The Mon will establish a new parliament in the future after having a long debate at the 6th Mon National Conference. While some people think parliament is too much to imagine, others believe that there should be a parliament in order to prepare for the future of Mon State.

The 6th Mon National Conference held in Thai-Burmese border from Jan 18 to 20. (Photo: Azan)

Nai Htaw Mon, the chairman of New Mon State Party (NMSP) said that he did not agree to have a parliament while there was a need to do more to take consensuses from the Mon people in Mon State.

“We will have parliament like from an opera. Many people will laugh it,” he said.

However, Nai Kasauh Mon, the director of Human Rights Foundation of Monland said that the Mon should have a shadow parliament and he does not agree what Nai Htaw Mon said.

“There is a political change in Burma. We need to prepare for it,” he said.

Nai Khin Maung, who is the senior member of Mon National Democratic Front, and his party won five seats during 1990 election, said that there is too fanciful to establish a parliament for the Mon.

“If there is parliament, we need to have a government. Where is our government?” asked Nai Khin Maung.

The debate regarding the parliament lasted half a day at the conference while the Thai-Mon and the Mon overseas agreed there was a need to have a parliament.

The Thai-Mon proposed to let NMSP leaders lead at the government, but the NMSP leaders said that they will discuss with their members which of them are going to participate in the government of the new parliament.

The new parliament will take one year to write the constitution according to agreements stemming from the conference, an elected committee will draft the constitution and the establishment of the parliament it estimated takes 2 years.

This is the first time the community leaders of Mon considered establishing a parliament, however, they believed that the Mon should have a government even though it is not real one, but will act like a government.

The community leaders said that the current Burmese government has established their own government even though no one recognizes them. But, today they continue to run their government.

Therefore, the Mon community leaders said that they need to establish parliament in order to show the Burmese government that they are ready to run the Mon State.

The Mon held the Sixth Mon National Conference held at the Thai-Burmese border from Jan. 18 to 20, and about 100 ethnic Mons took part in the conference—not only representatives from Mon State, but also expat Mons, and some from the Thai-Mon community.

The participants discussed Mon affairs including ways to strengthen the Mon military, education, and where the Mon party lies with regard to the current wave of changes in Burma.