STATEMENT ON THE 239TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALLING DAY OF THE MON KINGDOM HONGSAWATOI

May 9, 1996

May 9, 1996 is an unforgettable day for the Mon people as it is the 239th anniversary of the falling day of Mon kingdom Hongsawatoi. In the year 573, two Mon brothers, Prince Samala and Prince Wimala, founded the Mon kingdom Hongsawatoi at the present site of modern Pegu (now Pago in lower Burma). The Mon flourished in peace and prosperity for several centuries until it was occupied by the Burman dynasty. In 1757, the Burman ruler U Aungzeya invaded and devastated the Mon Kingdom, killing tens of thousands of Mons, including learned Mon priests, pregnant women, and children. Over 3,000 priests were massacred by the victorious Burmans in the capital city alone, as well as countless thousands of priests throughout the countryside. The rest of the scholarly Mon priests fled to Thailand, thus paving the way for Burman priests to take over the vacated monasteries. Most of the Mon literature, written on palm leaves, was destroyed by the conquering Burmans. Use of the Mon language was forbidden and Burman became the medium of instruction. Following that, the Mons were persecuted, oppressed and enslaved, and countless people were burnt in ruthless holocausts, similar to the destruction of Jews by the Nazis. Mon properties and possessions were looted and burnt. These large scale killings were widespread throughout the entire kingdom. Many Mons fled to the Tenasserim Division in the South an hordes of them migrated into Thailand. These conditions set the tone for Burman-Mon relations for over 200 years.

On this tragic day, the Mon people living in Burma and around the world express their grief and regretfully mourn for their slaughtered ancestors. On the 239th anniversary of the falling day of our kingdom, we, members of the Monland Restoration Council, on behalf of the silenced and suppressed Mon peoples everywhere, strongly protest against the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) on front of its embassy in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. We, the Executive Committee of the Monland Restoration urgently call for: 

  1. SLORC to immediately transfer political power to the representatives elected by the people in the 1990 election. 
  2.  An end to the suppression of human rights in Burma; 
  3. A stop to the four-decade long civil war and concomitant brutal violations of human rights of the Mon and other ethnic minorities; 
  4. A stop to the project of constructing a 500-mile long gas pipeline from Monland to Thailand; 
  5.  A stop to the constriction of thousands of Mon civilians and other ethnic nationalities as slave labor for constructing the Ye-Tavoy railway in Monland ( the "death railway"); 
  6.  Autonomy for the Mon and other nationalities; 7. Foreign companies to stop investment with the illegal military junta.

 

Central Committee 
Monland Restoration Council