TEACHING MON BANNED BY JUNTA ( Kao-Wao ) January 26, 2003

TEACHING MON BANNED BY JUNTA

(By Taramon, January 26, 2003)

The Burmese authorities have enforced the ban on the teaching of Mon language in schools according to a Mon community source from southern Burma.

The banning of Mon literacy followed the order given by Mawlamyine based Southeast Military Command, issued in November 2002. The statement said, "Teaching of the Mon language at government schools must be immediately stopped". Following the order, many schools in Mawlamyine and Kyaik Ma-Yaw townships have stopped teaching the ethnic language to the Mon children in the New Year.

According to a source from the office of the New Mon State Party, the SPDC authorities and the NMSP are discussing this issue but no result has been reached at the moment.

Ms. Mi SarDar, the Chief of the Mon National Education Office said that the Mon Education system was well established and running three High Schools in the strong hold areas with over 900 teachers. The teachers were appointed on a voluntary basis and the Committee only provided basic stipends to over one hundred schools in Mon State, Karen State and Tenasserim Division.

“This is not the first time teachers are ordered to stop teaching Mon in the government schools, in the brown area where both of the SPDC and NMSP have control, educators have always encountered problems in competing administrations,” said Nai Nyan Mon, a Mon teacher from Ye township.

“Management issues within the cease-fire agreement reached in 1995 between the two sides have not dealt with this problem until now. The Military Intelligence (MI), the most powerful branch of the SPDC, normally threatens teachers and volunteers for teaching Mon whenever they want to give pressure to the Mon political parties”, he added.

The rights to teach Mon language have been violated by the regime and very often Mon teachers have been arrested, tortured, forced to resign, and physically or sexually harassed by the authorities, accused of being involved in politics or supporting the anti-government groups.