NMSP’s Party Cancel

July 1, 2008

By HURFOM:

A New Mon State Party (NMSP) officer in Moulmein has reported the party will be unable to hold its annual Ceasefire Memorial Day celebration this year, as the party has already exhausted its yearly budget. The celebration is usually held on June 29^th at the Ngwe Moe Hotel, and in the past has been attended by the Southeast Command. This year marked 13 years since the ceasefire agreement.

Following the 1995 agreement the Junta has provided the NMSP with Five million Kyat per month. This budget was cut off last year however, after a new clause decreed the NMSP chairman must travel to Naypyhihtaw each month to sign off on the donation. In the past, the NMSP officer in charge in Moulmein was able to sign for and collect money at the Junta’s Southeast command in Moulmein.

But with the new changes the NMSP decided to refuse any further funding from the Junta, the source claimed. So with limited funds only a small celebration was held in the NMSP offices in Moulmein. The Southeast Command did not attend.

This change marks the first time since the agreement that a large mutual celebration has not been held, leading some observers to suggest tension between the NMSP and the military government may be growing. It is not the first time recently that the two groups have snubbed each other; the NMSP refused to attend the National Convention and opposed the Referendum.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News