Arka : Burmese authorities have demanded that information about

all non-member guests moving in and out of New Mon State Party
(NMSP) offices in Mon State be recorded and submitted to the
Burmese government.
While the Burmese government has not yet explicitly announced
that the NMSP is now an “illegal party”, sources within the party
explained that the requirement of information about guests is
treatment only given to parties deemed illegal by the Burmese
government.
NMSP members reported that the orders were given to the party
roughly 3 days ago, and apply to all NMSP offices in Mon State.
Guests must submit their names, identification card numbers, and
villages of origin.
According to a staff member from the NMSP office in Moulmein,
“The NMSP is not a legal party. The party’s offices are also not legal.
They [Burmese authorities] said that that’s why we have to give the
names of the guests coming in and out of the office to them”.
Following the establishment of the ceasefire agreement between the
NMSP and the Burmese government at 1995, the NMSP opened
offices in Moulmein, Thanphyuzayart, and Ye in Mon State, as well
as in Three Pagodas Pass in Karen State. This is the first time that
the party has been pressured to inform the Burmese government of
the party’s guests.
The relationship between the two groups changed following the
NMSP’s public refusal to surrender its armed force, the Mon
National Liberation Army (MNLA) to the Burmese government on
September 1st ; the NMSP issued a statement that it was unwilling
to surrender to the Burmese government without discussion
regarding Burma’s potential shift towards becoming a federal
political union.
According to a Central Committee (CC) member, such requirements
indicate that the NMSP is, for all intents and purposes, an illegal
party for the first time in 15 years.
“NMSP members inside Burma have to keep low profiles and act as
a normal civilians”, he added.
A political observer from Mon State informed IMNA that the
Burmese government’s orders were possibly the result of a recent
announcement made by Mon umbrella group the Mon Affairs
Union (MAU) about the 2010 elections.
The MAU issued a public statement on September 30th of this year
urging Mon people to boycott poll stations on election day, and to
oppose the 2010 elections because they are not “free or fair”.
On August 23rd, Southeast Command Commander Maj. Gen. Thet
Naing Win informed NMSP leaders that unless the party
surrendered the MNLA to the Burmese government by September
1st, the ceasefire between the two groups would be ended, and the
Burmese government would effectively consider the NMSP to be an
illegal political group.
An officer from the MNLA told IMNA that the armed force is closely
monitoring the movements for the Burmese Army, as tensions are
rising within both groups.
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