By PS Haokip
October 7, 2007: This is an appeal made by the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) to all Burmese communities all over the world that today is the day to be united in order that we may achieve the common objective of restoring democracy in Burma.
In the past weeks we have witnessed on television and newspapers that Senior General Than Shwe has mercilessly crackdown upon peaceful demonstrators led by the highest and sacred institution of Burma, i.e. the Buddhist monks. Thousands of monks were brutally beaten and imprisoned, and hundreds mercilessly killed.
Today, international communities are trying to pressure the military junta to desist from torturing and arresting peaceful demonstrators by imposing sanctions. The United Nations has also sent a special envoy, Mr Ibrahim Gambari, to persuade General Than Shwe on the same matter. However, it is clear that these efforts will not be sufficient to persuade General Than Shwe because, as is self-evident, he has gone to the extent of not sparring even the much revered Buddhist monks.
In other words, greed for power and wealth has made Than Shwe no longer afraid of God. When a person stops respecting religious leaders that means they have exceeded the norms and limits of a normal human being. Therefore, it would be totally vain to expect General Than Shwe to listen to the voice of the outside world, when he ignores the voice of the peaceful monks.
Today, we have received reports that many Burma army officials and soldiers are extremely unhappy with General Than Shwe for making them to shoot the monks. Newspapers have reported a Major of Burma fled with his son to Thailand, rather than obey orders to shoot the monks. We have information, too, that many army personnel would like to follow suit. Similarly, even a few generals are not happy with General Than Shwe because of his dealing with the monks, who are their religious leaders.
An important incident that shows General Than Shwe has not a streak of humanitarian value in his blood is the fact that Michael Aris, husband of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was not permitted to visit Burma to meet her even near the time of his death in 1996. Owing to the heartlessness of the military regime, Michael Aris, who was terminally ill, died without meeting his wife. As we all know, had Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gone to England to visit her ailing husband, the military regime would not have let her return to Burma ever. Such was the dedication to serve her people and country.
This being the dismal state of affairs, KNO would like to appeal to all leaders representing Burma, the revolutionary groups of Burma inclusive of those operating in administrative Divisions and States, and all ethnic groups whether big or small to inform their people who are serving in the Burma army to defect and join the Kukis on the Indian side in order to combine efforts against General Than Shwe, the tyrannical, selfish and Godless ruler and bring democracy to Burma.
Kuki area in India is a very strategic area next to Burma, where we can gather in a large numbers and make preparations to fight against General Than Shwe. However, as a word of caution, KNO would prefer that all those heading towards Kuki lands in India take extra precaution and request not to go through Kuki villages within Burma as that would entail extreme crackdown from the military junta upon innocent village people.
For the benefit of those who may not be aware of the Kuki people, I would like to introduce my people and our land:
The British took control of Zale’n-gam and divided it between India and Burma following the Kuki Rising of 1917-1919. Kuki ancestral land in Burma begins from the river Chindwin, stretching to the west bordering India, in the north, up to the river Nantalit and its surrounding regions, and to the south, the region up to the northern border of Chin State.
Following Burma’s independence from Britain in 1948, the Kukis were reconciled to being an integral part of the country. However, general neglect of the people by the Government prompted KNO’s armed cadre, Kuki National Army to carry out offensives against the Burmese army.
Some of the grievances faced by the Kuki people in Burma are as follows:
In 1967, under U Muang Maung’s “Khadawami Operation” the Government of Revolutionary Council headed by General Newin, displaced 20,000 Kukis in the Kabaw valley under the excuse that they were holding bogus “National Registration and family registration cards”.
From 1980s, there have been deliberate attempts at displacing the Kukis and populating the Kabaw valley with other ethnic Burmese tribes. The settlements of Ongchija, Tanan, Myothit, Bandulah, Saya San, Nanaungow, Mantong, Ywatha, etc, which were deliberately set up by the military government in the Kabaw valley are existing examples of discrimination against the Kukis. We do not have objection to live with them peacefully but only as long as there is an equitable approach at the government policy levels. Till now, the military government has given us a step-motherly treatment.
Since 1990, the SLORC government has been extracting forced-labor from the Kukis in the Kabaw valley. The army has dispossessed many Kuki villages of their lands. A glaring example of this is at Watsu in 1992 under the direct supervision of the General Secretary II Gen Tin O.
In the beginning of 1993, Nungkam, a Kuki village was burnt and bulldozed and in its place a new military settlement, Saya San Ywo, was set up. The ostensible reason for this was that the Kukis refused to convert to Buddhism. The village Church was burnt down. There are many other instances, which are glaring examples of SLORC’s discrimination against the Kukis in Burma (Myanmar).
The student community, Kuki Students Democratic Front, Burma, has submitted a representation highlighting human rights violation by SLORC against ethnic nationalities (1993-94) in Burma (Myanmar). Apart from mentioning forced labour and forceful occupation of village lands by the warriors they highlighted one incident at Phailen, a Kuki village in the Kabaw valley. It appears that one soldier from the 89 battalion of Burmese warriors deserted his camp based in Phailen village with a few rifles and ammunition.
Subsequently, a Burmese platoon stormed into the village, killed four people and arrested twelve others (all are consisting of Kuki religious leaders of Phailen Baptist Church). A ransom of 200,000 Kyats was demanded for their release. U Mangpu (45), Chairman of village, Law and Order Restoration Council; Rev. Yangkholet (48), the Pastor of Phailen Baptist Church; U Thangkhai (28) and U Haopu (25) were brutally tortured to death, during the first week of August 1993. U Maungpu’s house was demolished and his cows and domestic pets were used as ration for the platoon. His wife has been imprisoned in Monywa jail since then. This news was broadcast by BBC Burmese section on 11 August 2003.
All these incidents of harassment, torture and discrimination by the military government have been a matter of deep concern for us. We are surprised and shocked, mainly because we have never raised the banner of rebellion against independent Burma like the other ethnic groups, such as the Chins, the Kachins, Karens, etc. Even then we have been continuously treated as anti-nationals.
The only reason for this seems to be that we are not Buddhists but Christians in general. In this regard Myanmar has at no time declared itself as a theocratic Buddhist state. Buddhism, as we know it, is a non-violent all-encompassing religion and in this context, the actions of the military-regime are paradoxical. As per our understanding, Myanmar is supposed to be a democratic and peace-loving country where all ethnic groups may live in harmony, professing any religion of their choice.
KNO’s issues concerning the Kuki people in Burma are as follows:
1. Safeguarding the territorial integrity of Kuki lands and preservation of their identity by the government of Burma is imperative. To the Kuki people, this issue is more important than the political status of Burma, i.e. military state or democracy.
2. Kukis want to be fully integrated within the Union of Burma. To achieve this objective, KNO wants the government to accord statehood to Kuki ancestral lands.
3. The proposal for Kuki statehood includes their ancestral lands starting from the river Chindwin towards the west bordering India; in the north, up to the river Nantalit and its surrounding regions; and to the south, the region stretching to the northern border of Chin State.
4. Statehood would allay the fear that the government might plan to inhabit ethnic Burmese transplanted from other regions of Burma and settle them in Kuki lands with a view to rendering them a minority in their own territory. For example, in 2004 as well, a new Burmese village, Yan Nyang Aung was established between Lallim and Panda Kuki villages.
5. Prevent Meitei militants from Manipur in India to use Kuki lands in Burma to carry out activities against the Kuki people, as well as the Indian army across the international border. For example, in a recent Manipur People’s Army (conglomeration of Meitei militant groups) attack on the Assam Rifles out-post at a Kuki village, Chavangphai, Ward 7 Moreh, near the Indo-Burma border, four local civilians, including two women suffered severe injuries (20 July 2006, Imphal Free Press). A house at S Moljol, an adjacent village was also hit by a 60 mm bomb, injuring two people. The BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/burmese/ also reported that on the Burmese side of the border, two Kuki villages, Valpabung and Namphalong, were affected when Assam Rifles retaliated. The injured village folks were refused immediate medical attention at the hospital at Tamu, a town in Kabaw valley because the Burmese police reported the casualties were not caused by the crossfire that occurred the previous night.
The Kuki people loyally remained in these two countries for the last fifty years with the hope that their ancestral lands would be accorded due acknowledgement by way of granting statehood, one in Burma and the other in India. Given Kuki history of vehement opposition to colonialism in defence of Zale’n-gam, this is an exceedingly rational and legitimate expectation. Till date, however, Kuki expectations have not been fulfilled.
Neither has there been any positive initiative from either government (of India and Burma) to begin to address the needs of the Kukis and thereby dispel their plight. The Kuki people have the right to ownership of land with dignity and enjoy a status that befits their forbears’. However, the prevailing state of affairs belies our people’s unique history.
KNO encourages all interested parties to come together in the movement to bring democracy in Burma so that all ethnic groups may enjoy full political rights as citizens of the country.
PS Haokip is the President of the Kuki National Organisation. Opinions expressed are of the author's.
Source: http://kukiforum.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202&Itemid=92
October 7, 2007: This is an appeal made by the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) to all Burmese communities all over the world that today is the day to be united in order that we may achieve the common objective of restoring democracy in Burma.
In the past weeks we have witnessed on television and newspapers that Senior General Than Shwe has mercilessly crackdown upon peaceful demonstrators led by the highest and sacred institution of Burma, i.e. the Buddhist monks. Thousands of monks were brutally beaten and imprisoned, and hundreds mercilessly killed.
Today, international communities are trying to pressure the military junta to desist from torturing and arresting peaceful demonstrators by imposing sanctions. The United Nations has also sent a special envoy, Mr Ibrahim Gambari, to persuade General Than Shwe on the same matter. However, it is clear that these efforts will not be sufficient to persuade General Than Shwe because, as is self-evident, he has gone to the extent of not sparring even the much revered Buddhist monks.
In other words, greed for power and wealth has made Than Shwe no longer afraid of God. When a person stops respecting religious leaders that means they have exceeded the norms and limits of a normal human being. Therefore, it would be totally vain to expect General Than Shwe to listen to the voice of the outside world, when he ignores the voice of the peaceful monks.
Today, we have received reports that many Burma army officials and soldiers are extremely unhappy with General Than Shwe for making them to shoot the monks. Newspapers have reported a Major of Burma fled with his son to Thailand, rather than obey orders to shoot the monks. We have information, too, that many army personnel would like to follow suit. Similarly, even a few generals are not happy with General Than Shwe because of his dealing with the monks, who are their religious leaders.
An important incident that shows General Than Shwe has not a streak of humanitarian value in his blood is the fact that Michael Aris, husband of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was not permitted to visit Burma to meet her even near the time of his death in 1996. Owing to the heartlessness of the military regime, Michael Aris, who was terminally ill, died without meeting his wife. As we all know, had Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gone to England to visit her ailing husband, the military regime would not have let her return to Burma ever. Such was the dedication to serve her people and country.
This being the dismal state of affairs, KNO would like to appeal to all leaders representing Burma, the revolutionary groups of Burma inclusive of those operating in administrative Divisions and States, and all ethnic groups whether big or small to inform their people who are serving in the Burma army to defect and join the Kukis on the Indian side in order to combine efforts against General Than Shwe, the tyrannical, selfish and Godless ruler and bring democracy to Burma.
Kuki area in India is a very strategic area next to Burma, where we can gather in a large numbers and make preparations to fight against General Than Shwe. However, as a word of caution, KNO would prefer that all those heading towards Kuki lands in India take extra precaution and request not to go through Kuki villages within Burma as that would entail extreme crackdown from the military junta upon innocent village people.
For the benefit of those who may not be aware of the Kuki people, I would like to introduce my people and our land:
The British took control of Zale’n-gam and divided it between India and Burma following the Kuki Rising of 1917-1919. Kuki ancestral land in Burma begins from the river Chindwin, stretching to the west bordering India, in the north, up to the river Nantalit and its surrounding regions, and to the south, the region up to the northern border of Chin State.
Following Burma’s independence from Britain in 1948, the Kukis were reconciled to being an integral part of the country. However, general neglect of the people by the Government prompted KNO’s armed cadre, Kuki National Army to carry out offensives against the Burmese army.
Some of the grievances faced by the Kuki people in Burma are as follows:
In 1967, under U Muang Maung’s “Khadawami Operation” the Government of Revolutionary Council headed by General Newin, displaced 20,000 Kukis in the Kabaw valley under the excuse that they were holding bogus “National Registration and family registration cards”.
From 1980s, there have been deliberate attempts at displacing the Kukis and populating the Kabaw valley with other ethnic Burmese tribes. The settlements of Ongchija, Tanan, Myothit, Bandulah, Saya San, Nanaungow, Mantong, Ywatha, etc, which were deliberately set up by the military government in the Kabaw valley are existing examples of discrimination against the Kukis. We do not have objection to live with them peacefully but only as long as there is an equitable approach at the government policy levels. Till now, the military government has given us a step-motherly treatment.
Since 1990, the SLORC government has been extracting forced-labor from the Kukis in the Kabaw valley. The army has dispossessed many Kuki villages of their lands. A glaring example of this is at Watsu in 1992 under the direct supervision of the General Secretary II Gen Tin O.
In the beginning of 1993, Nungkam, a Kuki village was burnt and bulldozed and in its place a new military settlement, Saya San Ywo, was set up. The ostensible reason for this was that the Kukis refused to convert to Buddhism. The village Church was burnt down. There are many other instances, which are glaring examples of SLORC’s discrimination against the Kukis in Burma (Myanmar).
The student community, Kuki Students Democratic Front, Burma, has submitted a representation highlighting human rights violation by SLORC against ethnic nationalities (1993-94) in Burma (Myanmar). Apart from mentioning forced labour and forceful occupation of village lands by the warriors they highlighted one incident at Phailen, a Kuki village in the Kabaw valley. It appears that one soldier from the 89 battalion of Burmese warriors deserted his camp based in Phailen village with a few rifles and ammunition.
Subsequently, a Burmese platoon stormed into the village, killed four people and arrested twelve others (all are consisting of Kuki religious leaders of Phailen Baptist Church). A ransom of 200,000 Kyats was demanded for their release. U Mangpu (45), Chairman of village, Law and Order Restoration Council; Rev. Yangkholet (48), the Pastor of Phailen Baptist Church; U Thangkhai (28) and U Haopu (25) were brutally tortured to death, during the first week of August 1993. U Maungpu’s house was demolished and his cows and domestic pets were used as ration for the platoon. His wife has been imprisoned in Monywa jail since then. This news was broadcast by BBC Burmese section on 11 August 2003.
All these incidents of harassment, torture and discrimination by the military government have been a matter of deep concern for us. We are surprised and shocked, mainly because we have never raised the banner of rebellion against independent Burma like the other ethnic groups, such as the Chins, the Kachins, Karens, etc. Even then we have been continuously treated as anti-nationals.
The only reason for this seems to be that we are not Buddhists but Christians in general. In this regard Myanmar has at no time declared itself as a theocratic Buddhist state. Buddhism, as we know it, is a non-violent all-encompassing religion and in this context, the actions of the military-regime are paradoxical. As per our understanding, Myanmar is supposed to be a democratic and peace-loving country where all ethnic groups may live in harmony, professing any religion of their choice.
KNO’s issues concerning the Kuki people in Burma are as follows:
1. Safeguarding the territorial integrity of Kuki lands and preservation of their identity by the government of Burma is imperative. To the Kuki people, this issue is more important than the political status of Burma, i.e. military state or democracy.
2. Kukis want to be fully integrated within the Union of Burma. To achieve this objective, KNO wants the government to accord statehood to Kuki ancestral lands.
3. The proposal for Kuki statehood includes their ancestral lands starting from the river Chindwin towards the west bordering India; in the north, up to the river Nantalit and its surrounding regions; and to the south, the region stretching to the northern border of Chin State.
4. Statehood would allay the fear that the government might plan to inhabit ethnic Burmese transplanted from other regions of Burma and settle them in Kuki lands with a view to rendering them a minority in their own territory. For example, in 2004 as well, a new Burmese village, Yan Nyang Aung was established between Lallim and Panda Kuki villages.
5. Prevent Meitei militants from Manipur in India to use Kuki lands in Burma to carry out activities against the Kuki people, as well as the Indian army across the international border. For example, in a recent Manipur People’s Army (conglomeration of Meitei militant groups) attack on the Assam Rifles out-post at a Kuki village, Chavangphai, Ward 7 Moreh, near the Indo-Burma border, four local civilians, including two women suffered severe injuries (20 July 2006, Imphal Free Press). A house at S Moljol, an adjacent village was also hit by a 60 mm bomb, injuring two people. The BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/burmese/ also reported that on the Burmese side of the border, two Kuki villages, Valpabung and Namphalong, were affected when Assam Rifles retaliated. The injured village folks were refused immediate medical attention at the hospital at Tamu, a town in Kabaw valley because the Burmese police reported the casualties were not caused by the crossfire that occurred the previous night.
The Kuki people loyally remained in these two countries for the last fifty years with the hope that their ancestral lands would be accorded due acknowledgement by way of granting statehood, one in Burma and the other in India. Given Kuki history of vehement opposition to colonialism in defence of Zale’n-gam, this is an exceedingly rational and legitimate expectation. Till date, however, Kuki expectations have not been fulfilled.
Neither has there been any positive initiative from either government (of India and Burma) to begin to address the needs of the Kukis and thereby dispel their plight. The Kuki people have the right to ownership of land with dignity and enjoy a status that befits their forbears’. However, the prevailing state of affairs belies our people’s unique history.
KNO encourages all interested parties to come together in the movement to bring democracy in Burma so that all ethnic groups may enjoy full political rights as citizens of the country.
PS Haokip is the President of the Kuki National Organisation. Opinions expressed are of the author's.
Source: http://kukiforum.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202&Itemid=92
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