The New Mon State Party (NMSP)’s vice-chair Nai Hong Sar said only one Mon party should run in the election as long as the Mon people are unable to obtain the right to self-determination.
He said this during the opening ceremony of the Second Mon Political Conference, which was held at Lawi Marn Sasana 2500 monastery in Mawlamyine on May 12.
“We will be united if there is only one Mon party. We can determine our own destiny quickly when we are united. That’s why I want to urge [everyone] to forget personal or group conflicts from the past and not to close the door to reunification so that we can gather scattered forces,” said Nai Hong Sar, who is also a patron of the Second Mon Political Conference.
According to him, the NMSP is striving for the merger of the Mon National Party (MNP) and the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) and it will change its view and find a new path if the two parties cannot merge by the end of 2018.
“We are striving for the merger of the two parties up to now. Our party’s central executive committee has decided to find a new path if the two parties are unable to merge by the end of 2018. This means we might have to leave them behind,” he continued.
The NMSP will meet with the two parties again in the upcoming week after the central committee's meeting is over and continue to strive for the unity of the Mon political parties.
The coordination committee’s secretary Mi Cherry Soe said the three-day conference will focus on approving the constitution draft for the Mon national representative party and setting down a decision on implementation of the Mon national representative party.
“There must be only one party for our Mon people. This is greatly concerned with the Mon people in order for this party to represent the Mon people. I want to invite [the Mon people] to attend this conference in order to present their views and messages to their leader via [the conference],” said Mi Cherry Soe.
The first day of the conference gathered over 600 participants including prominent monks, the NMSP’s vice-chair Nai Hong Sar and members, Dr Min Kyi Win (Minister of Resources and Environmental Conservation), Mon political groups, literature and culture association, civil society organizations, youth groups, and special invited guests.
