Overseas Mon National Students Organization (OMNSO),Network: News

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:55:37 -0500

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Dialogue

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:57:36 -0600

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:48:06 -0600

Mon and other Nationalities Protest in Minnesota to Support Saffaron Revolution in Burma

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:41:58 -0600

Mons and other Nationalities Protests in Minnesota

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:19:30 -0500

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Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:17:09 -0500

ေဃာစမ္မံင္မုက္လိက္ေရာင္။

United Nations adopts Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:21:44 -0500

United Nations adopts Declarati on on Rights of Indigenous Peoples 13 September 2007 -- The General Assembly today adopted a landmark declaration outlining the rights of the world's estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlawing discrimination against them -- a move that followed more than two decades of debate. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been approved after 143 Member States voted in favour, 11 abstained and four -- Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States -- voted against the text. A non-binding text, the Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues. The Declaration emphasizes the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations. It also prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them, and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development. General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour have all welcomed today's adoption. Sheikha Haya said "the importance of this document for indigenous peoples and, more broadly, for the human rights agenda, cannot be underestimated. By adopting the Declaration, we are also taking another major step forward towards the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all." But she warned that "even with this progress, indigenous peoples still face marginalization, extreme poverty and other human rights violations. They are often dragged into conflicts and land disputes that threaten their way of life and very survival; and, suffer from a lack of access to health care and education." In a statement released by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban described the Declaration's adoption as "a historic moment when UN Member States and indigenous peoples have reconciled with their painful histories and are resolved to move forward together on the path of human rights, justice and development for all." He called on governments and civil society to ensure that the Declaration's vision becomes a reality by working to integrate indigenous rights into their policies and programmes. Ms. Arbour noted that the Declaration has been "a long time coming. But the hard work and perseverance of indigenous peoples and their friends and supporters in the international community has finally borne fruit in the most comprehensive statement to date of indigenous peoples' rights." The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues estimates there are more than 370 million indigenous people in some 70 countries worldwide. Members of the Forum said earlier this year that the Declaration creates no new rights and does not place indigenous peoples in a special category. Ambassador John McNee of Canada said his country was disappointed to have to vote against the Declaration, but it had "significant concerns" about the language in the document. The provisions on lands, territories and resources "are overly broad, unclear and capable of a wide variety of interpretations" and could put into question matters that have been settled by treaty, he said. Mr. McNee said the provisions on the need for States to obtain free, prior and informed consent before it can act on matters affecting indigenous peoples were unduly restrictive, and he also expressed concern that the Declaration negotiation process over the past year had not been "open, inclusive or transparent."

Might of Shwe Dagon Pagoda

Sat, 05 May 2007 15:02:15 -0500

Might of Shwe Dagon Pagoda By Nai Sunthorn As the Mon people mark this year (on May 8, 2007) the 250th anniversary of the fall Hongsawatoi Mon kingdom, the ruling Burmese military regime, SPDC, quietly held the 250th anniversary of founding Yangon in May 2005, before they silently moved the capital to Pyinmanar Kyat-Pyay last year. Yangon had never been the capital of Mon or Burma before British annexation of Burma. The great Burmese King Alaungpaya or U Aung Zay Ya entered that sacred town in May 1755. When he occupied Dagon, Alaungpaya had worshiped at Shwe Dagon Pagoda and embellished it by re-gilding, changing the name of captive town Dagon to Yangon (End of Enmity), thus indicating his supremacy over the Mon. However Yangon was by no means free from civil disturbances. The Mon people did not at any time entirely resign themselves to their vanquished state. Only in the period of British annexation Yangon became a real End of Enmity. Despite of the new name that means "End of Enmity" Yangon became a killing field again after the British left it. Gen Aung San and his cabinet-council members were assassinated in July 1947 in the offing of Burma independence. And then followed by countless conflicts surrounded Yangon governments by rebel groups of ethnic nationalities as well as Burmese dissidents groups until the present day. The successive Burmese governments had tried a lot to get rid of bad luck by building holy stupas and offerings. U Nu Government built Kaba-Aye cave and held Sanghayana, Ne Win Government built Maha Wijaya Pagoda, SPDC's Abayalaba Pagoda and so on. Dagon has a sacred Pagoda where enshrined holy relics of four respective Buddhas namely, Kakkuson, Konagon, Kassapa and Gotama. Each one of Hongsawatoi Mon kings had erected the pagoda particularly during the reign of Banya Htau (Shin Saw Bu) and Dhammachedi done a great deal of renovation of the Pagoda and its grounds. Ralph Fitch, the Englishman who came to Kingdom of Pegu in sixteenth century wrote an account of the country and Shwe Dagon Pagoda says, "About two days from Pegu, there is a Varelle or Pagoda which is the pilgrimage of the Pegues, it is called Dogoune, and is of a wonderful bigness, and all gilded from the foot to the top. And there is a house by it wherein the Tallipoies which are their Priests do Preach ……There are houses very fair round about for the pilgrims to lie in; and many goodly Houses for Tallipoies to Preach in, which are full of images both of men and women which are all gilded over with gold. It is the fairest place, as I suppose, that is in the world; it stands very high, and there are four ways to it, which all along are set with trees of fruits, in such wise that a man may go in the shade above two miles in length. And when their Feast day is, a man can hardly passe by water or by land for the great presse of people; for they come from all places of the Kingdom of Pegu thither at their Feast".

In Burma, a Cry for U.N. Help

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 02:27:30 -0500

In Burma, a Cry for U.N. Help By U Pu Chin Sian Thang and U Thein Pe Thursday, October 26, 2006; Page A25 (This article is published in Washington Post) Last month the U.N. Security Council formally discussed the situation in Burma for the first time. For Burmese people such as us, who live under the country's oppressive regime, this was a welcome development. The Security Council discussion is incredibly important. Over the past 10 years we have watched with dismay as our country's military ruler has repeatedly hoodwinked stream of U.N. envoys and ignored the world body's actions. Twenty-eight resolutions from the U.N.'s General Assembly and its former Commission on Human Rights, four consecutive human rights special rapporteurs and two successive special envoys representing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan have failed to produce political change, dialogue or national reconciliation in Burma. Ethnic Karen boys displaced by Burmese military action in the refugee village of Ei Htu Hta in May. (By David Longstreath -- Associated Press) Meanwhile, much of the world has failed to understand the gravity of the crisis in our country. It is shocking that the Security Council has taken so long to get involved. No fewer than 3,000 villages have been destroyed or dislocated by the military regime in eastern Burma in the past decade. During the regime's systematic attacks on ethnic populations, women have been raped, children conscripted as child soldiers and rice supplies burned. Recently the regime instituted a practice of using soldiers' bayonets to pierce the bottoms of rice bowls, leaving villagers unable to cook their most basic foodstuff. Fleeing the cruelty of this regime, leaving smoldering villages behind, our fellow citizens run for their lives, often to inhospitable territories where the junta awaits. The cycle of terror seems without end. Because of the regime's practices, mortality rates in eastern Burma have risen to the levels of the worst conflict zones in Africa. Children are chronically malnourished, infant mortality rates are soaring, and the most common ailments have become death sentences for thousands. We know the Security Council has responded to other cases in which there are horrendous problems with refugees and internally displaced populations, in which rape is widespread and conscripting child soldiers is the norm. Burma, with 70,000 child soldiers, waits for a similar response and resolve from the Security Council. We simply cannot understand why the council has not taken the same sort of action in Burma as it has elsewhere. Now that it has taken up the issue of Burma, it must go further and pass a resolution. Clearly, efforts outside the Security Council have not worked. After Ibrahim Gambari, a U.N. undersecretary of political affairs and envoy to Burma, visited the country in May, the military regime doubled the sentence imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and increased its attacks on ethnic minorities. The heightened military offensive against these communities has resulted in thousands more refugees streaming across the borders into neighboring countries. The regime has not stopped its brutal campaign of terror, in part because the secretary general is unable to act without the mandate of a Security Council resolution. Only a council resolution will provide the United Nations with what it needs to confront this situation. Just last month the Burmese military arrested five of the most prominent members of our movement, including Burma's second most-famous political leader, Min Ko Naing. By writing this opinion piece, we, too, are risking our lives. Our freedom is worth the risk. We hope that attention at the Security Council will do more to shed light on the important cultural and political context of our struggle and the threat destabilizing the region. The U.N. diplomatic corps must understand that, unlike other countries, in which factors such as religion or historical rivalries weaken public support for democracy, Burma is a nation in which the people have clearly and repeatedly articulated what they want: a democratic society. That is why the National League for Democracy and allied parties won 82 percent of the seats in parliament in our last elections, and why tens of thousands of people risk their lives to participate in our movement. Put simply, there is overwhelming evidence that the people of Burma want an end to the dictatorship that has been forced upon them. Without this understanding and without a Security Council resolution, the United Nations is likely to fail in Burma yet again. The writers are members of Burma's parliament, which was chosen in the country's last democratic elections but has never been permitted to meet.

A tribute to "Phra Raj Udom Mongkhon Phaholnarathorn", Ajar Tala Uttama

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:10:55 -0500

A tribute to "Phra Raj Udom Mongkhon Phaholnarathorn", Ajar Tala Uttama The Mon people would like to offer deep condolences on Ajar Tala's leaving for Devaloka. After two years of medical treatment at Sirirat Hospital with the Royal Patronage, 96 year old Ajar Tala Uttama passed away at 07.22 am. 18 October 2006 in the midst of praying by the Mon people of Sangkhlaburi since he was hospitalized. Ajar Tala's remains has been brought back to the monastery in Sangkhlaburi immediately in accordance with his request before he was hospitalized. He usually used herbs, such as turmeric, sesame oil in healing diseases while he was observing the Dhutanga Practices in the forest. Throughout his life, Ajar Tala had helped a lot of people who faced difficulties in the border area, providing shelters for the monks as well as lay people who fled civil war from Mon State, Burma. Aja Tala came to Thailand in 1949 together with a group of lay people from his native village "Mawkanieng". Ajar Tala's group was not the first Mon group that fled into Thailand. The first group of Mon people was from villages in Kya-In Seikyi Township numbered about 60 families arrived in Weangka in 1948. After arriving in Thailand, firstly Ajar Tala spent a few years at Thai Mon monasteries in central Thailand to study Thai language. Then he came back to the migrant Mon community waiting for him in Weangka and started to build the monastery as well as the Mon village "Weangka". There was no Thai people in Weangka at that time, except a few local Karen families. When the Thai authorities began to construct "Khao-lam Dam" in 1984, Weangka Village had to be moved to the place of present Sangkhlaburi. The Electrict Authority of Thailand provided compensation only to the people with Thai citizenship, therefore Ajar Tala applied for his monastery compound big enough for migrant Mon people without Thai citizen to rely on it. Today Mon community of Weangka or Ajar Tala Uttama's Village is in equal standard with Thai communities in general and moreover sincere thank to the Royal Thai Government to grant Thai citizenship to the Mon people of Sangkhlaburi. Ajar Tala used to tell us about his days in Monland and the reasons that made him to flee to Thailand. He said "After the day of Burma's independence from British in 1948, the civil war between Burmese government and Mon armed troops started immediately. The well equipped Burmese navy forces, with a big vessel named "Mei-Yu", which was presented by the British government and installed with cannons as big as palm tree approached to "Panga Village" and shelled from the Andaman Sea to the villages where the Mon armed troops stationed. Previously a senior Mon monk (Kyaik-janok Krok), the abbot of "Kodood Village" suggested the Mon armed troops to stay away from the villages in order to avoid the damage to the village, but the Mon armed troops ignored the noble suggestion of the monk. After the Burmese forces burning down the village to ash, the Mon armed troops fled into another Mon village as their another station. Then the Burmese forces followed to fire down that village again, so that many of Mon villages were destroyed. The only remaining village in that area "Kodood" was also set fire by their own Mon armed troops. As a result, the innocent villagers became homeless and suffered extremely hardship and oppression. Moreover, the senior Mon monk (Kyaik-Janok Krok) who made suggestion to the Mon armed troops was also assassinated. Soon after that, Ajar Tala Uttama accompanied his lay people and fled into Thailand." In 1997 Ajar Tala Uttama visited his motherland and paid homage and offering to pagodas and temples, particularly offered a number of gold plates to Shwe Dagon Pagoda. That was the only trip to Burma during his 57 years in Thailand. Ajar Tala often told us about consequence of Karma which some times happened instantly, not only in life to come. Therefore wise people do not grow the spirit of greed, the spirit of anger and ignorance. Reprove your own heart, subject it, keep it in check and strengthen it. Restrain the spirit of greed. Do not take by force what is not given from the heart and by word of mouth or take by trickery. Do not take by force the possessions of the poor. Do not increase sinful acts. Do not indulge in haughty pride. Do not develop an angry disposition. Put down the spirit of pride and humble yourself. Although Ajar Tala had done a great deal of merits such as instructing the people to the right principles as well as observing himself strictly in accordance with the Buddhist discipline, devotion, meditation and donation for social welfare such as buildings for schools, hospitals, monasteries, pagodas, publication of religious books and so on, he could not manage to free himself from the power of the death. However, we faithfully believed his great meritorious deeds will bring happiness and prosperity to him in the life to come. (More photo of Feneral) Respectfully, Sunthorn Sripanngern