Officials of the largest Mon political group recently concluded discussions with Burmese military commanders. Details could not be confirmed, but recent visits by Burmese government officials to ethnic ceasefire groups has to do with transforming ethnic armed groups in to border guard forces before the 2010 election.
On June 7, New Mon State Party (NMSP) chairman Nai Htaw Mon, Joint Secretary Nai Chan Toi, Central Executive Committee Nai Htar Wara,
Major General Jeya, and Central Executive Committee (CEC) member Nai Tala Nyi met South East Command General That Naing Win at about 9 am at the South East quarter in Moulamine in Mon State.
“It was a secret meeting with the South East Commander, and we can’t say what we talked about in the meeting. We don’t want to talk about it,” said Nai Tala Nyi, the CEC member from Moulemin.
In early March NMSP chairmen and vice chairmen met Lt. Gen. Ye Myint at the Southeast Command headquarters in Moulmein.
Lt. Gen. Ye Myint is the Chief of Military Affairs Security, an agency that has succeeded the previous military intelligence outfit after its chief, Khin Nyunt, was purged in 2004. Before his departure, Khin Nyunt brokered ceasefires with over a dozen ethnic armed groups, including the NMSP in 1995.
At this point of time IMNA cannot confirm the topics of discussion between the NMSP administration and South East Command General That Naing Win at the June 7 meeting. However discussions are being held throughout the country between the Burmese regime and ethnic groups over how to respond to the Burmese junta’s pressure to form a Border Guard Force (BGF). General That Naing Win, according to an article from the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) on May 28, assisted in the negotiations of forces from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Karen Peace Force (KPF) in becoming part of the new BGF.
The BGFs are intended to be battalions whose support will come from the Burmese regime in training and weapons. At the same time according to the Burmese government’s instructions, the BGF battalions must also discontinue the use of ethnic nationality based names, and must incorporate into its structure, soldiers and officers from the regular Burmese Army.
The status of Burma’s armed groups is a sensitive question for Burma’s central government. Before it can continue its seven-step “road map” to “disciplined democracy” and the 2010 election, the Burmese junta must first resolve the status of ethnic armed groups who, after ceasefires were signed in the 1990’s, maintained a relative degree of autonomy.
A number of ethnic groups remain undecided about the issue of forming BGFs. The NMSP has not yet been asked to form a BGF, according to the MNSP party spokesman Nai Oung Mange, in an IMNA article published in late May.
However the Irrawaddy news source has already reported that the NMSP has rejected he Burmese junta’s pressure to form a BGF. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has not yet responded to the SPDC offer to become a border guard force. However a group of Kachin people posted an open letter to the KIA forces to turn down the Burmese government offer, according to the Kachin News Group website.
According to the Shan News agency and the Irrawady, both the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the KoKang group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), met with General Ye Myint on June 7 and June 5 respectively, and have rejected the overtures of the SPDC to become a border guard force in the north.
