Mon rebel (HRP) denies for cease-fire if there is no time frame for political reform

By: Chan Mon (Independent Mon News Agency)

September 16, 2004

Hongsarwatoi Restoration Party (HRP) does not want to talk for cease-fire to the regime SPDC, if the regime does not setup exact time frames for political reform in Burma, said by HRP leader amid many other ethnic armed groups have agreed for ceasefire.

“We want genuine peace, but if the government does not setup time schedule for the political reform in Burma and the problems in Mon State continue and if there is no international mediator, no way we wouldn’t talk to the regime,” said HRP Chairman Nai Pan Nyunt.

“New Mon State Party (NMSP) agreed for ceasefire with the government in order to solve the political problem in Burma but they still can not solve political problems basically in Mon State. There are more human rights violations committed by the Burmese Army, such as land confiscation, restriction against the Mon education and maintenance of Mon literature, conscription of forced labor and porter, rape and other,” Nai Pan Nyunt said.

“It is an example for us to make cease-fire. We could not do like NMSP that in time of more than 9 years ceasefire without solving any problem in Mon State and could not find political progress in Burma,” Nai Pan Nyunt said.

“We have two rounds of appointment with the government to talk for ceasefire in February, 2004. As the government forced us to surrender without solving problem in Mon area, that is not ceasefire and wanted us to talk in their own territories, we denied it and continued fighting until now,” said Nai Pan Nyunt.

HRP is a splinter group separated from New Mon State Party (NMSP), which agreed for ceasefire with regime in mid-1995 and joined the SPDC’s National Convention recently with other ethnic ceasefire group. HRP organized other small Mon splinter armed groups that fighting against the government, was formed their organization in late 2001, and moved to southern part of Burma.

“Although the regime made ceasefire agreement with NMSP, the Burmese Army still launches positional warfare in Mon State in order to deploy more bases close to NMSP controlled areas. The government also confiscated the local Mon people’s lands to deploy many battalions close to the NMSP area,” said Nai Lawi Weng, a political observer.

The Burmese Army regularly confiscated local Mon people’s farmlands and orchid plantations for their base and again seized about 2000 acres estimated in 2004. In the “No Land to Farm”, a comprehensive report on land confiscation in Mon areas, published by Human Right Foundation of Monland, described there are about 8000 acres of land taken by the SPDC and Burmese during the period of 1998-2002 without payment.

“Although the Burmese government Prime minister General Khin Nyunt gave verbal promise, in 3 years Mon state must be developed while they met NMSP leaders in ceasefire agreement ceremony, but there is no development in Mon state now. More human rights violations have been committed by the government and taken more taxes from people in Mon state,” Nai Sunthorn, General Secretary of Mon Unity League said.

More than 10 people who are suspected as Mon rebel-supporters are captured in 2004 and a lot of sexual violations against women were committed by the troops of No. 3 Tactical Command under the South-East Command in southern part of Ye Township and northern of the Tenasserim Division, according to Nai Kasauh Mon, Director of Human Rights Foundation of Monland.

Currently Burmese Army is launching military offensive against to HRP in various areas in southern part of Mon State, arrested 14 Mon villagers and restricted the villagers’ movement in their travel to work in farms and plantations.

At least 15 times fighting happened within a month in the area and because of conflict about many thousands of displaced villagers from the area fled to Thailand and Mon refugees resettlement camps in 2004 accordingly to a Kyone-ka-nyar village headman from the area.

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