Two Mon parties sign agreement to unite

Layi Htaw – According to party leaders, the four-point agreement that includes the decision to unite the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF) and the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMDP) by 2014 was signed.

In order to reach the agreement, the two parties held a meeting on April 23 from 1pm to 4pm in the Sarsanar 2500 Monastery in Moulmein, Mon State.

Senior Monk Kaymar Nanda, the meeting organizer, said that leaders of the two Mon parties, representatives from the New Mon State Party (NMSP), Mon senior monks, and about 200 attendees who are interested in the union were present at the meeting.

He continued, “It was mutually agreed upon to unite into one party yesterday.”

The agreed points are: (1) to unite the MNDF and the AMDP into one party, (2) to meet the deadline for unification beforeDecember2014, (3) to hold monthly meetings at the end of each Mon/Burmese month (on every last Sabbath day of each month) at a place designated by the senior monks, and (4) to use a new name for the newly united party. The leaders of the two parties mutually agreed to and signed these points.

Nai Ngwe Thein, the chairman of the AMDP, said, “The two Mon parties will unite only by December2014, so I am worried that they will not have enough time before the 2015 election.”

“The purpose of holding this meeting was to discuss the union of the two parties. However, when I arrived, it seemed that one party was being told to join the other. But it didn’t surprise me. During the more than three months of negotiation, they [the AMDP]are serious with their stance [that the MNDF should join them],” said Dr. Min Soe Linn, the secretary of the MNDF.

For this reason, the MNDF has been arranging to register their party under the new name of Mon Democratic Party (MDP), according to Dr. Min Soe Linn.

The Mon senior monks designated three policies for the parties’ union: they are to use a new name, to have only one Mon party in Mon region, and to unite as soon as possible.