Independent Mon News Agency -Mon State authorities, police officers, and administrative authorities have announced in cities and towns of Mon State via loudspeakers and large signboards that 30 June is the deadline for all members of armed groups to surrender themselves to the nearest police station.
The authorities have been propagating this announcement for over a week, but have not clearly identified which groups must surrender. According to local sources, the authorities are trying to target both retired members of the New Mon State Party and the Mon National Liberation Army, as well as members of other small armed groups based in Mon State.
A political observer in Mon State said, “I heard about this announcement in Moulmein. The authorities want to know which NMSP and MNLA members are remaining here, or maybe they are trying to get all other small armed groups to surrender.”
The NMSP senior leader from Thaton District confirmed this statement. He said authorities are targeting both retired NMSP members and other armed groups to encourage them to officially inform officials that they ‘are surrendering’. He added, if not, they can punish those who holds arms or those who have not informed them legally.
He denies that the NMSP and MNLA have any connection to those who retired from the party after April 28, 2010. NMSP will not take any responsibility for the new government’s actions against them.
NMSP withdrew their liaison offices, development offices, and business offices in the cities of Rangoon, Moulmein, Thanbyuzayat, and Three Pagodas Pass in late April 2010, after NMSP refused to accept the former military government’s proposal to transform their armed force to become a Border Guard Force (BGF) or ‘local village militia force’.
A military intelligence source said that, all former members of NMSP and other armed groups should surrender. He said that if some retired members have no guns or weapons to surrender, they need to at least go and inform the nearest police station. They need to complete various forms and inform details of their background and current status.
Besides the NMSP retired members, there are many small groups that signed ceasefires with the former military government, the SPDC, that still exist. The authorities also need these groups to surrender.
But the political observer comments that this announcement can be an intention to legalize the authority’s military campaign against the NMSP. He said, after this announcement, if NMSP members in their headquarters and respective districts do not come and surrender, the new government can legalize their attacks by saying NMSP is ‘illegal’.
NMSP entered into a ceasefire agreement with the former government in June 1995, and maintained the ceasefire until 2010. Before the elections of 2010, the NMSP and many other large ceasefire groups, including the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO), Shan State Army (North), and United Wa State Army (UWSA), refused the government’s demand to transform their militias into members of the Border Guard Force.
