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SLORC's Oppression of Mon Culture a



Golden Jubilee Mon National Day was Prohibited and other Oppression against
Mon Literature and Culture

The Prohibition of Mon National Day

On the eve of the Golden Jubilee Mon National Day, on 21 February, the
prepared celebration in most towns of the whole Mon State were ordered to
stop by the SLORC's intelligence and local authorities. This order was
issued and instructed to concerned local authorities by No. 5 Military
Intelligence Battalion based in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State.

This forcible prevention of the Mon National Day made the whole Mon populace
angry and created more dissatisfaction with the government. The Mon
community leaders including Buddhist monks and university students have
celebrated the Mon National Day at township and village level every year and
this day has been performed as a very important day for the Mon people to
remember the day of establishment of Mon kingdom in Pegu.

As a special occasion to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Mon National Day, the
Mon people have prepared for nearly three months before this day to conduct
a smooth and proper ceremonies. The respective celebration committees were
formed in villages and towns. Each celebration committee sent
representatives and a Central Celebration Committee, Golden Jubilee Mon
National Day was formed in Moulmein and attempted to celebrate a biggest
celebration in Moulmein and invited all community leaders in the whole Mon
State to amend this ceremony.

The central celebration committee also asked the SLORC to allow the ceremony
in "Maing Dar" ground, a biggest ground in Moulmein where the Mon National
Day was celebrated every year in the past. But the authorities rejected the
request on the eve of the cerebration. They were informed by the
intelligence officers that the celebration was barred definitely and it was
unnecessary to celebrate Mon National Day because the SLORC has always
celebrated the Mon State Day, on March 19, every year for the Mon people.
They also added if the Mon people would like to celebrate this day, they
must hold in monasteries or other religious buildings and did not allow in
public grounds.

After the formation of celebration committees, the members had tried hard in
preparing in every sector such as collecting funds, distributing pamphlets,
requesting and preparing the suitable grounds, and etc.   When all preparing
processes were nearly completed, the celebration was officially prohibited.
Thus, on 18 February, the central celebration committee decided not to
celebrate the Mon National Day except in a public ground. The committee also
declared that the Golden Jubilee was invisible to celebrate inside a
monastery or religious building and stopped celebration.

An excerpt of the declaration was:

Like other ethnic nationalities in Burma, we, people, warmly accept the 1st
Waning Tapotwe day is an historic and important day for its celebration of
the Mon National Day. Additionally, we have been waiting for the coming of
the Golden Jubilee Mon National Day for several years (in this century).
Meanwhile, we, the central celebration committee, have attempted and
prepared to celebrate a most brilliant ceremony of the Golden Jubilee Mon
National Day in this year. 

However, we, Mon people, are unlucky, because after several rounds of
discussion with government authorities, the celebration is absolutely
prohibited to celebrate in Maing Dar ground.

If we celebrate this day in other places instructed by the authorities, the
ceremony must be faint and invisible like the golden jubilee. (... )
Therefore, due to the 18 February meeting of the central celebrating
committee, we decided to not celebrate this day.

The central celebrating committee adopted three objectives to celebrate the
Golden Jubilee Mon National Day as below:

(1) To remember the native and historical background of the Mon people.

(2) To achieve the strong unity among the Mon people.

(3) To achieve the national reconciliation among all ethnic races in the
Union of Burma.

These objectives are faint and we express sorrowfulness to all Mon people
for the impossible situation to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Mon National Day.

Like Mon National Day in Moulmein, the authorities also prohibited the
celebration in other towns such as Mudon, Thanbyuzayat, Ye and Paung.

This behaviour is an action of the military regime in preventing democratic
and ethnic rights in Burma. Since the military came into power, like other
ethnic nationalities and democratic opposition, the Mon people have been
deprived of rights to enjoy freedom of expression and assembly.

Other Oppression against the Mon Literature and Culture

Besides the forced prohibition of the Golden Jubilee Mon National Day, the
activities for the promotion of Mon literature and culture were also
constantly disturbed by the government. At the same time, the SLORC has also
attempted to stop the Mon Education System adopted by the NMSP and the local
community.
In every dry season from the beginning of March to the end of April, the
Mon community leaders including Buddhist monks and university students
arranged for the dry season literacy training to teach the Mon language to
children and adults. This kind of training have been managed by the
community for more than ten years in village and town levels. This training
was initiated in local villages and later separated to the towns. The
government authorities have felt very unhappy for this training arranged by
the Mon community leaders and have always make troubles when they have chance.

Even though the authorities have tried to disturb, the promotion of the Mon
literature was unstopped and more and more training courses were conducted
in more several Mon villages. First of all, the authorities did not allow to
use the government schools, which were built and paid by the villagers, to
use as training centers. Only some villages, where the village leaders were
willing to participate and encourage for the training, had chance to use the
schools. If the authorities allowed to use the schools, the community could
organize more students and the training was more well-known.

Sometimes, the authorities also came to the village and met concerned
community learns and warned officially to stop the arrangement of the
teaching of Mon language. Though many community leaders were warned to stop
but they continued their activities and when one leader was arrested, the
others continued. Later on, the authorities could not stop the training.

Since 1996, the authorities changed the tactics in suppressing the literacy
training. While the community leaders were running the training, the
authorities also came in and conducted another training such as the Buddhist
Cultural Training, in the town and villager levels to divide the students
and attempt to weaken the Mon literacy training.

In an interview with a Buddhist monk from Kamawet village, Mudon township,
he explained:

In this dry season literacy training, there are more students than the last
year. Their parents agree to bring their children to the monasteries. Here,
in the training, the monks teach them how to read and write Mon language and
in the evening, college students also teach the children about the
traditional Mon dancing. They are happy to come to the training.

We started teaching of Mon language for about 8 years already. Before that
we just taught the boys, novices, monks who stayed with us and later more
children came and the training was begun, while the government school was
closed. Last three years ago, we had chance to use the government primary
schools for dry season training.

These schools were built by the villagers but the government came and put
their signboards. When the student builders grew up in the training, they
stopped us not to use the schools as training center. Then we moved into
monasteries' compound and arranged for the training. But in the monasteries,
we had no desks, chairs and other materials like for a smooth training and
prepared for the best as we can. Anyhow, we could provide the students who
have strong desire to study the Mon language.

In this dry season, after we started the training for one week, the
authorities from Mudon also came and opened a Buddhist Cultural Training,
which is taught in Burmese. They forced the village leaders and security
forces to conduct this training and thus village leaders and members of
security forces send their children to that training. They also encourage
their closes/friends to send their children to that training. This is the
way they challenge our training. But very few number left from our training.

By using several kinds of tactics the SLORC has always tried to stop the
promotion of the Mon literature and culture in its controlled area. This Mon
literacy training is remained as an important activity for the survival of
the century-long Mon literature and the identity of the Mon people.
According to their Burmanization policy, the successive government have
attempted to assimilate the Mon people to became Burman and forced the Mon
children to learn Burmese only in their schools.

Moreover, the suppression against the Mon Education System is continuous in
rural area. In the rural Mon villages, where there are no government school,
have created the Mon National Schools and run the Mon Education System. In
the schools, all subjects are taught by Mon language except Burmese and
English. This education system was invented by NMSP for two decades and the
community leaders in the area maintained the system. Since NMSP-SLORC
ceasefire in 1995, the SLORC has constantly attempted to stop this education
system.

In 1996, the SLORC troops also forced many Mon teachers to leave from these
schools and forced the villagers to build the new schools to put the
government education system. In 1997, the Mon villagers were still under the
pressure to abandon the Mon teaching system and accept the government system.

For instance,

In Thaung Pyin village of Ye township, although the villagers have accepted
the Mon education system for over 10 years, but the authorities came and
pressured the village headman to build a government school. They forced the
village headman to collect cash from the villagers in March and April, to
build a new government school which costs about 2 million Kyat.

In Kya-lnn-Seikyi township area, many Mon teachers mere threatened to leave
the Mon schools and if not, they must be arrested. Many teachers left the
schools and sought other jobs. It was similarly in Yebyu township. In some
villages in both townships, after the Mon teachers left from the schools,
there were still no government school. The village children lost the chance
to continue their education.

Under this circumstance, the Mon people have tried hard for the survival of
the Mon literature, culture and identity. The successive governments have
continuously restricted all activities and the related killings, arrests,
detentions, torturings and other maltreatments were always committed by the
government officials and soldiers.


							Apology

Our computer in the office has been in trouble for some months and that is
why we can send these reports to our campaign groups for democracy, Burma
interested groups and individuals, very late.

However, all events mentioned in the reports are equally true of current Burma.

Therefore we hope the following information will be useful in helping the
international community to halt SLORCs human rights abuses and to promote
internationally recognized human rights in Burma.

Thank you.

The Human Rights Foundation of Monland
PO Box 11
Ratchburana, Bkk 10140
Thailand

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vital work on behalf of the oppressed in Monland.  

Should you wish to contribute to this worthy cause, please contact:

Burmese Relief Center?Japan at brelief@xxxxxxx

With metta,

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