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Statement of Overseas Mon Organizations on the National Convention of State Peace and Development Council
(October 9, 2006 )
Burma’s State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) will resume its sham National Convention (NC) again. The SPDC released the announcement just before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided to include Burma 's problem on its formal agenda on September 15, 2006.
According to previous sessions of the National Convention, SPDC is preparing to establish Burma as a military state to be ruled by the military government forever. Clearly, the SPDC has no intention for establishing a genuine federal union that the ethnic nationalities of Burma have been fighting for, for more than half a century.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP), one of the cease-fire ethnic armed groups, sent its senior leaders to the first session of the National Convention hoping to propose a basis of federalism but it was blocked from the very beginning of the group meeting.
Participants in the National Convention were not allowed to express their own views except to read from prepared SPDC speeches. Therefore, NMSP downgraded its participation from a full delegation to an observer status in last session of National Convention and will remain as an observer in the upcoming session.
Since 1988 the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva has repeatedly issued resolutions concerning human rights violations in Burma . Furthermore, in 1994 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) issued a resolution on Burma calling for a tripartite dialogue in order to bring about national reconciliation and to peacefully solve the political problem. But the SPDC does not care about warnings from international communities, such as UN, EU, and ASEAN.
Moreover, SPDC ignores any constructive engagement sought by ASEAN to which Burma is a member state. Instead, the junta continues engaging ethnic cleansing policy toward ethnic nationalities that cause wide scale of human rights violations, internally displaced persons and illegal immigrants or refugees in neighbouring countries.
After observing Burma’s problem for more than a decade, the UNSC has now included Burma’s problem in its formal agenda. The UNSC’s decision was welcomed by the civil population of Burma including political parties and ethnic armed groups. The New Mon State Party (NMSP) warmly welcomed the UNSC’s decision and stated its support for a peaceful political solution in Burma.
We wholeheartedly believe that Burma’s chronic problem cannot be solved by the Burmese people alone. Basically it needs a mediator to bring all stakeholders together such as representatives of SPDC, NLD and democratic forces and ethnic political parties and armed groups, and to moderate in the dialogue.
Therefore:
- We sincerely request that the UNSC requests that SPDC release all political leaders and students' leaders from detention as soon as possible.
- By reaffirming the 1994 UN resolution on Burma , UNSC should issue a resolution on Burma for tripartite dialogue and to implement it as soon as possible.
This statement is joined by:
- The Australia Mon Association (AMA)
- Euro-Mon Community
- Mon Canadian Society of Alberta
- Mon Land Restoration Council (USA)
- Mon Women's Association of America
- Mon Unity League (Thailand)
Media contact persons:
Nai Siri Mon Chan ( Australia ) Tel: +(61)433548199
Email: sirimonchan@ yahoo.com
Nai Sunthorn Sripanngern ( Thailand ) Tel: +662 428 6232
Email: sunthornmul@ gmail.com
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The Burmese army often accuses local Mons people as rebel sympathizers, killings, rapes, forced labours, and lands confiscating by the army are widespread in the areas.
After land confiscation, the Mon farmers in the surrounding areas greatly suffered as below;
- Suddenly being deprived of employment
- Deterioration in social life
- Population Displacement and Flux of Refugees
- Migrating into Thailand
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