“Mon Working Committee” splits over 2010 election registration

IMNA

April 1, 2010

5 dissenters from 15 members “Mon Working Committee” formed in 2009 have split from the group, following a March 30th meeting where the majority of the committee’s members voted that the committee boycott the 2010 elections. The 5 rogue members have decided to register as a separate private political party.

The committee met earlier this month on March 15th, to discuss registering and running in the upcoming elections. IMNA’s March 18th coverage of the event shared how the meeting was inconclusive, as a large faction of the party refused to support Burma’s 2008 constitution, a mandate for registering as a political party. A second meeting was rescheduled for March 31st. IMNA’s reporter learned that the date for the second meeting was bumped ahead, after Burma’s National League for Democracy (NLD) announced its decision not to run in the 2010 elections.

IMNA’s reporter learned that the 5 individuals planning to register as a party in the 2010 Burmese elections are: Dr Min Nwe Soe, Nai Hla Aung from the Mon Literature Organization, university organizer Nai San Tin, former New Mon State Party (NMSP) colonel Nai Myint Swe, and Dr Banya Aung Moe.

“Our committee members have disagreed with the 2008 constitution since the beginning and they could not go ahead with the 2010 elections. In the March 30th meeting, we decided not to organize a political party, certainly” a member of the committee, who voted against political party registration.

IMNA’s reporter learned that the 5 members of the nascent political party are in the midst of the political registration process and are busily drafting their new organization’s political platform; however the group refused to release its platform’s details at the present time

According to one of the 5 dissenters, who asked to remain anonymous, the quintet has decided to join the elections in order to represent the Mon people; he claimed that without their party, voters in Mon state would be entirely devoid of any party from their ethnic group to vote for in October.

Unfortunately, the Mon politicians that IMNA spoke with are dubious that the party will gain any real interest from the Mon people it seeks to represent, as the 5 individuals involved are not particularly well known within Mon State.

The original 15 member working committee was founded in July 2009, after the 14th anniversary of the NMSP’s ceasefire agreement with the SPDC, with the publicly announced goal of working towards party membership, and Mon participation, in open elections.