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Mon Information Service 28.5.-95





MON INFORMATION SERVICE
MAY 28 1995


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1. STATEMENT OF THE MRC, OMYMU AND OMNSO.

2. MON MONKS DESROBED.



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1. STATEMENT OF MRC, OMYMU AND OMNSO.		


			STATEMENT OF THE MRC, 				
			   OMYMU AND OMNSO


Statement by the Monland Restoration Council, together with the Overseas 
Mon Young Monks Union and the Mon National Students Organization in 
Thailand, on the 238th anniversary of the fall of the Mon Kingdom Hongsa-
vatoi.

May 21, 1995 is an unforgettable day for the Mon people as it is the 
238th anniversary of the fall of the Mon kingdom Hongsavatoi. In the year 
573, two Mon brothers, Prince Samala and Prince Wimala, founded the Mon 
kingdom Hongsavatoi at the present site of modern Pegu ( now Pago in lower 
Burma ).  The Mon kingdom flourished in peace and prosperity for several 
centuries until it was occupied by the Burman dynasty.   

In 1757, the Burman ruler U Aungzeya invaded and devastated the Mon 
kingdom, killing tens of thousands of Mon, including learned Mon priests, 
pregnant women, and children. Over 3,000 priests were massacred by the 
victorious Burmans in the capital city alone, as well as countless 
thousands of priests throughout the countryside.  The rest of the 
scholarly Mon priests fled to Thailand, thus paving the way for Burman 
priests to take over the vacated monasteries.  

Most the Mon literature, written on palm leaves, was destroyed by the 
conquering Burmans. Use of the Mon language was forbidden and Burman 
became the medium of instruction.  Following that, the Mon were persecuted,
oppressed and enslaved, and counsels people were burn in ruthless holo-
causts, similar to the destruction of the Jews by the Nazis.  Mon 
properties and possessions were looted and burnt.  

These large-scale killings were widespread throughout the entire kingdom.  
Many Mons fled to Tenasserim Division in the south and hordes of them 
migrated into Thailand. 

These conditions set the tone for Burman-Mon relations for over 200 years.

In 1992, Thai and Burmese authorities reached an initial agreement to 
build a pipeline to send natural gas from an offshore field in the Mon 
State of Burma, in the Gulf of Martaban, into Thailand. 

Pro-democracy activists contend that the military regime in Burma had no 
mandate from the people to exploit or to sell the country's natural 
resources, and the Monland Restoration Council, together with the Overseas 
Mon Young Monks Union and the Mon National Students Organization in Thai- 
land, strongly protest the building of this pipeline, since the natural 
gas fields are off the coast of Monland. The Mon people do not want this 
natural resource of Monland sold off. Additionally, the pipeline has 
already forced the relocation of many villages in its path and some people 
fear that it will damage the ecology of a rain forest in its route. 

There have been reports that more than 100,000 people have been used as 
forced labour on related projects.  All of these matters are the cause of 
grave concern for the   Monland Restoration Council, Overseas Mon Young 
Monks Union,  Overseas Mon National Students Organization and other Mon 
groups.

On this tragic day, the Mon people living in Burma and around the world 
express their great grief and regretfully mourn for their slaughtered 
ancestors.  On the 238th anniversary of the fall of our kingdom, we, 
members of the Overseas Mon Young Monks Union, and of all organizations, 
on behalf of the silenced and suppressed Mon peoples everywher, strongly 
protest against the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).

We, the Executive Committee of the Monland Restoration Council, together 
with the Overseas Mon Young Monks Union and the Mon National Students 
Organization in Thailand, urgently call for:

1.	 An end to the suppression of Human Rights in Burma;

2.	A stop to the four-decade long civil war and concomitant 
        brutal violations of human rights of the Mon and other ethnic 
        minorities;

3.	A stop to the project of constructing a 500 mile long gas 
        pipeline from Monland;

4.	A stop to the conscription of thousands of Mon civilians and 
        other ethnic nationalities as slave labour for constructing 
        the Ye-Tavoy railway in Monland (the "death railway");

5.	Autonomy for the Mon and other ethnic nationalities;

6.	And finally, we call for foreign companies to stop investment 
        with the illegal military junta;


 
Bangkok May 22 1995



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2. MON MONKS DESROBED.



Three monks and four novices disrobed 

	A bout ten of the Thai police raided at Wat Jei Dee Hoi, the 
Thai-Mon temple at Pathum Thani in Thailand on May 26,1995.  Three Mon 
monks and four Mon novices who were ordained in Burma, did not possess 
the Thai monk identity cards were forcibly disrobed by the Thai police 
and made to put on lay clothing.

Overseas Mon Young Monks Union (Bangkok)


Date May 28, 1995 



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