Min Thu Ta – Parliamentary Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann said the “Monograph Reading Ceremony of Pyu Tribe and Pyu Kingdom” scheduled for November 30 would be cancelled during a consultation meeting last Sunday in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State.
“Finally, at the conclusion of U Shwe Mann’s speech, he said that the Monograph Reading Ceremony of Pyu Tribe and Pyu Kingdom, to be held in Rangoon, would be called off. Everyone present at the meeting abruptly cheered with loud applause.”
He added, “Mon [people], including those that cannot speak Mon language, thought that conducting the Monograph Reading Ceremony of Pyu Tribe and Pyu Kingdom would manipulate Mon history.”
U Chit San Win, a member of the Myanmar Historical Commission, developed the idea for the Pyu Monograph Reading Ceremony and planned to lead the event. The ceremony was announced in October on the heels of a controversial article published in the state-run newspaper The Mirror that ascribed two ancient city-states, commonly believed to be the seats of the Mon and Arakanese kingdoms, to the Pyu Tribe, the antecedent to the modern-day Burman ethnicity.
“I pointed out to the Parliamentary Speaker that an example of what Chit San Win’s group has fabricated is that the entire country belongs to the Pyu Kingdom, since they described Hantharwaddy, Thaton, Moulmein, Mottama, Ye, Mergui, and Tavoy as all being part of the Pyu,” said Dr. Banyar Aung Moe.
Opponents also alleged that the proposed Monograph Reading Ceremony undermines articles 364 and 365 of the 2008 Constitution. Article 364 states, “Any act which is intended or is likely to promote feelings of hatred, enmity or discord between racial or religious communities or sects is contrary to this Constitution,” while article 365 obligates that, “Any particular action which might adversely affect the interests of one or several other national races shall be taken only after coordinating with and obtaining the settlement of those affected.”
In an interview with IMNA, Dr. Banyar Aung Moe questioned whether the government had a role in planning the ceremony since the participant list included scholars, professors, and monograph readers who also serve as staff members in various government departments.
“We will look very closely to see if what U Shwe Mann has said [about cancelling the ceremony] is true or not. Members of the Research Committee on Mon History have already organized and there is to be a protest against the Monograph Reading Ceremony of Pyu Tribe and Pyu Kingdom [if it is held].”
Sunday’s consultation meeting was attended by more than 1,000 people, including parliamentarians, Pyuthu Hlutaw ministers, the chairman of the Mon State Hlutaw U Kyit Pay, the prime minister of Mon State U Ohm Myint, ministers of the Mon State government, the prime minister of Karen State, and representatives of Moulmein-based New Mon State Party, All Mon Regions Democracy Party, Mon Democracy Party, National League for Democracy, United Solidarity and Development Party, National Unity Party, state-level departments, and the general public.
