Reports have surfaced that New Mon State Party (NMSP) chairman Nai Htaw Mon, as well NMSP Central Executive Committee members Nai Hong Sar and Nai Htar Wara, have been traversing Mon State and MNSP territory since mid-September 2009, organizing Mon communities in Burma in preparation for the 2010 elections.
“They [the NMSP organizing committee] are explaining the most important elements of the NMSP agenda, and what they have done already and what are they are planning to do for the future” said an NMSP officer based in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand.
According to IMNA’s reporters, Nai Htaw Mon and his fellow Central Executive Committee members have been touring the various districts of Mon State and MNSP territory separately, each accompanied by a small group of NMSP members. The three groups have been holding lectures in strategic locations, where they discussed the NMSP’s political positions to groups of villagers, youth, and monks.
“Nai Htaw Mon and his members organized in Mudon Township this week, they explained the NMSP’s decision not to accept the SPDC’s Border Guard Force or People’s Militia offers,” said a Mudon Township resident who attended a lecture at a local monastery.
According to IMNA’s reporter, Nai Htaw Mon and his group have thus far toured Moulmein District and Tha-ton District, NMSP General Secretary Nai Hong Sar and Central Executive Committee Member Nai Htar Wara have both travelled from Tavoy District to Bee Ree area, upstream of the Ye river. Reports indicate that the majority of the lectures centered around the NMSP’s official rejection of the Burmese government’s offer to convert its armed wing into a Border Guard force this August.
“They accumulated [for the lectures] the residents at the NMSP district office, and then for the monks they spoke at the monasteries; they also included Mon youth these meetings; They told us Mon people needed to know about NMSP’s position [regarding the Border Guard Force offer], they told us the NMSP will never change their position on this issue,” the Mudon Township resident who spoke to IMNA added.
This source added that the organizers at the Mudon Township conference informed the audience that the NMSP wants the Mon community in Burma to understand the NMSP’s position on the Burmese government’s Border Guard Force offer clearly, before the 2010 elections.
This January, IMNA reported on the NMSP’s January 27th announcement of dissatisfaction with the Burmese Government’s 2008 constitution; the NMSP issued a statement claiming that if certain elements of the constitution were changed, it would consider running in the 2010 elections.
