Myanmar responds to Mons' report
Myanmar responds to Mons' report
JAKARTA (JP): The thousands of Myanmar's ethnic Mons currently
being accommodated at refugee camps along the Thai border cannot
be classified as refugees but rather "economic migrants", Myanmar
Ambassador to Indonesia says.
Ambassador U Nyi Nyi Than said that for years, ethnic Mons
have been crossing over the Thai border to work and take
advantage of the booming economy there.
"The Thai government doesn't like it, but the Thai local
authorities allow it because they can get cheap, illegal labor,"
he told reporters on Friday to respond to an article by the AFP
news agency, carried by The Jakarta Post last Friday, about the
conditions of Mon refugees in Thailand.
Much of the reports contained incorrect information, he said.
The article suggested that Myanmar's army repelled some 6,000
ethnic Mons, causing them to flee across the border to Thailand.
The Thai authorities had cut off water supplies in a bid to
send them back over to Myanmar, according to the report.
U Nyi Nyi Than acknowledged that border crossing activities of
the ethnic Mons have created problems for both Myanmar and
Thailand because of the increasing illegal gun-running and drug-
trafficking. There is also an increasing number of cases of AIDS
as Myanmarese women were taken across the border to work in
brothels and returned home with the disease, he said.
"But they have to say they are refugees to benefit from the
assistance of a number of Western non-governmental organizations
operating in the border area," he said. "Besides, they enjoy
better facilities in Thailand."
Mon insurgents
He admitted however that a small group of Mon insurgents still
exist along the border. "The rebels attack army outposts, so the
army has to react in order to re-take these posts."
He said the AFP report was also inaccurate in suggesting that
there are four million Mons in Myanmar. A census carried out some
10 years ago found that there are only 780,000 Mons, he said.
The ambassador said his government is now opening up to the
international world and a National Convention is currently in the
process of establishing a new constitution for the nation.
"The three fundamental principles my government insists on is
non-disintegration of our nation, non-disintegration of national
unity and solidarity and perpetuity of our sovereign," he said.
He added that talks on federation, self-determination and
autonomy are not forbidden within the national convention, "but
one thing we will never allow is the breaking up of the union to
establish an independent nation."
U Nyi Nyi Than said the military, for historic and traditional
reasons, will continue to play a major role in the way the
country is governed. (pwn)