Editor’s Note:
Published here is the second installment of IMNA’s “Burma Transformed” commentary series, a discussion of various political, social, and human-rights related issues set within the context of Burma’s upcoming elections. In this segment, the writer discusses the past and future of Mon-Karen alliances and political relations.
This is a new era in Burma. Ethnic unity is the key to the victory for Karen and Mon people, who make up the two largest populations in southern Burma. The Karen people and the Mon people are close neighbors. We have been living within our respective traditional cultures in a common area. Both the Karen and Mon people are entering a new era under the rules of the military regime in Burma. The Karen and Mon leaders have been building and maintained a unity of purpose for over sixty years. Unity between the Karen and Mon peoples will be key for the success both political and military campaigns against the military dictatorship in Burma. In this long essay, I will explore what opportunities exist for re-building the unity among the Karen and Mon peoples. I will also advocate for closer relations between the Karen and Mon leaders within these critical times. The upcoming elections are not serving the common goals of the Karen and Mon peoples in our lower homeland.
The Karen people’s leading political organization, the Karen National Union (KNU) is respected for its military capacity and for being an ally to the Mon and other ethnic groups for over sixty years. The KNU’s leaders earned these credentials among former and current ethnic leaders in Burma. The leadership of the KNU and its longstanding political goal, to form a true federal union of Burma, is also widely praised among the Mon and various other ethnic political leaders in Burma. In terms of the Mon, they have a smaller sized population and capacity for armed resistance force than the Karen. The Mon leaders acknowledged the pioneering of the Karen leaders in the early 1940s, prior to the independence of Burma, and when the two groups joined forces against U Nu’s newly-formed government in 1948. The Mon leaders were assisted by the Karen military leaders at the early formation of Mon Armed Force in 1949, as an ally against Burma’s nationalist government after the Karen and Mon were denied guarantees under the new constitution, for formation their own state with legitimate executive powers. Some new generations are not fully informed of the unity of purpose of the Karen and Mon leaders over the last over sixty years, but are rather informed of current conflicts, including border demarcation or disputes on border trade for tax levies. This essay assesses both the conflicts and political conviction of the two sides’ leaders in new era.
According to the official statement of the KNU’s headquarters:
“The Karen National Union is a democratic organization, 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.”
Claiming ethnic self-determination under the new constitution of Union of Burma / Myanmar in the early 1950’s was not commonly accepted and supported by the new Burmese nationalists of the time, including General Aung San and his colleagues from the Burma Independent Army. The Karen and Mon leaders were the largest groups in the BIA’s troops struggling to against the British from 1920 until Burma gained independence. The Mon troop was smaller in size than the Karen, who had close connections with the local Christians. The Karen and Mon political leaders claimed that both of their ethnic peoples deserved equal rights and self-determination in each’s own federal state. The Burmese constitutions of both 1947 and 1974 granted states to both the Karen and the Mon, but executive powers continued to solely rest in the hands of the central Burmese nationalist government in Rangoon. The Karen and Mon people were united on both military and political fronts in order to fight for equal rights under the new constitution, however, the Burmese nationalist government accused them of being ‘insurgent groups’, or referred them as ‘rebel groups’ in the press. The Mon leaders agreed on a cease-fire to solve political problems with the ruling Burmese military 15 years ago, but the KNU’s leader could not reach such ceasefire agreement despite its preparations for dialogue. Regardless of the size of each other’s troops, trust must be built between the Mon and Karen for further dialogue. According to top leaders of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the KNU secretly met with the Burmese ruling military, the SPDC, in 1993 to discuss a ceasefire without formally informing or consulting with the top Central Committee of the NMSP. The Mon leaders lost trust in their ally in early 1993, but remained with other allies until they reached the ceasefire agreement with the Burmese Government in 1995.
As Burma is moving toward political progressiveness in this new election, the joined history of the Karen and the Mon cannot be ignore for the sake of the general public in Karen and Mon State. However, a new political wisdom must be sought from both sides to confront major issues. The major issue is whether both the Karen and Mon should be allies or rival in common border areas. This is a blunt question that each, Karen and Mon, civilian and leader alike must find the answer for.
Historically, the Mon and Karen leaders were united on December 20, 1926 in Kappali village, Hlaing Bwe Township. According to a book written in Burmese by Nai Tun Thein, Chairman of Mon National Democratic Front, Mon leaders were invited to attended a conference held between Karen leaders and General Aung San via the invitation of Bishop West. Nai Ba Lwin, Nai Shwe Kyin, Nai Shwe Chang, and Nai Mon Sein Tun represented the Mon political organizations. The Mon leaders also attended an event held by the Karen Central Organisation (KCO) held in February 1947 in Rangoon, to promote further cooperation and unification in 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 held in 1947.
The Mon youth were trained to form a unified military for the Mon people in late 1947. The Mon youth armed wing attacked a local police station near Moulmein city with back-up support from a Karen armed wing on July 20th 1948. Military Police officials were informed prior to the attack, and the military police agreed to turn a blind eye to the attack in order to avoid conflict with the two allies. Finally, after the successful of occupation of local police stations, and confiscating arms from the government police, the Mon youth formed “Mon National Defense Organization” soon after the victory. This event is strong evidence that in the past, Mon and Karen leaders worked in close spirit to claim self-determination under a common goal. It is not wise for new generations of the Mon and Karen youth to forget these historical accounts. We are well guided by the actions of past great leaders when planning our next battles. Unity is the victory for us.
According to Nai Shwe Kyin’s official statement in December 1951, the Mon and the Karen lived in peace for many centuries. The Karen, like the Burmese, obtained their alphabet from the Mon, and this kind of writing is in use in some Karen areas. So, we see that it is not possible to leave the Karen out when considering the Mon’s problems, nor it is wise to take up the Karen’s problem and overlook the Mon. Nai Shwe Kyin’s statement expressed equal concern for the plights of the Karen and Mon people, and their desires for autonomy within the newly formed Burmese parliamentary government.
The Mon leaders continually advocated for equal rights for the Karen and Mon peoples 1950’s. The Executive Council of the Mon People’s Front, the leading political organization of the Mon people, released a statement on March 27th 1953 in order to urge the government to create a Mon State under the new federal constitution. The statement said that the council would support and collaborate with all indigenous races, such as, Arakanese, Karens, Kachins, Pa-os, Shans, Kayahs and Chin in their struggles for the rights of self-determination, inclusiveness, and secession, till peace and the satisfaction of all was attained.
The Mon and Karen people worked closely within a grand strategy since the early 1950’s. The two ethnicities live in crossing territory in lower Burma, despite the fact that their cultures, customs, and religious beliefs are often different. However, the ultimate goal of the Karen and Mon leaders is the same: both ethnicities claim self-autonomy from the central Burmese government. According to the joint statement of the executive council of the Mon and Karen on July 6th, 1953 the two groups had made resolutions to ensure unity and mutual respect among the two groups. The statement reads as:
“We respect and recognize the individual rights of self-determination. Each of our peoples has our respective governments co-operating on equal footings. The relationship of our respective governments is sincere and wholesome, and despite Thakin Nu’s attempts to drive a wedge between our two peoples, we are more than ever united, fighting shoulder to shoulder. We are in unity, determined not to lose sight of the common goal until its final achievement.
Finally, this joint statement calls upon all Mons and Karens, wherever they may be, to fearlessly and unswervingly give their full support to the work which has been outlined by their leaders, and on which laid-out lines they must strictly adhere to.
In 1974, Burma’s socialist party’s constitution, amended by the military-led government, granted the existence of a Mon State, but allocated over forty-two Mon large villages as being within the boundaries of Karen State without public debate. These Mon villages came under the strict control of the Karen leaders, especially from the military factions who imposed heavy levies on land, farms and local trades, as annual money collections to support the functions of the KNU. Consequently, young Mon military leaders, in contact with local Mon community leaders, repossessed some of these villages in late 1980. The Karen and Mon leaders were led by the new constitution to break up their alliance, and then become rivals, as expected by the General Ne Win, the head of the Burmese army and the government at the time. The relations between the Karen and the Mon have never recovered since this incident. The Karen leaders struck out at the Mon in 1988, in a border dispute in Three Pagoda Pass, a major route for illegal trade in southern Burma. The 17 days of heavy fighting between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) was the largest intra-ethnic conflict in modern Burmese politics. It is now time for both sides to forgive past wounds in favor of a future common purpose.
Ethnic minorities can play central political roles in Burma. The ethnic leaders can make greater political links with the public in the heartland by sending balanced message for public security. Relying on nationalism is not safe in modern politic unless the public backs the claim. The Karen and Mon leaders have been building the unity between themselves since 1950. The new Karen and Mon generations are strongly encouraged to read the old history of the Karen and Mon. The Karen and Mon youth will be playing key roles in the Burma’s future democratic transition, but they cannot find a the common ground unless they are informed by the true history of the two ethnicities. Building unity among the Karen and Mon leaders are sincerely encouraged by the general Karen and Mon communities both at home and abroad.
