselves systematically
organized the assaults from the evidence they have seen. He was hospitalized and had 9 stitches for
the wounds he received on his head. The unprovoked attacks were committed by
some ‘monks’ and normal civilians. The attackers also poured petroleum on him
while they were demanding money from him but they didn’t burn him, according to
a local resident.
On
the 26th, the attackers also went on the rampage and attacked the owners and
employees of local Muslim restaurants.
Meanwhile,
threatening letters were sent to the homes of Muslims in
***********************************************
GRASS ROOT CONFERENCE DECIDES KEY RESOLUTION
Activists agree to work together for
democracy in
(By
Kun Yekha,
Exile
pro-democracy activists held a huge conference to establish a Roadmap for
Democracy in
Burman and non-Burman pro-democracy individuals and representatives from
organizations worldwide attended the self-funded conference.
About
300 observers and participants gathered at Neff Hall on the campus of Indiana
University- Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). After a two-day (Oct 11-12) thorough
discussion in which five panels were formed, the
participants laid down several key resolutions for the future of Federal Union
in
Representatives
from the five panels outlined a strategy to end military dictatorship in
They
agree that any transition to democracy would begin with the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi,
the leader of National League for Democracy and the establishment of a federal
union nation.
The
conference passed a resolution to unify pro-democratic groups’ power by working
through the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, the exile
government based in
The
issue of solidarity of the nationalities, which has been the root cause of more
than 50 years of civil war, was heavily debated by the participants, which
finally resulted in the establishment of the equality and the right of
self-determination for the nationalities in
“Without
genuine recognition of the desire for ethnic equality and the right of
self-determination, I’m confident unity and solidarity among the ethnic
nationalities, including the majority Burmans, cannot
be established,” said Padoh Mahn
Sha, general secretary of Karen National Union and a
national leader with the National Council of Union of Burma.
The
self-funded panel headed several side discussions, which formed a self-help, fund raising body, with an aim to abolish the
dictatorship and to promote democracy in
The
conference decided to step up its campaign to pressure for economic sanctions
against the military regime through the United Nations Security Council and to
seek stronger pressure from the international community to secure the release
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political
prisoners.
Not
satisfied with international activities, the participants deeply discussed and
worked out resolutions including the domestic struggle (inside the country)
with all agreeing that the elimination of the dictatorial system in Burma is
the only way to successfully achieve genuine democracy and national
reconciliation among all the nationalities in the country.
The
panelists carefully considered and decided that forces
inside the country is the key to success in promoting freedom and the deciding
factor in a regime change.
The
conference named key players to wage the decisive struggle: (a) the Committee
Representing the People’s Parliament and the National League for Democracy led
by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; (b) the “Veteran
Politicians”; (c) United Nationalities League for Democracy; and (d) masses
(students, monks, workers, farmers, etc) from all strata.
Of
the five separate panels, the panel on the strategy to end the military
dictatorship in
Attended
by more than (30) organizations, representatives from
After the regime's May 30 ruthless crackdown on Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and her supporters, the opposition groups and
independent exiles have been more active and united to find ways to end the
country's dictatorship. Eyewitnesses of
from the May 30 (Black Friday) crackdown, Wanna Maung and Khin Zaw also presented their account of what happened at the Depayin massacre.
Nai Banyadean, a conference organizer, said they selected
“It’s
the largest conference ever been held in the United States, comprised of ethnic
nationalities from the Mon, Karen, Shan and Chin groups in which
representatives participated and shared their views,” said Fred Gilbert, a
local social worker who devotes most of his time to assisting refugees and
immigrants and who is a strong supporter for the Democracy struggle in Burma.
The
U.S. Rep. Mark Souder gave a speech and pledged to bring the conference’
finalized resolutions to
***************************************
Political view: a youth’s perspective
CAN WE TRUST PRIME MINISTER KHIN NYUNT?
(By
Lawi Weng)
Can
the ethnic nationalities and the democratic movement trust Prime Minister Khin Nyunt? The more politicians
there are, the more there will be political views on this issue. Some people
may question if Khin Nyunt
is a moderate person or not and if he possesses the tolerance needed for
democracy to work in
Some
people may view Khin Nyunt
as a hardliner after he criticized Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
for instigating the May 30 ambush.
He also criticized the international community for taking sides in
supporting Aung San Suu Kyi and thus tarnishing his country’s reputation.
What
can we make of Mr. Khin Nyunt?
Is he a puppet? A liar clinging to power? A hack powerless to persuade his cronies to reform. Or all the above? Did he lie to the Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart and the international community, to Mr. Surakiart when he went to the opening ceremony bridge in Myatwatty? Is he committed to starting a dialogue with
ASSK? He proclaimed to the International community that the regime was willing
to open a new page in
He
promised that the UN special envoy Mr. Razali would
be allowed to see ASSK and that dialogue would soon begin, but Than Shwe denied implementing of dialogue and Khin Nyunt’s permission to
resign. Than Shwe knows that Khin Nyunt's ideas could be used to control power.
Instead
of promptly dismissing him, Than Shwe bumped him up
to the post as the new Prime Minister. Reshuffling of the Burmese military
leaders is a common occurrence for the people of
Khin Nyunt’s road map to democracy will have him stepping down
from power in the next five years. According to his proposed road map,
there will be free and fair elections. How about 1990 election's result? Will
it be the same as Saw Maung's election in 1990?
Therefore, can we believe him as an optimistic person who is committed to
solving a 50-year conflict and can help the millions of people in
***************************************
Literature and culture
MON STUDIES CENTRE A GOAL FOR ACADEMICS
Academics
to establish global hub
By
Onnucha Hutasingh
(Cited
from
Academics
want
A
bid to raise funds for building a Mon study centre and a Mon museum at Wat Muang in Ratchaburi's
Ban Pong district was made during last week's seminar and lectures on Mon
studies in
Highly
respected historian Nidhi Eoseewong
said a Mon study centre should be set up in Thailand since this country was
probably the world's largest source of evidence on Mon culture based on the
fact that there had been at least nine generations of Mon migrations to the
lower Chao Phraya river
basin from the Ayutthaya period to the Rattanakosin period.
According
to Mr Nidhi, ethnic
There
are only about four million Mon people left worldwide and most cannot read or
write the Mon language. Moreover, very few academics have been allowed to
access Mon archaeological sources and historical evidence in
However,
ancient documents on Mon heritage can be found in some 200 Mon temples in
Sunate Chutintranont, a
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