The BurmaNet News, August 12, 1997

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"     
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The BurmaNet News: August 12, 1997        
Issue #795

HEADLINES:        
========== 
BKK POST: BURMA SAYS NO TO RETURN OF MUSLIMS
BKK POST: SLORC LINKS SUU KYI TO ACTS OF 'TERRORISM'
ORCHESTRA BURMA: INTERVIEW WITH A PORTER
KYO AUSTRALIA: KAREN NATIONAL MARTYRS DAY
INDEPENDENT ESSAY AND POEM: KAREN MARTYRS DAY
HUAI KALOKE REFUGEE CAMP STUDENTS: KAREN FOLKTALES
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BKK POST: BURMA SAYS NO TO RETURN OF MUSLIMS
August 11, 1997
Mae Sot, Tak

Burmese authorities have refused to take back some 280 Muslim refugees,
saying they were aliens and not Burmese nationals, according to a Muslim
leader.

They were among the 499 Burmese refugees arrested by Thai authorities last
Monday on charges of illegal entry. Most of them worked in the border
villages of the province's Phop Phra district.

Burmese soldiers and the Rangoon backed Democratic Karen Buddhist
Army (DKBA) accepted all the refugees, except the 280 Muslims, whom they
called "kala" or aliens, said All Burma Muslim Union (ABMU) chairman Abdul
Razzak.

Thai authorities were left with no choice but to bring them back and put
them in a temporary shelter at a temple in Mawker refugee enclosure
pending further arrangements.

Dr Razzak said the junta in Rangoon had lately stepped up pressure on
Burmese Muslims particularly those living in the villages of Kyaidon,
Kawkareik and Nabu.

The State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) regime has always
discriminated against Muslims, forcing them into exile, said Dr Razzak,
adding that there were about seven million Muslims in Burma, of which some
100,000 have sought refuge in Thailand.
     
Rangoon has not accorded them Burmese citizenship even though they have
lived in Burma for several decades. It's believed they would be the next
target of attack after Slorc completes suppression of Karen National Union
guerrillas.

Dr Razzak cited the case of two Muslim families who returned to Burma a
few months ago and were forced by authorities to abandon their Islamic
faith.

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BKK POST: SLORC LINKS SUU KYI TO ACTS OF 'TERRORISM'
August 11, 1997
Rangoon, AFP

State-run press raises issue of racial purity

Burma's state-run press linked opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to acts
of anarchy and terrorism yesterday and claimed she was in the pay of
Western colonialists.

Daw [Mrs.] Suu Kyi is a traitor to nation and colonialists' cohort who
believed in and applied terror," a commentary in the New Light Myanmar
daily said.

The long commentary also raised issue of racial purity, saying Aung San
Suu Kyi "has no desire to safe-guard the race".

After marrying a Briton, "she gave birth to children who have blood of
colonialists without any shame instead of the blood of the national
leaders".

It compared her to "garbage" and "refuse", and said the pro-democracy
movement she led from 1988 until being placed under house arrest the
following year had been "overshadowed" by the influence of Washington.

In 1988, "Daw Suu Kyi was a piece of refuse drifting with the tides of
anarchistic insurgency which was brought into shape like a democracy
revolution," it said.

Even after her release in July 1995, she was involved in "schemes to
instigate unlawful acts, incite riot and create anarchic acts".

"Though she shouted democracy, she was practically gripping anarchism and
terrorism," it said.

The commentary alleged she had accepted "cash awards" for honours given by
colonialists, as well as direct financial assistance.

Unusually, the article referred to her repeatedly as Daw Suu Kyi the
normal form of address for Burmese women who do not take their husbands'
names. Previously, the official media had called her Mrs. Michael Aris.

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ORCHESTRA BURMA: INTERVIEW WITH A PORTER WHO ESCAPED SLORC
August 10, 1997

May 14, 1997

                Name            - Saw Kay Ni (not his actual name)
                Age             - 50 years old
                Race / Religion - Karen / Christian
                Address         - 'Ha Ko Khee' village, 'Pha Pon'
township, 
                                  Karen State.
		Father's Name   - 'Saw Pho Lu'
		Mother's Name   - 'Naw War Phaw'
		Occupation      - farmer
         	              Marital Status  - Widow, father of 4
children
		Education   - 5th Standard at Middle School in ' Pha Pon'
		Height          - 5 feet 5 inches

1. Duration of time serving as a porter - nearly 2 months (From 12th March
till end of April) 

2. Name of the regime who captured him - 'Kha La Ya' 548. 

3. Things he had to carry - bullets, weapons, chicken, pork, food which
was taken by force, household utensid they started to find a new
direction.  
	
Toe Ma come, but Sa Kay Klo and his relatives did not arrive, therefore
they knew that they had found a new place.  Toe Mae Pa and his ancient
brothers were separated.  Therefore old men say that we are Sa Kay Klo's
society.  Therefore when we become old, we die, because we don't have a
tooth comb like Toe Mae Pa.
	
Despite this, the old men say Toe Mae Pa will came back again and find his
brother's society.  When they came back they will test people with a nail.
They will hit people and if people shout, "Ahmalay", in Burmese language,
they won't like them.  If people shout "Mo Mo", in Karen language, they
will not kill them, they will give them freedom.  Therefore Karen people
believe and hope in Toe Mae Pa always.

		-----------------------------

An Hospitable Man
by Saw Than Myint

	A long time ago there was a young man by the name of Saw Eh Mwee.
He was a bachelor.  He lived in a small village and he was a very poor
bachelor.  He didn't have a big house, as others, but he only had a small
hovel.  He had no brothers, no sisters, no parents in fact he had no
parentage.  But he was an honest bachelor and he liked honesty, and
kindness.  When guests came and visited him, he fed them with as much food
as he had. He never grumbled about the guests.  That's why he was a
hospitable bachelor.
	
One day he went to the forest and he saw an old man having  convulsions
and also unconscious beside the foot path. There was nobody to look after
him.  When Saw Eh Mwee saw the old man, he could not pass by the old man
but instead massaged the old man as best he could.
	
He  massaged and massaged until the old man became conscious.  When he
finished treating the old man, he left for other places.
	
At the next place, he also saw a dead body thrown beside the foot path.
This dead body had no friends, and no one to dig the ground and put him in
the hole and cover him with sand.  That's why Saw Eh Mwee didn't pass by
the dead body.  Firstly he dug a hole in the ground and he dug and dug.
Later there was a big hole and he carried the dead body into the hole and
he covered the dead body with sand.
	
After that he went to another place and he saw a bear that was caught in a
big trap. Saw Eh Mwee saved the bear.  Then he went to other places and he
saw a tiger that had fallen down a huge hole, so he tried hard to save the
tiger.  Then he saw a dolphin that was caught in a big net, so he went to
the dolphin and saved it.
	
After that he came back into his small hovel.   On the same day in the
afternoon an old man came in to his small hovel.  And said "Grand son...
Grand son... please prepare a curry for me with your white cock."  Saw Eh
Mwee had only one white cock but he didn't grumble about that. He killed
the white cock and cooked it.  He prepared a good curry for the old man.
When the old man finished eating, he said "Thank you very much for your
kindness and hospitality."  After that the old man said to him "Grand
son... Grand son... please take me to your bed, I want to sleep."  Then he
took the old man to his bed, then the old man laid down and Saw Eh Mwee
covered him with a white blanket.  The old man slept the whole night,
until the morning and the old man didn't wake up, so Saw Eh Mwee went to
him to wake him.  But the old man didn't wake up. Saw Eh Mwee moved the
blanket from the old man, and the old man had become a body of gold.  Saw
Eh Mwee kept the gold and he and became a very rich man.  He was not a
very poor bachelor like before.  So he built a big house for himself.
Then if some one came and visited him he fed a very delicious curry to the
guests.
	
One day the king summoned all of the bachelors in his country and
commanded that "All of you must complete my order; if any one completes my
order, I will marry him with my daughter."  And all of the bachelors said
"We would like to marry your daughter so we will try to complete your
order.  "Go now and find 3,000 kg of honey for me and I will give three
days to try to get it, quickly", said the king.
	
So all of the bachelors went to the forests to find 3,000 kg of honey.
They looked and looked and no bachelors could get 3,000 kg of honey, until
the time was over.  Only Saw Eh Mwee alone could get 3,000 kg of honey.
	
So how did Saw Eh Mwee get 3,000 kg of honey?  Firstly he went into the
forest and cried loudly "My friend... the bear... my friend... the bear...
come here... I want to see you here... please come here."  So the bear
appeared quickly, and said "Why do you call me?".  "I need your help my
friend", said Saw Eh Mwee.  "What can I do for you my friend?", said the
bear.  "I need 3,000 kg of honey, also, I have only three days to get it",
said Saw Eh Mwee.
	
Then the head bear called it's servants, about 3,000 bears, and they found
3,000 kg honey, in only a little while.  So on the same day he brought
3,000 kg of honey to the king.
	
So the king thought "This bachelor man is not a lazy man, he is a powerful
man, so he should marry with my daughter, as I have promised, and I will
try to keep my promise. 
Saw Eh Mwee married the king's daughter and in the end they lived
pleasantly together.  

		--------------------------------

Grandfather Taw Maw Lu
by Naw Hsa Eh Moo

	Once upon a time Pu Taw Maw Lu had a plantation, and near the
plantation, he made a trap for catching squirrels and wild cats.  After he
had eaten two squirrels, a giant saw his trap. The giants always came
before him and ate the animals that were caught in the trap. Pu Taw Maw Lu
was sick and tired of having his animals stolen and so he went and asked
the soothsayer to help him.
	
The soothsayer asked him to find the bud of a "Haw Dhu" plant with a worm
called "Kee" a kind of insect similar to a caterpillar.  He also told him
to cut it into two pieces and to put each piece in his nostril, then to go
back and lie down on the trap pretending as if he was caught by the trap.
Pu Taw Maw Lu did according to what the soothsayer told him.  The next
morning when the giants looked at the trap, they saw Pu Taw Maw Lu was
caught in it. 

"Because of his kindness we always had something to eat.  Now, it's the
end of his kindness, to return his kindness we'll take his corpse to our
place."  

Then they held a festival by means of weeping and wailing.  During the
funeral service one of the squirrels came and glanced at Pu Taw Maw Lu
knowing that Pu Taw Maw Lu was still alive, and looking at the giants, the
squirrel shook his tail at the bamboo. Pu Taw Maw Lu was silent.
	
	(But) his face remains open. 
		
	When the giants heard the sound of the bamboo they beat the
squirrel and said, "Why do you say that Pu Taw Maw Lu is not dead?  You
are cursing him."  The squirrel escaped from the bamboo because of the
beating of the giants.  It often came and did the same thing.  The giants
also beat it whenever it struck the bamboo with it's tail.  At last the
squirrel went away and never returned.  When the giants were dancing and
chanting Pu Taw Maw Lu arose from his 'death'.  The giants were surprised
and in fear they all ran and fell from the cliff and died, except an ugly
giant.  This ugly giant tried to fry popcorn and chant to make the other
giants live again.
	
While he was doing this, Pu Taw Maw Lu tip-toed to her and said "Grandma,
the popping of the popcorn which you fry sounds very nice, please give me
your ladle, I would like to fry it."  When the giant gave him the ladle,
he struck the giant's nose and the giant fell down dead. Pu Taw Maw Lu
then searched the whole place for the giants but instead found gold,
silver and jewelry in every house which he gave to every family.  

There was a family that did not accept Pu Taw Maw Lu's gift. The man there
said, "I can do what you have done and I don't want your gift."  So this
man went and took "Kee" he didn't cut it into two parts, he put the whole
"Kee" into his nostril and went and laid on the trap.  When the giants
came and looked at the trap they saw the owner of the trap was caught in
his own trap and was dead and knowing his kindness they took his corpse
and held a festival.
	
While the giants were dancing and chanting the "Kee" which he put in his
nostril was ticklish and he sneezed.  When the giants saw the "Kee" fall
from his nostril, the giants pushed him from the cliff and he died.  The
giants then ate his flesh.
	
Therefore the ancient people chanted
		-couldn't do as Pu Taw Maw Lu
		-Fell from the cliff and died.

		---------------------------------------

To Kei Baw and Naw Thoe Maw
by Naw Paw Sot

	Once upon a time in a village,  there was a poor boy.  His name
was Toe Kei Baw.   He was very handsome, and very hardworking.  He worked
on the farm.  He had no mother and father and was lonely.  When he was a
child his mother and father died.
	In this village there was a rich man, he had a pretty daughter,
and her name was Naw Thoe Maw.  When she was a child her mother also died
and she lived with her father.  Her father was very bad.  They had the
largest fields, and many animals, such as cows, pigs, hens, ducks,
elephants and goats.  One day Toe  Kei Baw went to work with his many
friends in the fields.  Also Naw Thoe Maw went to work in the fields, with
her many friends.  
	Next day they were meeting on the farm.  On this day Naw Thoe Maw
forgot her towel.  Toe Kei Baw saw her towel, and picked up this towel.
In the evening he went to Naw Thoe Maw's house, and he gave back her
towel.  They didn't know each other but they became lovers.  Next year
they were married but her father didn't like this.  One day his wife
wanted to eat fish.  He went to the river to look for some fish.  This day
he didn't see fish.  He came back to home.  He said to his wife, "I didn't
see fish in the river."  Her father was very angry, and said to him,
"Don't stay in this home you must go back to your home now.  If you will
not go back I will kill you."  Naw Thoe Maw was very sad, because her
husband had to go.  She cried very much because they were lovers.  Toe Kei
Baw went back to his home.  When Toe Kei Baw went back, Naw Thoe Maw's
father already went ahead of Toe Kei Baw and waited for him, beside the
way, and killed him. But Toe Kei Baw didn't know the reason.  But Naw Thoe
Maw knew her father's reason, and she looked for her husband and she saw
her husband was dead.  When she saw Toe Kei Baw was dead she cried very
much, she killed herself and lay beside her husband.  After Naw Thoe Maw's
father went to look for his daughter.  And he saw his daughter was dead
with her husband.  At last her father was kind to all his neighbor's
because his daughter was dead.
	In the place that Naw Thoe Maw and Toe Kei Baw died, two bamboos
now grow.

		---------------------------------------

The Price of Pride
by Saw Tha Su Htoo

	Once there was a man who had a dog and as he ate food the dog ate
that food also.  They were loving to each other.
	Soon, the poor man was dead.  So, the dog did not eat.  Then, the
dog was very hungry.  It went to an elephant and asked for food to eat.
The dog said "Please help me, now, I want to eat food.  When my master was
still living, I had a lot of food to eat, since he died, I have problems
finding food.  Now, I need your help.  The elephant said "I am the biggest
of animals, among all animals, did you not know that I am biggest animal
of all the land?  Go away quickly."  The dog was thinking that it would
still be pitied, so it did not go at once.  Because it did not go at once,
the elephant was angry and kicked him away and said "I am strong, I can
beat all, and I can do as I will.  Why did you come and trouble me?"  The
dog was helpless and went away.  The dog was walking to and fro and saw  a
crow.  It went over to the crow.  I am asking for pity "My friend crow,
please let me stay with you and I will eat what you eat.  Whether or not I
will be satisfied."  At last, the crow allowed the dog to stay with it.
	The dog told the crow that it was ill treated and tortured by the
elephant.  The crow on hearing about the dog pitied it.  The crow told the
dog that "If the fly cooperates with me, I can make a plan to teach the
elephant a lesson."  The dog went to the fly and asked for help and the
fly accepted.  The crow went to the elephant and hit the elephant.  And
flew back to the fly and said "I dropped blood from the elephant into its
ears.  Now, it is you turn to begin your work."  Then, the fly went and
laid down in the blood of the elephant.  Soon, the eggs became louses and
ate the flesh of the elephant.  At last it blinded the eyes of the
elephant.
	Soon, the elephant could not find food to eat and it died.

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