About Mai Aik Pan Joint secretary of the Palaung State Liberation Front

"He was arrested on October 1st,

 2001. And was sentenced to 7

 Years in Moulmen prison under

 The   unlawful association act of 1/1.Had died on July 31,202 in

Moulmenin prison."

 

Mai Aik Pan

1962_2002

17^th Political Prisoner who has died in Prison

Mai Aik Pan joined the Palaung State Liberation Party (PSLP) since 1948 he was sentenced to the Headquarters of the National Democratic Front (NDF) to serve as a representative of the Palaung State Liberation Party (PSLP) in the Karen National Union Manaplaw headquarter.

In April 1991, the Palaung State Liberation Party and the Palaung State Liberation Army, which were his mother organizations, were forced to make a cease-fire agreement with the military regime. But he believes that making the cease-fire agreement with the military regime will not bring peace to the Palaung people, so he continued to fight against the Burmese military regime in order to gain self-determination to restore the genuine peace and democracy in Burma.

For these reasons, some of the Palaung Leaders and young Palaung people including Mai Aik Pan were negotiating with the NDF delegation and they agreed to found the Palaung State Liberation Front on January 12, 1992.

Since then, he had been acting as a National Front Center Executive Committee member. Moreover, he was still a chair member of the NDF central-working group until his arrest.

Mai Aik Pan was also elected to be a joint-secretary of the PSLF in the first time of PLSF seminar in year 2000 when they were founding the new center working committee for PSLF.

He was the leader that organizing and bringing young Palaung people from inside to liberated area and helping them to found the Palaung associations in liberated area such as the Palaung Women’s Organization and the Palaung Youth Network Group. He had been building a bridge between Palaung people inside and the international community.

Mai Aik Pan was arrested by the military intelligence on Oct 1, 2001, in Myawaddy near the Thai-Burma gate while he was working as an underground movement. Then he was sentenced to seven years in Moulmein prison by the unlawful association act 17/1. Mai Aik Pan was healthy when he was arrested; however he was taking to the Moulmein hospital on July 30, 2002 and died the day after of ascetics according to the letter form the prison authority to his family.

Young Palaung people in exile truly believe that the reason Mai Aik Pan died is because there is lack of food, accommodation, and unproven medical treatment when he was ill and was treated badly when the prison authority investigated him.

It is a deeply failure for the whole Palaung people to lose Mai Aik Pan to the military regime and not event only Palaung people also the whole people in Burma that want freedom and democracy. The PSLF, Palaung people in Palaung state, his friends and colleagues are very grieving for the lost of Mai Aik Pan. Moreover, we highly appreciate and honor him for his cooperation with other revolution organization, his comrade-in-arms and his colleagues and for his being very active in working to restore democracy in Burma during his revolution duration.

We pay tribute to comrade Mai Aik Pan

We will always respect and honor comrade Mai Aik Pan.

                                                                                   

Young Palaung People in exile.

Date- Aug 31, 2002.