A new political party will be established within six months to represent the entire Mon people.
The decision was made during the Mon Political Conference held at the 2500 Sasana Beikman Monastery in in the Mon State’s capital Mawlamyine on January 13-14.
“We will finish drafting the party constitution and rules and regulations within six months. We have opened the door for Mon political parties to join us,” said Ashin Wara Wuntha, chair of the Conference Organizing Committee.
In an announcement released in the Mon language, the conference urged political parties and politicians to participate in establishing an organization or commission to draft and implement the party’s constitution within six months.
A 21-member working group for establishing the new party has been assigned to draft the rules and regulations. A conference will be held within six months after the rules and regulations have been drafted and a supervisory group will be established with 19 members including monks and leaders of social organizations to advise the working group, according to the announcement.
“We have given the duty [to the working group] to establish a party that represents the Mon people within six months. They will draft the rules and regulations and persuade other political parties. We will serve with the rules and regulations that can be accepted by the Mon people within these six months. It (the party) will materialize within six months,” said Nai Soe Aung, spokesperson of the conference.
The 21-member working group comprises former members of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Mon State Hluttaw MPs, former central executive members of the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMDP) and the Mon National Party (MNP), activists from the civil society organizations, members of the Mon Literature and Culture Committee and youth leaders.
Although the NMSP, a Mon armed organization, attended the Mon Political Conference as an observer, the two official political parties – the MNP and the AMDP – refused to recognize and attend the conference.
