The Tatmadaw’s (Myanmar military) use of force to enter the New Mon State Party (NMSP) military camp located in Paline-Japan (Japan Well) village, prompted NMSP Vice-Chair Nai Hongsar to comment that peace efforts need to be prioritized.
“We are sad to see the incident was triggered by the lack of negotiation amongst lower-level soldiers. We need to find a way to solve this problem. It will be difficult to solve if the current issue escalates. In the peace process, we must prioritize the [pursuit of] peace,” said Nai Hong Sar.
The actions of the Tatmadaw at the New Mon State Party (NMSP) military base in Japan Well (Paline-Japan) village on November 27th are viewed as a violation of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), according to the NMSP.
“We need to be careful not to make minor issues become a bigger issues. We urge the respective people in-charge to try to resolve this issue peacefully. If the current issue gets any bigger, it won’t be easy to solve. We need to find a way to solve the problem,” said Nai Hong Sar.
Senior leadership of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) have been meeting since the events of November 27th and plan to meet with the government and leaders from Tatmadaw. At the time of publication, no date for such a meeting has been announced.
Currently, nearly 300 villagers of Paline Japan village and 100 Guu-Bar villagers are still taking refuge in Mon monasteries on the Thai border. There have been reports of homes being ransacked by soldiers.
“My house was burglarized. Doors have been knocked down, TV and food carrier boxes were stolen. All the good clothes and housewares are gone.” reported a Paline-Japan villager, Mi – – – – – that included a live video on her Facebook page.
An anonymous source from Paline-Japan village told the Mon News Agency that villagers are afraid to return to their homes because they fear further clashes in their area.
The New Mon State Party signed a ceasefire agreement with the State Order Restoration Council (SLORC or Na Wa Ta) government in 1995. The NMSP created a state/union level territorial agreement with President Thein Sein’s government in 2012. According to the reconfirmed agreement and concurrent with the signing of the NCA, the Japan Well village was designated as a NMSP’s permanent military base.
The Tatmadaw still keeps two military bases within Mon territory including the Si-Bin base and the Paya-Daung base.
