Nai Oak Sar, a member of All Mon Regions Democracy Party’s (AMDP’s) Central Executive Committee, was removed by the committee’s other members at a March 24 meeting at the party’s headquarters in the Mon State capital of Mawlamyine.
“Nai Oak Sar has repeatedly violated the Party’s rules so we have decided to remove him from not only the committee but also the party,” said Nai San Tin, Joint-Secretary-1 of AMDP.
Among his violations was the decision to attend the August 2016 Mon National Conference as an AMDP representative. The AMDP had already announced its decision not to attend because the conference was being held in an area controlled by the New Mon State Party (NMSP), an armed group with territory in Mon and Karen States. Nai San Tin also accused Nai Aok Sar of undermining the party and publicly disparaging its leaders.
Reached for comment by the Mon News Agency on March 25, Nai Oak Sar said that he could not offer any details about the removal because he had not been officially notified yet. He did say that he had been made aware of the decision through informal channels.
According to Nai San Tin, the joint secretary, only 12 of the Central Executive Committee’s 24 members were present for the March 24 decision to remove Nai Oak Sar, which the latter said was inappropriate.
“If they are removing me from the party, it is not acceptable for the decision to be made in this way. The people need to know who was part of this decision,” Nai Oak Sar said.
Nai Oak Sar, also known by his Burmese name Nai Aung Ba, was a vocal advocate of unifying AMDP with its main rival in Mon politics, the Mon National Party (MNP). Though many in Mon State want to see a united front, the AMDP leadership has not embraced the political union.
Nai Oak Sar is from Taung-pyin Village, Lamaing Sub-Township, Mon State. He helped create the AMDP in 2010 after Myanmar (Burma) adopted a new constitution and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Union parliament in 2015.
