By Nai Banya Hongsar – Leaders among Mon and Karen people will be searching lasting peace and unity in the lower land of Burma under peace process. It is an opportunity for both Mon and Karen leaders for looking past with sense of hope for the future. Mon and Karen leaders shall be fostering peace process with equal interest on lasting regional peace. It is a golden opportunity for both sides that this is the last chance for peace process amidst uncertainty of reality. However, the common ground for peace process shall be fostered with trust among all partners including the current government of Union of Myanmar. This is my observation for this trend.
Claiming for self-determination under the new constitution of Union of Burma / Myanmar in early 1950 is not commonly accepted and supported by the new Burmese nationalists including General Aung San and his colleagues from the Burma’s Independent Army. The Karen and Mon leaders were the largest BIA’s troop in struggling to against the British from 1920 till Burma gained independence. The Mon’s troop is in smaller size than the Karen who has close connection with the local Christianity. The Karen and Mon political leaders claimed that both ethnic people deserved equal rights for self-determination in each own federal state.
This is new era in Burma. Ethnic unity is the key to the victory for Karen and Mon people who are the largest population in southern of Burma. Karen people and the Mon is a close neighboring people. We have been living under traditional cultures in common. It is a new era that both the Karen and Mon people are entering under the rules of the military in Burma. The Karen and Mon leaders have been built and maintained the unity in purpose for over sixty years. Unity between the Karen and Mon people will be keys for both political and military campaign to against the military rules in Burma. In this long essay and perspective, I will explore what treat and opportunity to re-build the unity among the Karen and Mon people. I will also advocate further for closer relations among the Karen and Mon leaders under this critical times. The new election is not solely served the common goal of the Karen and Mon people in our lower homeland.
The Karen people’s leading political organization, Karen National Union is respected on its military capacity as ally to the Mon and other ethnicity for over sixty years in the country. The KNU’s leaders earned this credit among former and current ethnic leaders in the country. The leadership of the KNU and its longstanding political goals to form a true federal union of Burma is also widely praised among the Mon and other Burma’s ethnic political leaders. In terms of the Mon, it has a smaller size in population and the capacity of the armed resistance force than the Karen. The Mon leaders acknowledged the pioneering of the Karen leaders in early 1940s prior to the independence of Burma and in the time of collecting force to against the newly formed U Nu’s government in 1948. The Mon leaders are assisted by the Karen military leaders at the earlier formation of Mon Armed Force in 1949 as an ally to against the Burma’s nationalist government after the Karen and Mon are denied to be guarantee under the new constitution for formation of each state with legitimate executive power. Some new generations are not fully informed the unity in purpose of the Karen and Mon leaders in the last over sixty years, but they are rather informed current conflict on the border demarcation or dispute on border trades for tax levy. This essay will be assessing both conflicts and political conviction of the two sides’ leaders in new era.
According to the official statement of the KNU’s headquarter; the Karen National Union is a democratic organisation, committed to human rights and democracy in Burma. We are working for a peaceful, stable, federal Burma. We stand ready to enter into genuine tripartite dialogue, as facilitated by the United Nations, at any time.
The Burma’s new constitution in both cases of 1947 and 1974 granted each state to the Karen the Mon, but executive powers are solely rest at the hand of central Burmese nationalist government in Rangoon. The Karen and Mon people are united in both military and political fronts in order to fight for these equal rights under the new constitution, however, the Burmese nationalist government accused them as ‘insurgent group’ or in some press referred them as ‘rebel group’ to run propaganda in the last over sixty years. The Mon leaders agreed for solving political problem with the ruling Burmese military for over 15 years, but the KNU’s leader could not reach such ceasefire agreement despite its prepare for dialogue. Regardless of the size of the troop, the Karen leaders should build a trust between the Mon and Karen for further dialogue. According to top leaders of the New Mon State Party, the KNU secretly met with the then Burmese ruling military, SPDC in 1993 for ceasefire without formal informing or consultation with the top Central Committee of the Mon’s party. The Mon leaders lost trust to its ally in early 1993, but remain with other ally until it reached the ceasefire agreement as gentlemen agreement in 1995.
Burma is emerging into a new political context in post 1988, the year after the mass uprising led by students from Rangoon universities and a few young monks in Rangoon. (This writer lived in Rangoon as a young monk in 1988). As Burma is moving toward political progressive in this new election, the case of the Karen and Mon could not be ignored for the sake of general public in Karen and Mon State. However, a new political wisdom will be sought from both sides to confront the issues. The new confronting issue is whether both the Karen and Mon remain as ally or as rival in common border area. This is a blunt question that each Karen and Mon individual the leader alike has to find the answer. Rightly or wrongly, the Karen and Mon leaders close some time but far in critical time as an ally and close to fight again each other when it comes to the levy and border trades tax collection in the last twenty years.
Historically, Mon and Karen leaders were united in December 20, 1926 in Kappali village, Hlaing Bwe Township. According to Nai (Mr) Tun Thein, Chairman of Mon National Democratic Front’s book published in Burmese Mon leaders are invited to attended a conference between Karen leaders and General Aung San with the invitation of Bishop West. Nai Ba Lwin (aks) Nai Shwe Kyin, Nai Shwe Chang, and Nai Mon Sein Tun represented the Mon political organizations. The Mon leaders also participated at the KCO (Karen Central Organisation) held in February 1947 in Rangoon for further cooperation and unifying the struggle for self-determination. The Karen leader, Saw Ba Oo valued the unity of the Mon and Karen people. He again invited the Mon leaders, Nai Hla Maung, Nai Ba Lwin and Mi Hongsa to the Moulmein Karen Congress head in 1947. The Mon and Karen ally has been in united front both in military and political fronts in earlier 1947. The Mon youth are trained to form a military unity for the Mon people in late 1947. The Mon youth armed wing attacked local police station near Moulmein city with the back – up technical support of the Karen armed wing in 20 July 1948. The Karen ethnicity dominated Unit No (5), Military Police officials are informed prior to the attack and the military police agreed to turn a blind eye to the attack in order to avoid conflict between two, alliances. Finally, with the success of occupation of local police stations and arms from the government police personals, the Mon youth formed “Mon National Defence Organization soon after the victory. These are the strong evidence that the past Mon and Karen leaders have been working in close spirit to claim self-determination under a common goal. It is not wise for new generation of the Mon and Karen on these historical accounts. We are well guided by the past great leaders for our next battles. Unity is the victory for us.
Under the 1974, Burma’s socialist party’s constitution amended by the military led government granted the Mon State, but allocated over forty-two Mon large villages under the boundary of Karen State without public debate and constitutional rights. These Mon villages are under strict control of the Karen leaders, especially from the military faction who imposed heavy levy on land, farms and local trades as annual money collection to support the function of the Karen National Union. Despite, the Mon leaders requested to the Karen leaders for good relations among them and toward the villagers, a common sense does not prevail. Consequently, a young Mon military leaders positioned theirs contact with local Mon community leaders in late 1980 and controlled back some of these villages. The Karen and Mon leaders are tricked by the new constitution to break up as an ally then becomes as rival as expected by the General Ne Win, as the head of the Burmese army and the government. The relations between the Karen and the Mon have never been in good relation since this battle. The Karen leader did not wait for too long to resent to its ally in 1988 for border dispute in Three Pagoda Pass, the key route for illegal trade in southern Burma. The 17 days heavy fighting between the KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) and the MNLA (Mon National Liberation Army) was the largest intra-ethnic conflict in modern Burma’s politics. It is now time for both side and leaders from the Karen and Mon need to reflect from the past wound to the future common purpose.
According to Nai Shwe Kyin (Aka) Nai Ba Lwin’s official statement in December 1951, the Mons and Karens lives in peace in Hamsavati for many centuries. The Karens too likes the Burmese obtained their alphabets from the Mons and such Karens writings are still in use in some of Karen areas. So, we see that it is not possible to leave the Karens out when considerting the Mon problems, not it is wise to take up the Karen problem and overlook the Mons. The government has so far found a solution to the Karen problem, but has not even given out any hint on the Mon questions. Nai Shwe Kyin (aka) Nai Ba Lwin released a statement in Rangoon with equal concerns to the plight of Karen and Mon people to granting a self autonomy by the newly formed Burmese parliamentary government.
The Mon leaders continually advocated for equal rights of the Karen and Mon people under the new constitution in the country. The Executive Council of Mon People’s Front, the leading political organization of the Mon people released a statement on 27th March 1953 in order to urge the government for creating of the Mon State under the new federal constitution. The statement reads as, the supreme council will support and collaborated with all indigenous races, such as, Aralanese, Karens, Kachins, Pa-os, Shans, Kayahs and Chin in their struggle for the right of self-determination inclusive of the rights of secession, till peace to the satisfaction of all is attained. Under the parliamentary democracy, the Mon leaders seek greater constitutional rights than wading civil war to the newly elected government of Burma. The majority Mon leaders acknowledged the role of Burmese leaders and politicians who led and paved the head ways to gain independence from British together with ethnic people.
The Mon and Karen people have been closely working with a grand strategy in early in 1950 with a concerted manner. The two ethnicity lives in cross territory in lower Burma despite cultural and custom are slightly differenced due to religious beliefs. However, the ultimate goal of the Karen and Mon leaders is as one classification. Both ethnicity claims for self-autonomy from the central Burmese government. According to the joint statement of executive council of Mon and Karen on 6th July 1953 made resolutions on unity and mutual respect among the people.
A genuine peace process shall be reached between ethnic armed leaders and the government. If Karen and Mon ethnic armed leaders restore trust within, it would be the lasting peace for the brighter of Burma’s future.
