Rai Maraoh, IMNA : According to sources within the New Mon State Party (NMSP), Burmese authorities have been  investigating NMSP members at roadway checkpoints since the 1st of September.

Sources informed IMNA that authorities have begun to check all cars and motorbikes along the highways routes running from Myawaddy to Moulmein, Thanphyuzayart to Three Pagodas Pass (TPP), Mudon to TPP, and  Moulmein to Ye. Reportedly, checkpoint staffers have made a particular point of asking drivers if their vehicles contain NMSP members, and checking to see if passengers hold NMSP identification.

“They [Burmese authorities] tightened their investigations, especially on the way to go to the Thai- Burma border [ie, from Myawadday to Moulmein, Three Pagodas Pass, and Moulmein to Ye], they do not just check the people, they also check the pockets, and then they ask the car owner, if they are bringing the NMSP members,” said a source who traveled from inside Burma to the Thai border this week.

September 1st marked the final deadline given to the party by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to surrender its armed wing to the Burmese state. The NMSP sent a refusal to surrender to the Southeast Command (SEC) office in Moulmein on the day of the deadline; NMSP sources insist that checkpoint and travel investigations were tightened for party members the very day the refusal was issued.

Such behavior is highly unusual, as individuals possessing NMSP membership cards have previously enjoyed greater ease of travel, particularly at checkpoints, than their civilian counterparts. According to a source close NMSP member, the crackdowns since September 1st have led to party members refraining from travel, out of concern for their own security.

Further security measures taken by the NMSP reportedly include closing party offices in Moulmein, Ye town, Thanphyuzayart town, and calling all party members living inside Mon State to relocate to NMSP-controlled territory by September 1st.

SEC Commander Maj. Gen. That Naing Win informed NMSP Central Executive Committee members, at a meeting in Moulmein on August 23rd of this year, that a refusal to surrender would result in the dissolution of the 1995 ceasefire made between the two groups. The NMSP’s letter of refusal has been sent from the SEC office in Moulmein to the Burmese government in Naypidow; the SPDC has yet to issue a formal response.