A campaign to make Mon National Day an official public holiday has been spearheaded by the annual event’s organizing committees and members of the Mon Sangha, or community of monks.
“We must at least work toward achieving Mon National Day as an office holiday in Mon State, even if it is not yet recognized by the entire country, because Mon people already observe the holiday themselves,” said Nai Htun Lwin, a member of the organizing committee for Moulmein Township’s Mon National Day (MND), in an interview with MNA.
According to the Moulmein committee, the campaign will include the release of public statements, campaign songs, and distribution of promotional materials like stickers and cloth headbands.
“We have been interested in the acknowledgement of Mon National Day as a public holiday for a long time. But this is a new approach that’s never been tried before,” said Dr. Min Soe Linn, a Mon National Party member who was elected to the State Hluttaw (Parliament) in last year’s general election. “In the 2008 Constitution, there is nothing about this. But we must work towards this goal as hard as we can. In the near future, when we are at the Hluttaw, we will once again discuss what we can do to achieve this.”
During parliament’s 11th session, Dr. Aung Naing Oo, a Mon State Hluttaw representative, submitted the official recognition of Mon National Day for parliamentary approval. He said the Hluttaw Chairman acknowledged the request and plans to deliberate options moving forward.
According to Ashin Dhana, the manager of an association that supports ethnic Mon education, a statement promoting a Mon public holiday was already released on international Human Rights Day last year.
“As an ethnic group, we should have the right to observe Mon National Day. It is because the government does not give full rights to [ethnic] nationalities that many conflicts have occurred. As a Mon national and an indigenous person, I would like the MND to be set as an official holiday.”
In February last year, Mon communities urged the government to approve the holiday during events marking the 68th Mon National Day. Nai Htaw Mon, Chairman of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), also asked the union government to go beyond verbal acknowledgment of Mon National Day and sanction official public observation, during Mon State’s 41st anniversary celebration.
