Mon leaders were not pleased with the talk of Burmese President Thein Sein at the recent ASEAN Summit, particularly when he told journalists that it is difficult for the government to speak with ethnic leaders all together for peace talks while they have different needs. 

Mon people celebrate the 64th anniversary of Mon National Day in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State. (Photo: Akar)

“You see, after they [the Burmese government] got the seat of Chairman from ASEAN, they spoke very insensitively about ethnic issues. We do not like it. Therefore, we do not trust them very much,” said Dr. Min Soe Lin, Secretary of the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF).

The Mon leaders said that the Burmese government still has no change in its attitude towards the ethnic people, even though the country has seemingly made changes towards democracy.

The leaders said that the government continues to act like a military regime by launching military operations in Kachin areas and attempting to divide ethnic groups for peace talks. The leaders believe that the strategy of the government is to try and destroy the unity of the ethnic armed groups.

“From our analysis, we have found that they have not changed their attitude towards the ethnic people. They still act like the military regime because we do not see anything yet that they have done to promote our ethnic rights,” said Nai Hong Sar, Secretary of the New Mon State Party.

He said that the flow of democracy changed in the country because the government wants ASEAN countries and the international community to give respect to them, and the Burmese government wants the international community to lift the sanctions imposed on the country.

The Mon leaders believe that the government has opened a small space of democracy in the country in order to attract Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The leaders said that the Burmese regime will get respect and legitimacy from the international community after Aung San Suu Kyi participates in the election and becomes a leader in the government.

“We have lost one comrade now, who previously supported us for tripartite dialogue. She is on their [the government’s] side now. But we hope that our ethnic people will have some benefits if she has a role to play in parliament,” said Nai Hong Sar.

Meanwhile, the Mon leaders believe that ethnic issues have become the second important issue, while the push to release political prisoners is the first issue that the Burmese government needs to solve sincerely if the it wants to go towards true democracy in the country.

“They need to solve the ethnic issues because the world leaders today are aware of the ethnic issues as of primary importance in Burma,” said Nai Sunthorn, Chairman of Mon Unity League based in Thailand.

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