Nation: Mons protest treatment in B

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Subject: Nation: Mons protest treatment in Burma


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The Nation (Bangkok)
February 25, 1994

by Yindee Lertcharoenchok

MONS WANT TREATMENT OF KINSMEN IN BURMA PROBED

The Mon community in Thailand yesterday urged the United Nations to
look into the plight of their ethnic brothers in Burma who are said
to have faced brutality and human rights abuses at the hands of the
ruling Burmese junta.

They also charged that the junta, known as the SLORC, has plundered
Mon "on-shore and off-shore natural resources" and sold them for "a
pittance [to] benefit a small military clique," while the real
owners had been given no say in the matter.

About 50 Thai-Mons publicized the suffering of the Mon people in
Burma in a public protest yesterday in front of the UN Building in
Bangkok, two days ahead of the 47th Mon National Day on Feb. 26.

It is the first time that the Mons in Thailand have mobilized to
voice concerns on behalf of the estimated six million ethnic Mon
kinsmen on the other side of the border.

"The Mon homeland must be returned immediately.  Human rights are
ignored by the Slorc junta.  The United Nations must intervene. 
Mon descendants in Thailand can't stand Slorc junta's mistreatment
of the ethnic Mon in Burma," read one placard in English.

Some protesters also showed strong disapproval of the ongoing
ceasefire negotiations between the armed ethnic Mon group and Slorc
which they said did not address a solution to Burma's political
problems.

They said they could not accept the Slorc's six-point proposal,
which did not recognize thee Mon homeland, sovereignty, freedom,
language and culture.  At the same time Rangoon rejected outright
the 16-point demand put up  by the five-member Mon negotiating
team.

Both sides met for the first time in Moulmein in southern Burma
from Dec. 29-Jan 3 but no progress was made in the talks.

In an interview yesterday, a prominent Mon-Thai citizen, who
requested anonymity, said the Mon community in Thailand could not
accept the talks between the armed ethnic Mon group and the Slorc.

He said they only touched on the ceasefire issue and ignored other
important political questions of more importance to Burma.  He said
future talks should take place in Thailand, or in another neutral
country, in the presence of the host leadership and the meeting
results should be publicized.

Moreover, "the talks should only be conducted between the Mon and
an elected democratic [Burmese] government and not the illegitimate
military junta an d only after the promulgation of a legitimate
recognized national constitution," he added.

In their press released and strongly-worded placards, the
protesters called on the world community and the UN Security
Council to investigate the plight of the Burmese-Mons and take
measures to secure the immediate release of Mons and all political
prisoners detained by the Slorc.

Their calls came at the height of the annual meeting in Geneva of
the UN Human Rights Commission, which opened debates on the
situation in Burma early this week.

The protesters also voiced their concern over the fate of several
thousands of Mon refugees taking refuge on the Thai side of the
border in Thailand's Kanchanaburi province.

They said the refugees had been forcibly relocated since early
January from the Loh Loe camp in Thailand to a new camp inside
Burma where there was no guarantee of security due to the camp's
proximity to the Burmese troop outposts at the Three Pagoda Pass.

They said the refugees were squeezed between the Burmese troops on
one side and the armed forces of the Mon group on the other. 
"Fighting could break out at any time and there is no guarantee at
all for their safety," said another Mon protester.

The protesters also handed a letter to the United Nations calling
for the world body to take immediate action on Burma and to assist
Mon refugees.