The New Mon State Party (NMSP) will hold its party’s congress on December 21 to elect new leadership and to analyze the current political situation. Significant policy changes in order to strengthen the party’s political standing will also be discussed, according to party leaders.

The meeting of members of congress is held one time every three years according to the party’s system. Leaders expect this year’s congress meeting will take about two weeks.

Mon Buddhist monks attend a meeting in Nyisar near the headquarter of NMSP in 2005 (Photo: MYPO)

“This congress is important for our party’s members. Every member of our party has the right to be elected as leaders of the party and to have the right to vote for who they like,” said Nai Hong Sar Born-khuing, a spokesperson of the NMSP.

The party’s congress will hold in Bee Ree River, Ye Township, Mon State, at the headquarters of NMSP. About 100 representative party members are expected to join the congress.

“Our system is five people are represented by one person who is going to attend the congress. Those who are temporary or partial members of the party can not attend or present at congress,” said the spokesperson.

The NMSP uses the democratic decentralization system within the party, which was established in 1958.

During the congress, members of the party will analyze what they have done in the past three years, and they are also going to analyze the rule of law in party. The party usually uses a voting system to elect the new leadership during the final days of the congress. This will result in a shuffling of leadership after the congress.

The members of the party will present their different ideas and opinions about the current political situation, including how best to fight for the rights of ethnic Mon, and they will decide from the ideas presented what the party will do in the future.

“We set up our party with a system of democracy decentralization. According to the system, we hold the congress every three years,” said Nai Hong Sar, the Secretary of NMSP.

“If we did not hold it, those who have power, they would stay in power forever. Those who do wrong things would be able to keep on doing them,” he said.

Regarding the future political stance of the NMSP, Nai Hong Sar said that if the Burmese government does not agreed to form a federal union in Burma, the NMSP will continue its armed struggle movement.

“If we do not have our armed struggle, the other people will swallow the rights of our ethnic people. Therefore, we need to maintain our armed struggle. If we do not get our rights, our next generation will carry out this armed struggle again,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Chief minister of Mon State, Ohn Myint, in November proposed peace negotiations with the NMSP, but NMSP leaders said that they have doubts about the peace proposal and the leadership said that it will “wait and see” before committing itself, and that it will make a decision after the party congress.

The NMSP sent three representatives to the peace table to meet a delegation from the Mon State government in Ye Township on October 6, but no agreements emerged from the meeting.

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