A Visit with Leaders on Mon National Day

Traveling from Chiang Mai, it took two days to reach the New Mon State Party (NMSP)-controlled area near Three Pagoda Pass on the Thai-Burma border. The Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) is based in Palanjapan village, in the Mon liberated area, the scene of fierce battles between Mon and Karen in 1988.

The Irrawaddy visited the area for the 63rd Mon National Day celebration, which attracted about 1,000 local residents and visitors from Bangkok.

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The village has about 300 homes, no electricity, no Internet, no paved roads, and everyone uses Thai currency instead of kyat. Most of the homes were flying a Mon national flag.

The atmosphere was festive. The NMSP invited a handful of Burmese officials and special police to join the ceremonies. Men and women, wearing traditional red and white clothing, gathered to listen to Mon leaders give speeches.

Nai Tang Rong, 82, the head of the Thai-Mon community in Bangkok, in a speech from the stage, said: “If we don’t get the freedom we want from the junta, do you think we need to fight them again? If you think we need to fight, please clap your hands!” The crowd applauded. At the end of the ceremony, the people expressed their determination to fight for freedom by shouting three times.

For media representatives at the celebration, the day offered a chance to talk to Mon leaders, who usually avoid talking to the media for fear of drawing attention to themselves. Many in the Mon leadership believe that to speak out publicly is akin to showing off, and it can draw critical attacks and make enemies.

In their defense, leaders sometimes cite a Mon proverb: “A frog can be killed because of the sound of its voice.”

Party chairman Nai Htaw Mon, surrounded by bodyguards, agreed to give a short interview to Thai TV Channel 3, and he followed that up by allowing print journalists to ask a few questions.

His bodyguards opened a way for us to get through to him, where he was sitting at a table.

He said the 2008 Constitution offers no basic democracy or ethnic rights, and that the election which will be held this year will only serve to legitimize the military regime.

Later, I met with Nai Zay Ya, the army chief, at his home in Sangkalaburi. Since the cease-fire agreement with the Burmese regime, signed in 1995, he said, like many Mon leaders, he prefers to keep a low profile and usually avoids the media.

Even so, Nai Hang Thar, the secretary of the NMSP, has been quoted recently by Burmese exiled media that he opposed the Constitutional referendum, and he did not support the future election or the regime's order to form a border guard force. His comments drew criticism from some Mon leaders.

“I've told him many times to be careful when talking to the media,” said Zay Ya.

In the past, even Nai ong Ma-nge, who was a NMSP spokesperson, faced frequent verbal attacks after speaking with the media.

Many Mon leaders spend more time living in the remote jungle at their headquarter deep in Burma's Tavoy District across the border from Kanchanaburi Province than they do at homes in Sangkalaburi. The isolated headquarters area is surrounded by mountains and deep forests.

To reach it from Sangkalaburi, it takes more than a day and half by car in good weather, after crossing many streams and rivers. In the rainy reason, it can only be reached on foot. Mon leaders say it is easier to work together if everyone is at the headquarters in the jungle.

Some observers say Mon leaders are needlessly isolating themselves, cutting themselves off from communication with the outside world. The leaders say they have access to a satellite phone if they want to communicate, but it's expensive and they don't use it often.

Aung Thu Nyein, a Burmese political analyst and former senior leader of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, said that Mon leaders are more focused on politics than on business.

Even so, he said in the past when he's requested to join a meeting, they failed to respond back in time.