09 July 2008 : Burma News Extra
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Mongla sticks to its guns
Villages deserted as residents flee to border to escape military persecution
Why the Generals are Winning
Most Ceasefire Groups Undecided on 2010 Election
Burmese trade unionist accuses military of crimes against humanity
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Mongla sticks to its guns
Bi-annual meeting of the Mongla ceasefire group yesterday resolved to hold on to the present territories that have been under its control since prior to 1989, when it was part of the Beijing-backed Communist Party of Burma (CPB), according to an insider source.
Special Region #4
8 July 2008
The National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), as the group led by Sai Leun names itself, and Shan State Special Region #4, as it is known to Burma’s ruling military council, has been under pressure to transfer the administration of villages surrounding Hsaleu, where its 369th Brigade is headquartered, and Nampan, where its 911th Brigade is headquartered.
“It is a ploy to cut us off from our own men and people,” the Shan officer told the Shan Herald during the interview. “It is also aimed to cut us off from our allies.”
The NDAA-ESS is a member of the Peace and Democracy Front (PDF), whose other members include the United Wa State Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), better known as Kokang.
It is not known to have any formal relations with the non-ceasefire Shan State Army (SSA) “South” that is active in Mongyawng township, south of the Nam Lwe, a tributary of the Mekong.
According to the source, Mongla had dispatched a 5-men delegation led by Min Ein to Burma’s new capital on 2 May to demand that the junta authorities maintain existing arrangements. “Mi Ein returned empty-handed,” he said. “It appears the Burma Army is going to give us Mongla and the immediate surrounding villages only.”
The source said the group will continue to exercise “peaceful engagement policy” with the junta.
Its immediate neighbor and ally the UWSA had also been told to withdraw its troops from Mongpawk, Mongphen and Hotao and to transfer the administration to Mongyang township under the Burma Army control during the visit to Panghsang, the Wa capital, on 27 January by the outgoing Lt-Gen Ye Myint. “The Wa, as far as I know, has yet to respond to the demand,” he said.
The Mongla group, formerly known as Area 815 under the CPB, concluded ceasefire with Rangoon in 1989, following Kokang, Wa and Shan State Army (SSA) “North.” The group declared itself drug free in 1997.
http://www.shanland.org/politics/2008/mongla-sticks-to-its-guns
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Villages deserted as residents flee to border to escape military persecution
By Hseng Khio Fah
No.06-7/2008
8 July 2008
Human Rights
Long Keng village in Mong Pan township, southern Shan State, became deserted when villagers fled to border after some of them were detained and tortured and some disappeared as the military accused them of killing their members one month ago, reported SHAN correspondent from southern Shan State.
On the following day of the May 10 referendum at 22:00, a sergeant and two soldiers from Mong Pan-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 385, which is under the command of Lt-Col Kyaw Han, were shot at the vegetable garden of a Hophai villager while taking the vegetables without telling its owner. The sergeant was shot at his chest twice and died instantly while the other two escaped unscathed, according to Long Keng village secretary, who escaped to the border.
“The three were on duty to provide security of the farm owned by Sai Ni.”
At the end of April, Mong Pan Area Commander , Lt. Col. Kyaw Than, and Chairman of Mong Pan Township Peace and Development Council, Sai Zam Win, confiscated some 12 acres of farm owned by 12 farmers in Mong Pan and planted summer paddy seeds for the LIB 520, LIB 332 and LIB 385. Three soldiers from each battalion had been assigned to provide security for the paddy field.
The dead body was taken to Mong Pan hospital. The checkup found that he was shot by handmade bullets made of lead.
As soon as the authorities learned the news, they went to arrest the farm owner Sai Ni,45, his wife Nang Poi, 30, and his son Sai Kham ,18, on 12 May at 10:00. They were accused of planning to kill its members and of being spies of Shan State Army (SSA). The family was beaten during the interrogation, the source said. But the family just answered they did not know who the gunmen were.
Nang Poi and son were released on 14 May except for Sai Ni. In the evening of 16 May the authorities went to arrest all the farmers whose land they had seized and took them to the LIB 520 command post but some were able to escape. Those detained were Long Keng village headman Zarm Hsa, Sai Nu, Sai Kham (Sai Ni’s son), Ai Di, Ai Kya and Zingna. They all were beaten and tortured everyday and later were moved to the LIB 332.
Again on 19 May, the authorities went to detain Ai Mart and Kungna from Long Keng. Also detained were the Kong Kieng tract headman, the village headman and the secretary. All were taken to the LIB 332 command post. Since then the families have to send the meals day and night.
Sai Ni, Sai Kham and Ai Di, 46, reportedly were not seen on 7 June when the family went to send the meal and asked to see them. But the authorities would not show them. They [authorities] just told to the family that “the three are already full. We feed them very well. But they did mistakes that were unforgiveable, so we will keep them with us,” according to a relative of the victims. “It means they [authorities] have already killed them if they can’t show us.”
The remaining 8 detainees were taken on the truck to move to the police station west of the town. However, Kung Na ran away on the way and was able to escape from the fire of the authorities. The rest were detained at the police station.
Until now, there has been no information about them whether they will be released or not. Likewise, no information of the three people who had disappeared has been no reported.
“Whenever we went to ask about the disappeared people, they [authorities] just always tell us they are alive and well but they never let us see them,” said a relative of the victims. “When we asked other soldiers, they said they had not seen the three.”
Since the event had taken place, the authorities went to take properties from the villagers and always cause trouble for the villagers in many ways. The villagers were afraid to stay in the village and some moved to the town. Others fled to the Thai-Burma border on 15 June by motorbikes and some by cars, according to the Long Keng village secretary.
There are 45 households in Long Keng village but it seems to be empty, said the secretary.
22 villagers from Long Keng fled to Fang district where the Thai authorities recently raided and 19 people were detained.
The new arrivals are now forced to stay in hiding because they have no official documents allowing them to stay in Thailand and have no paying jobs to feed themselves, according to a local villager of Fang.
“More are still on their way to the border,” said a villager who is currently seeking asylum at Fang on the Thai-Burma border. “We were not happy staying there anymore, so we decided to come here.”
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Why the Generals are Winning
The Irrawaddy
COMMENTARY
By KYAW ZWA MOE
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
This year is the 20th anniversary of the democracy movement in Burma. In 1988, a few small student protests against late dictator Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Programme Party ignited the flame of democracy which quickly developed into the strongest uprising in Burma’s history.
The flame still burns, and the spirit of democracy—though constantly suppressed—lives on. But to accomplish the task of bringing democracy to Burma, the country needs more than a flame—it needs a wildfire.
Twenty years may not be too long when one talks about changing a country’s political system, but it’s a long time in a person’s life. Many democracy leaders, activists and sympathizers have died, knowing the country was still in the hands of totalitarian dictators.
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi once told me that we should be prepared for a “lifelong struggle” to restore democracy in Burma. Yes, it may take an entire lifetime, especially if the pro-democracy movement fails to unite into an unbeatable political force, one truly strong enough to overwhelm the powerful, ruthless military regime, which is intent on ruling Burma for decades to come.
Over the past 20 years, many committed leaders and activists have joined the struggle, all willing to give everything they had. Their dedication was beyond words: no matter how many times they were imprisoned, they would rejoin the movement when freed. Many thousands of political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, have spent most of the past 20 years in the junta’s notorious prisons.
During this time, the movement has lacked the one essential, most important factor: unity. The movement has never been able to gather everyone—leaders and average Burmese people—into one, united political force.
After 1988, when political parties were allowed to form and contest the 1990 elections, more than 200 political parties mushroomed into existence. It was the first indication of a lack of unity in the pro-democracy movement. Even popular political figures such as former premier U Nu, Suu Kyi and former Brig-Gen Aung Gyi couldn’t provide a collective leadership capable of uniting the disparate political groups opposing the regime.
For instance, even the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, formed around three leaders, Aung Gyi, Suu Kyi and Tin Oo. Aung Gyi, who was chairman of the NLD, later broke away to form his own political party. He was followed by others.
However, the people of Burma are smart. They knew there was a danger of diluting their voting power among the various opposition parties. They voted for the NLD, giving it 82 percent of the ballots cast.
Unfortunately, the proliferation of too many political parties and organizations has become a trend in recent decades, not only inside the country but in the exiled community as well, often weakening the overall movement. Many groups are simply names, with no worthwhile activities.
In the activist community, there’s a joke that if two Burmese people meet, they will form three groups. First, each person forms his own group and then they both form a coalition group.
It’s a joke, but it captures a shameful truth. The pro-democracy movement lacks the discipline for unity and power.
Recently, one of Burma’s most respected monks, Dr Ashin Nyanissara, noted the lack of collaboration in Burmese society, saying there have been thousands of pro-democracy groups formed since 1988, but little unity. He’s right.
No matter what obstacles we face in the future, the chief priority for all pro-democracy leaders should be to build a single force capable of uniting the country around one goal: democracy.
When asked what she wanted to say to pro-democracy groups in an interview with The Irrawaddy in 2002, Suu Kyi replied, “I have always wanted to see unity.”
In every struggle, unity can bring success and disunity can bring failure. All Burmese opposition groups must focus on unity. Otherwise, the flame of democracy in Burma will never burst into the wildfire that’s needed to sweep away the military dictatorship.
http://irrawaddy.org/opinion_story.php?art_id=13203
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Most Ceasefire Groups Undecided on 2010 Election
The Irrawaddy
By SAW YAN NAING
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Despite government pressure, most ethnic ceasefire groups are undecided on whether to disarm and form political parties to contest the Burmese general election scheduled for 2010, according to sources close to the ceasefire groups.
For one month now, Burmese military authorities have been urging the ceasefire groups to surrender—in effect, lay down their weapons—and form political parties. An alternative option for the ceasefire groups could be to enlist their troops as special combat police, said the sources.
Two ethnic ceasefire groups—the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N)—have not yet responded to the request of the Burmese authorities, according to sources in Shan State.
The editor of Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), Khuensai Jaiyen, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that no statement had been made as yet. The UWSA just want autonomy, he added.
The UWSA has an estimated 20,000 soldiers deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China while an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of southern Shan State.
Another ethnic ceasefire group, the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, also known as the Mongla group, has been under pressure to decommission its weapons or serve as a special combat police unit under government command, according to a senior official of the Mongla who was quoted recently by SHAN.
The Mongla group, however, have not replied to the military government’s call for surrender, the article added.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Sai Murng, deputy spokesman of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), said, “I think the ceasefire groups have only two options. One is to surrender and do what the regime says. The other is to fight back against the Burmese army.”
Meanwhile, Nai ong Ma-nge, a spokesman for the ethnic Mon ceasefire group, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), said, “We haven’t decided as yet whether to be involved in the 2010 election. It is a major political change, so we have to wait for a decision from headquarters.”
The NMSP entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1995.
A source close to a Karen ceasefire group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), said, “At this moment, it is impossible for the DKBA to surrender and form a party. The DKBA has no interest in being involved in the political process. They will retain their weapons and maintain their development and business interests in Karen State.”
The DKBA is a breakaway group of the Karen National Union—Burma’s largest ethnic insurgency group. The DKBA signed a ceasefire with the military government in 1994 after splitting from the KNU.
However, an ethnic Kachin ceasefire group, the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), will reportedly lay down its weapons and participate in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa, a Kachin source on the Sino-Burmese border.
The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which is based along the Sino-Burmese border, will also take part in the 2010 election, said Aung Wa. However, it was still unclear whether the KIO would agree to a surrender, he added.
The KIO, founded in 1961, was one of 17 ethnic armed groups that signed a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta in 1990s.
Recently, the Burmese regime published an article in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar calling the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy in the 1990 general election “illegal,” and calling for the party to run in the 2010 elections.
http://irrawaddy.org/article2.php?art_id=13210
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Burmese trade unionist accuses military of crimes against humanity
Adnkronos International
Rome, 18 June (AKI) - Burma's political opposition wants to take the country's ruling military junta to the International Court of Justice on charges of crimes against humanity, according to a top Burmese trade unionist and opposition figure, Maung Maung.
He claims Burma's new constitution only reinforces the military's grip on power.
"The constitution approved in a farcical referendum only strengthens the military's presence on the political scene," Maung said.
He made the remark during a visit on Wednesday to the Rome headquarters of the Giuseppe Marra Communications (GMC) media group, where its Adnkronos International (AKI) news agency is located.
During his visit, Maung (photo) met GMC's president and Knight of Labour, Giuseppe Marra. Maung also signalled that the Burmese opposition intends to take the military junta to the ICJ at the Hague.
"We have enough documents to prove that the junta made many Burmese do forced labour, a practice recognised as a crime against humanity by the International Labour Organisation," Maung stated.
In Italy to attend a democracy conference on Wednesday and Thursday, Maung was also due on Friday to meet the European Union's representative on Burma, Piero Fassino.
Maung on Tuesday gave a press conference to mark the launch of a new friendship association between Italian parliamentarians and Burma.
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=1.0.2265651529
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