Monland Update (June 2007)

Monland Update is a monthly publication of Mon Unity League (MUL) for a historical records of Monland and the activities of MUL in Thailand and Thai-Burma border for the rights of self-determination to Mon people

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Politics

SPDC plans to hold another round of National Convention (NC) in coming mid-July.  Therefore, the SPDC NC Convening Commission have informed to all their hand-picked members to join in the NC again.  Analysts expected SPDC will complete this NC with a draft constitution that guarantee for the rights of Burma’s armed force, tatmadaw, to remain in power.

The main stream Mon political party, New Mon State Party (NMSP), which had been invited to the NC as ‘Speical Invited Representatives’ in the recent session.  Currently could not decide whether they would send ‘observers’ or ‘representatives’ to NC.  Mon people and NMSP believe along with other Burmese ethnic groups that only national reconciliation through a tripartite dialogue which includes the Burmese junta, opposition parties and ethnic groups is the answer (Ref: IMNA). 

Political anaysts expected the SPDC will hold the ‘People Referendum’ and ‘Elections’ after completing NC. Currently, the SPDC’s local authorities in Mon State have still prepared to win in the coming ’people referendum’ and ‘elections’.  They have ordered some of military commanders in military battalions to abandon their ranks and put them in the positions of government servants and township administrative bodies.  Similarly, the authorities also make a new household registration in the local villages and town wards in Mon State.  The Mon politicians believed that household registration is another preparation to have votes in coming referedum and elections.  (Ref: Guiding Star Mon Newspaper, June 2007). 

The Southeast Command has strengthened a new Karen surrendered group, KNU/KNLA Peace Council led by Maj. Gen. Htay Maung, by providing them with land, properties and business opportunities.  SPDC confiscated some lands in Pa-an Township and provided the Karen armed group and collected taxes from the local villagers and provided them with for house building and other construction cost.  (Ref: Guiding Star Mon Newspaper, June 2007). 

Economics

Mon people in Mon State and southern parts of Burma has much relying on Thailand imported ‘satallite phones’ in order to communicate their family members who are as migrant workers in Thailand.  Some money transfer survices also use these satellite phones in order to transfer money from Thailand and Malaysia to Burma.  Satellite phone communication business became boom last 2-3 years ago.   Although the local authorities took ‘under table money’ in the past from this business but in June, the authorities from Nepyidaw (the capital) ordered to confiscate these phones and shut down all these businesses (Ref: IMNA). 

The highe level authorities from the capital Nepyidaw and Karen State PDC took an action against the illegal border businesses in Three Pagoda Pass border town with Thailand after the border business have closed after a conflict between DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) and Thai border police in March 2007.  Trading and business activities in the area have relatively decreased and the SPDC authorities blinded their eyes for illegal imports of goods and gasoline from Thailand.  However, the SPDC high level authorities those plan to maintain difficult relations with Thailand planed to crack down businesses with Thailand.  Especially logging business, gambling and entertainment places are involved in this illegal businesses.  But Township authorities in Three Pagoda Pass informed to the local business communities to halt their activities for a while until the operation completed (Ref: IMNA).
 
Labour shortage happens in Mon State when the local Mon farmers begin their paddy cultivation activities.  Thousands of Mon young people or main labour force migrated to Thailand to find better income and the farmers found that there has been less and less workers in Mon areas.  Therefore, the local Mon farmers have mainly relied on other ethnic labourers especially Burmans those migrated from Pegu Division and central Burma.  (Ref: Guiding Star Mon Newspaper, June 2007). 

Local Burmese authorities at the Three Pagodas Pass border town have seized more than 100 vehicles. A team was formed to check all vehicles and launch further action to confiscate unlicensed vehicles.    According to a source close to the SPDC, the committee was formed on June 8, comprised of Police Officer Kyaw Tha, Burma Army commander, Lt. Col Hla Min and custom officers.   The order came from the Capital, Nepyidaw, and the team checks all vehicles that are operating in the border town.  However, the vehicles used for the community that belongs to organizations and cease-fire groups will be exempt (Ref: Kao Wao News).   

 

Education

After one-year of teaching Mon language to Mon children in a Thai government school in Weng-ka Mon village in Sangkhlaburi District of Kanchanaburi Province,  the Mon teachers are permitted to teach Mon language in another academic year 2007-2008 which begins in May 2007 and ends in March 2008.  In this Academic Year, the Thai school allows Mon teachers to accompany with Thai teachers in the classes for Kindergarten and Grade I.  These children can speak only their mother language in Mon and so that the school arranges to learn their mother language from Mon teachers.  Since the teachers are recruited from Mon community, they attended ‘Teachers Training’, which is provided by an educational NGO for 3 days.  (Ref: MUL Information Sheet 4/2007).

Mon national schools begins in June in New Mon State Party controlled area and along Thailand-Burma border.  The students get ‘free education’ from Mon schools and they get some limited supports of stationaries.  But the schools founded there are over crowded of students in Kindergarten and Grade I, but the drop-out has been high up after Grade II and III.  Most children left from from schools when their ages is about 9-10 years old in order to help their parents.  Displaced communities have the similar problem about high drop-out rate because of livelihood and food-shortage problems.  (Ref: Consultation with a community leader and a teacher). 

In Mon State, authough the local authorities ordered to all school heads for ‘free education’ in primary level, which means to not take ‘education fee’ from students during school opening in June, but the students still have to pay many other types of fee.   Since the military government SPDC, the school heads still have to take various types of fees such as expenses for ‘Parents and Teachers Association’, ‘School Library’, ‘School Construction and Maintenance’, Sports’, and other fees.  Student parents said that they have to pay more fees than last year although the new order for ‘free education’ came down. (Ref: IMNA). 

Health

At the beginning of rainy season, malaria problem in the Thailand-Burma border has been serious among the displaced Mon and other ethnic communities.  The villagers said most villagers have relied on ‘bamboo shoots cutting’ livelihood in early rainy seson and so that many men, women and children go into forests to find bamboo shoots.  They suffer from malaria after mosquito bites in the forests.  But they came and took medical treatment in Three Pagoda Pass, they found that there is no medicines in public hopital.  In some clinics in the border town, there are no equipment and technicians to test blood of the patients.  Some patients go to New Mon State Party’s clinics, but they founded that there are still limited medicines in there (Ref: Consultation with a community leader).

Dangue problems have continued in Mon State and along Thailand-Burma border. Over 600 children took medical treatment in the southern part of Mon State since early May until mid-June.  There were many patients in the rural areas who could not get access to hospital for treatments.  There are some news come out that approximately 20 patients in Ye Township hospital, 10 patients from Thanbyuzayat Township hospital and 8 patients from Moulmein puplic hospital died because of dangue.  But no detail information can be collected on the estimated number of patients died in communities those did not get any medical treatment.   (Ref: IMNA)

Human Rights

Forced Labour: Over 600 villagers were forced by Burma Army’s Battalion No. 31 stationed in Khaw-zar Town to repair a road and work in other areas for a week to welcome Lt. Gen Maung Bo, sources in the town said.   Yesterday, Col. Than Toe of Military Operation Management Command from Ye Township, came to check the security aspects and the preparation to welcome Lt. Gen Maung Bo, who will arrive in Khaw-zar town today. (Ref: Human Rights Foundation of Monland – HURFOM)

Militia Training: The Light Infantry Battalion No. 310 of the Burmese Army is conducting the training for the first time in all villages in the capital of Karen State, Pa-an, in order to form “Village Militia Force”. The battalion has directed the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) to arrange the training for them.   Each village has sent 20 to 30 trainees to be included in the militia in the village, according to sources close to VPDC.  Many Mon villages in Pa-an Township have been forced to involve in this training.  If they could not attend, they have to pay money to VPDC authorities (Ref: HURFOM).

Development Project: The SPDC local authorities are pushing the people in southern Burma, to grow physic nuts plants (with a plan to produce bio-diesel energy in future) after forcing them to buy seeds at high prices.   After the onset of the rainy season as of May, the military regime has ordered people to grow physic nuts and forced people to buy the seedlings of the nuts at a higher price and then plant it.  The Township Peace and Development Council in Kyaikmaraw Township directed each family to grow 300 physic nut plants and pay Kyat 90,000 (US $ 72). (Ref: HURFOM).

Extortion and Taxation: The Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) in Mudon Township have demanded money from the mill owners for funds for the Burma Army.   The TPDC authorities called a meeting of mill owners in the town and gave them the deadline to pay the money, he added.   The TPDC said at the meeting that the fund is meant for the Burmese Army's rations.  Mudon Township has over 100 rice mill owners and they have already given about 100 to 200 tins of their quota of paddy to the army as rations about three months ago (Ref: IMNA).

Land and Properties Confiscation: After the visit of Gen. Maung Bo, from Ministry of Defense, some lands belonged to Mon farmers near Khaw-zar Subtown which are on the way proceeds to local military battalion IB No. 31 were confiscated.  It is a mile long two way road to battalion No.31 and along the way there are rubber plantations, rice farms and cashew-nut plantations. The lands were seized along both sides, 40 feet deep into the plantation areas.  Then, the IB No. 31 measured a 30 – 40 cubic feet of land plots and re-sell to the local villagers for battalion fund.  They sell 300, 000 Kyat (approximately 240 US D) for one plot of land (Ref: IMNA).
 
Movement Restriction: The SPDC’s Burma Army is barring local villagers from traveling to their farms and gardens since June 7th in southern Ye, Mon State.  The village headman from Hangan stated that the Burma Army’s reasoning behind this action was a fear that the villagers will return to their farms and support the guerilla forces.   Although an ambush by the Mon guerrilla group has not occurred for some time, the SPDC has accused villagers of supporting the Mon guerilla group and issued a curfew in the area that included large villages such as Hangan (Ref: Kao Wao News). 

Literature & Culture

Mon State PDC authorities have denied permission to five more local cultural organizations from operating in southern Burma.  The regimes did the same to eleven local NGOs in Rangoon (Yangon – the former capital of Burma) and stop their operations to do social welfare for the people.   Moulmein's Mon Literature and Culture Sub-Committee (MLCC), Kyaikmaraw's Mon Literature and Culture Committee and three other local organizations in the area were denied permission to continue, said an MLCC member.  The Mon State PDC authorities do not renew the permit for next year, when MLCC committee applies for new permission, as usual they did in the past.   MLCC in Mon State were formed for 37 years with a purpose to preserve Mon literature and culture.  The regime has the similar policy toward other ethnic nationalities.  "This is the military's suppression of ethnic rights which helps develop its own literature and culture. It is ethnic cleansing," said a doctor who found the MLCC and who did not want to be identified for reasons of security (Ref: IMNA).