Sittwe: Following opposition from some Arakanese politicians the Kaman National Progressive Party, recently granted approval by the Election Commission, has decided to remove its monogram from the party flag, said a party spokesperson.

"We have decided to remove the monogram from our flag because the monogram represents the state of Arakan, not the party. We realized we should not use the monogram of Arakan State for an individual party. We are now preparing to make another flag with a new design," he said.

The Election Commission had announced in military government-run newspapers on 16 June that the public had a week to voice opposition to the flag and seal of the Kaman National Progressive Party.

Some politicians filed their opposition to the party's use of Arakan State's monogram on the party flag. In the party flag, there is a monogram of Arakan State surrounded by seven stars along with three colours - red, green, and blue. Above the image is a sun and crescent.

"We will remove the monogram of the state but the seven stars will remain on the flag because they represent the seven nationalities in Arakan State," he said. However, he did not name the seven nationalities represented by the stars.

The Kaman National Progressive Party was formed by some Kaman patriots in Rangoon with the aim of promoting the development of Arakan and the Kaman people. The Kaman is an ethnic nationality living in Arakan State, and the people primarily practice Islam.

In the 1990 election, a Kaman party won a parliamentary seat in the Sittwe constituency, but later the government authorities withdrew the position from them after an Arakanese candidate who had lost challenged their victory with accusations of election fraud.