The conflict in Burma is happening because the ethnic groups don’t have self-determination said the leader of the New Mon State Party (NMSP).

“Our country is very poor. To solve this, we need to create a federal union and elect our leaders…then there will be peace and development,” Nai Hongsa, the NMSP chairperson told NMG during the 73rd anniversary of Mon National Day.

“We want all Mon people to understand that if we cooperate and unite with the other ethnic groups we can achieve our goals,” Nai Hongsa said during his official speech in Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State.

Mon literature, culture and traditions need to be preserved to ensure they don’t disappear, the chairperson said.

Although the largest Mon National Day was commemorated in the Mon State capital, other celebrations happened in townships and villages where Mon reside. It was also celebrated in international destinations where there’s been resettlement.

Mon National Day pays homage to the Hongsawaddy Dynasty, the last Mon Kingdom located in lower Burma. It formed in year 1116 of the Burmese calendar year (572 CE), on the first waning day in the lunar month of Tapodwe.

The Mon Peoples Front took up arms against the government in 1949. The group was renamed as the NMSP in 1958. It signed a ceasefire in 1995 but the pact was rescinded after refusing to become a Border Guard Force in 2010. The NMSP signed a new ceasefire under the Thein Sein reformist government in 2012.