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Joint Statement of the Mon Women’s Organizations on the Mon Women’s Day
 
12th Waxing Day of the 12th Month, 1371 Mon Lunar Year

February 24, 2010

Mon women’s day is celebrated every year on the 12th Waxing day of the 12th month, Mon Lunar Calendar, which is the birth date of Mon Queen Banya Thou.  Her majesty Queen Banya Thou, who is also known as Mi Joa Bu (Shin Saw Bu in Burmese), was the only ruling queen in the history of Burma. She is historically known for her bravery, intelligence, and effective governance.  Mon Women’s Day is marked on her birthday, and Mon women use this day to remember and are inspired by her courageousness.

Today in Burma, under the ruling of Burmese military regime, ethnic women are abused, raped, killed, and forced into labor against their will in their own country.  Ethnic women and girls have been harshly targeted by the Burmese military under a system intended to “mix blood”, blending and destroying the Mon and other ethnic cultures existing within Burma. Ethnic Mon women are not only manipulated into forced marriages with Burmese soldiers, but they also have to suffer from human trafficking, sex slavery, and forced prostitution.  In addition, tens of thousands of women and children have become internally displaced persons and refugees as a result of land confiscations and illegal taxation committed by the Burmese army.  The continued expansion of Burmese military forces and their systematic ethnic cleansing policies have escalated these serious human rights violations in the ethnic Mon areas.

The Burmese military regime has demonstrated again and again an absolute lack of interest for a transformation to democracy and has only pursued finding means to continue to stay in power. The regime sponsored the 2008 constitution which was written to ensure the continued military dominance in Burma and announced they will hold a general election in this year, 2010. The regime continues to brutally crack down on peaceful political activities, indicating the election will be fraudulent. Clear evidences of the regime’s oppression against ethnic activists can be seen in the Amnesty International’s recent report (The Repression of Ethnic Minority Activists in Myanmar).  The report stated that “The authorities have monitored, harassed, discriminated against, detained, and imprisoned ethnic minority activists, in some cases torturing or killing them”.

Under the rule of Burmese military regime, ethnic women are not assured of even their basic rights.  Moreover, the regime continues the use of violence against ethnic women and girls as a weapon of war against ethnic nationalities; thus the raping, torturing and murdering of ethnic women and girls will continue as long as the regime rules in Burma.

Therefore, we urge all Mon women to:

· Join hands with the other ethnic nationalities and stand up for human rights and fundamental freedom for the ethnic nationalities in Burma, and

We call upon the Burmese military regime to:

· Withdraw all its troops from the Mon territory and immediately end all measures of ethnic cleansing in all ethnic nationality areas.

 

· Fully comply with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

 

· Review and revise the 2008 constitution so that it ensures the political involvement of the ethnic nationalities.

 

 

This statement is joined by:

1. Mon Women’s Association of America

2. Mon Women Organization (Canada)

3. Mon Women Organization (Thai-Burma Border)

4. Mon Youth Progressive Organization

5. Overseas Mon Women’s Organization (Mae Sot, Thailand)

6. Woman And Child Rights Project (Southern Burma)

 

Media Contacts:

Mi Aie Sorn (Thailand), Tel: + 66 83 761 8086   

Mi Bob Htaw (Canada), Tel: +1 403 313 5157

Mi Yin Chan (U.S.A), Tel: +1 260 255 1462