Monland Update (October 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:
No Supports to Rallies by SPDC
After bloodily crackdown again the countrywide respected religious leaders Buddhist monks and demonstrators for democracy in Rangoon and other cities, the military regime SPDC held a serial rally in all town and the capital of Mon State, Moulmein. During the regime SPDC’s sponsored ‘Rallies’, not only town residents were forced to attend, but the local villagers in rural villages were forced to attend. Township Suburb PDC authorities, village PDC authorities, police force, USDA members have taken responsibility in doing forcible recruitment of civilians to attend rallies. SPDC authorities took fine from the households those could not join and force all administrative servants (teachers, medical workers, administrative staff, fire fighters, postmen) to attend the rallies with ordinary civilian clothes in order to pretend they are not government servants. Some servants who did not join in the rallies are ordered to send complaint letters to authorities. Since the civilians are forced to attend rallies, majority of them did not show their supports. (Source: Consultation with a local town residents.)
On October 10, 2007, when the Mon State PDC authorities held a Rally to support NC and regime 7-Points Roadmap, the authorities forced the NMSP to speak 3 minutes speech against the recent monks led democracy protests, but NMSP rejected SPDC’s request. First the Mon State PDC held the ceremony on October 6, but because of heavy rain, they have to shift to October 10. Even in the ceremony on October 10, after a few minutes, heavy rain falls onto the rally ground, most people left from occasion. (Source: Consultation with a NMSP member and Kao Wao News)
On October 12, The New Mon State Party (NMSP), which has a cease fire arrangement with the Burmese military junta, has welcomed the United Nation's call for genuine dialogue with democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, all concerned parties and ethnic groups and the release of all political prisoners and detainees. The NMSP reached a cease-fire agreement in June 1995 for an end to the political deadlock by way of dialogue. It stopped sending its representative to the regime's National Convention (NC) after a letter it signed with 12 other ethnic cease-fire groups was ignored by the junta. It attended the NC as observers thereafter. (Source: IMNA)
On October 19, Mon Unity League (MUL) expresses its concern that the SPDC’s newly formed Constitution Drafting Committee showed that the SPDC will not accept to involve in political dialogue with pro-democracy oppositions led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The UN Convey led by Under-sectary Gambari, called the regime SPDC, to initiate political dialogue with opposition. Mr.
Gambari also met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Sr. Gen. Than Shwe and negotiated among them for a meaningful political dialogue. (Source: MUL Information Sheet)
Economics
Many people in private phone businesses in Mon State have closed down their establishment because they are unable to afford graft to local military and police officers any more, according to an owner in Mudon Township. One has to pay 10,000 Kyat a month to the military intelligence in Mudon and Thanphyuzayat and the local army battalions in the area. This apart they have to give money to police and military officers, who come around and visit their house if there is a business being run with Thai GSM phones, he added. People into phone business shell out not less than 50,000 Kyat a month just for paying the authorities apart from the expenditure to run the business, the phone owner said. While many have closed their business, some private phone owners are still keeping because their business has good income for them. (Source: IMNA)
The protests in Burma last month has brought about a decline in the amount of money migrant workers from Burma send homes from Thailand. Job related problems and lack of suitable opening Bank account is also one reason for the fall in transfer of money. A Mon businessman based in Thailand said that said he received a little amount of money for transfer because of the protests in Burma. The migrant workers warned each other about the situation in Burma and decided not to send large amounts of money. Some of them said that not sending too much money and waiting would be wise. Now migrant workers are buying gold and other assets in Thailand and send small amounts of money for household expenditure. Most of them kept track of the protest on Thai television. (Soure: IMNA)
The Department of Myanmar Agricultural Service in Mudon Township was forcing farmers to cultivate sesame following the harvesting of paddy on land where summer paddy cannot be grown. An officer from MAS in Mudon came to Mon villages in Mudon Township yesterday and told farmers that they must grow sesame after harvesting of paddy or else the land would be seized and given to other people, said a farmer. The officer said that the idea of cultivating sesame was to produce sesame cooking oil. (Soure: IMNA)
Education
The Burmese military junta's scholarship programme has only increased unemployment in Burma after their return, said an army officer. To make government jobs are attractive for those who learned in scholarship programme, the military regime sent many people to foreign countries every year but they cannot give jobs to all of after they come back to their mother land. "Now many people who have had gone abroad are unemployed. While the regime promised them jobs some people are waiting for over a year", said a government employee in a plantation program. All of them are under contract to work in the country for 10 years after completing the scholarship programme. If the student does not come back to the country, they have to pay back 5,000,000 Kyat. So students who cannot get a job in Burma are unable to go outside the country to work. (Soure: IMNA)
Some of the universities in Burma have been closed down by the military regime because some of students joined the protests led by monks in September. "Yangon University of Dental Medicine in Rangoon was closed since the day after conducting the examination a month earlier," the mother of a medical student said. Moreover the universities in southern Burma such as Nursery Training in Moulmein (Mawlamyine), Pa-an University, and Government Technical Collage (GTC), and Education Collage were closed on orders from Naypyidaw, said a lecturer. The lecturer said the Burmese government will reopen universities if the situation calms down. Now it is monitoring the situation of students each month. "That's why the regime delayed the examinations for the University of Distance Education by about a month," the lecturer said. (Soure: IMNA)
Human Rights
Personal Security of Buddhist Monks: Following the crackdowns against Buddhist monks in Rangoon and other cities, the SPDC authorities have threatened the security of peaceful Buddhist monks, by arresting hundreds of monks and put them in detention. According to the many sources, the local authorities put these monks in interrogation rooms and tortured them. They also forced the monks to disrobe against the practices of Buddhism and most monks are refused to listen the orders.
On October 2, the Township authorities in Rangoon city list all names of monks who left in Rangoon in their attempts to know the number of monks and oppress the monks effectively in the future protests. In many web-sties and personal blogs are shown the bodies of monks were thrown in a river in Rangoon, South Okkalapa and pictures of slippers with blood stains.
At the same time, the Abbot in each monastery in Rangoon and other cities like Pegu and Moulmein (the capital of Mon State) are instructed by the local authorities to not accept guess monks in their monasteries and if they found some guess monks, they need to inform nearest authorities quickly. Traditionally, the people and monks from rural areas always rely on the monasteries in cities temporarily for accommodation when they have purposes warshipping pagodas and need special medical treatment. These rural monks face many difficulties when they traveled to Rangoon and other cities.
After listing all the names of monks, the authorities in Rangoon, Pegu and Moulmein cities forced all monks who came from rural monasteries to leave monasteries immediately. Many Buddhist monks studied Buddhism in cities’ monasteries are suspected as protesters in the recent monks and they were forced back. (Source: Human Rights Foundation of Monland – HURFOM, MUL Information sheet, IMNA and Kao Wao News)
Religious Discrimination: Monks are unsure whether the Burmese military authorities would allow them to sit for the annual examination in the wake of the protests against the military regime, said an abbot in a monastery. "We are not sure whether we will have our examinations or not. We are not even sure that if there are examinations whether we should sit for it," said the abbot in Pegu, who had about 50 student monks before last month's protest. All his students were ordered to go home when the junta cracked down on monk-led protests in the end of September. For the next few days monks are going to make a list for sitting for their examinations. "I don't know what to do for the next few days. I believe there will be no examination for the monks," a Pegu monastery abbot said. (Source: IMNA)
The Burmese military junta has banned the traditional donation of commodities to thousands of monks in Mon state. It is an annual ritual in Mudon Township, ten miles south of Moulmein , the capital of Mon State . The commodities donation festival starts on October 4, 2007 each year in Kamarwet village Mudon Township. It was banned although the authorities allowed holding the festival in another town, Thanpyuzayat, two weeks ago. Over 5,000 monks have taken part in the festival in previous years and the traditional donation was held from one village to another. (Source: IMNA)
The Burmese military authorities in Three Pagodas Pass on the Thailand-Burma border have banned traditional festival donations to monks on this full moon day, according to a source from the border town. In earlier years over 700 monks from three different monasteries and many monks from the local township came to this festival. However, the military has ordered them to stop the practice during the festival this year. "On the evening of the October 6, the Burmese checkpoints that open illegally were closed to all business except exporting materials. On October 7 they were closed completely," a businessman said. Nowadays people find it difficult to cross checkpoints in the area and it is hard for visitors to stay in the Three Pagodas Pass. (Source: Kao Wao News)
Movement Restriction: Military junta authorities in Three Pagoda Pass on the Thai-Burma border have tightened security and have restricted movement of people in the belief that dissidents may flee the country. "The authorities are checking everything in the baggage's, -- for tapes, films, cameras -- everything," said a source close to the authorities. Even the cease-fire groups have to inform the authorities to get a pass to cross the border gates. "The checks have put in place because senior officials have ordered to stop dissidents escaping. Recently Three Pagoda Pass authorities tried to close down the Zami River boat route, which people rely on for traveling during monsoons," the source added. Currently fewer people from inside Burma are traveling to the former capital city Rangoon, where thousands of people joined demonstrations against the Burmese regime and where hundreds of people continue to be arrested. (Source: IMNA)
There were riot polices, Militias and the police force in railway stations, bus stations, harbours, ferry sites in Moulmein. The followers of USDA and their people strength force have been holding emergency meeting once a week in their offices in villages according to the order from District level. According to a person who has close relationship with the members of USDA, the leader of Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), had collected some members seem followers of USDA, people strength force and called meeting once a week in order to put them on alert. A local passenger said, “They check my paper bag and asked me to show my Identity card. They also ask me to unfold the calendar which I buy from the town. I think they suspected that is the letter of motivating people to demonstrate. They also warn us to stay quietly/mind our own business and to stay away from political activities. Otherwise, we will be put into the jail. They did not give my calendars back after checking and I did not ask them back because I am afraid of any problem occur”. (Source: HURFOM)
Immigration
The Thai Royal policemen cracked down on over a thousand Burmese migrant workers and arrested them. According to TNA (Thai News Agency) English news, Thai police rounded up 1,200 Myanmar workers in the Gulf of Thailand today after being informed that 70,000 illegal Myanmar live there. They arrested people who did not have any documents and even people who had documents. But they carried copies of the permits not the original. The police arrested all, said a migrant worker in Samut Sakhon. "After the military junta cracked down on the September protests in Burma, they pressured the Thai government to send back all Burmese connected with dissident political movements and migrant workers" said a source close to the Thai special police.(Source: IMNA)