Statement on the Plan of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in Mon State for Initiating Peace

Talks with the New Mon State Party (NMSP) October 3rd, 2011 The authority from the ruling Burmese government, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), has recently organized a committee in Mon State to facilitate peace talks with the New Mon State Party (NMSP). While genuine political negotiations or peace talks are important to end the six decade-long ethnic conflicts in Burma, a lasting solution cannot be achieved by a peace process that excludes any ethnic nationalities of Burma. At this time, the USDP in Mon State is planning to hold peace talks with the NMSP, while the USDPs troops are launching military offensives against other ethnic parties such as the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Shan State Army-North, and the Karen National Union (KNU). If the USDP is genuinely interested in solving political and ethnic problems in Burma, it must declare a nationwide cease-fire and negotiate peace talks with the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) without any hesitation. Clearly, the plan for holding peace talks with the NMSP is merely the mission of Divide-and-Rule, which has been applied by successive governments in order to rule the ethnic people of Burma. Therefore, we urge the NMSP to reject any peace negotiations with the government unless all members of the UNFC are involved. The NMSP, as well as other former cease-fire parties, should learn their lessons from the cease-fire talks with the government, SPDC/SLORC, in the 1990s. The SPDC/SLORC applied its divide-and-rule policy and negotiated peace talks with individual ethnic groups; each group was treated differently or was given different incentives. By doing so, the SPDC/SLORC created misunderstanding, distrust, and isolation among the ethnic groups. As a result, for nearly twenty years, cease-fire ethnic parties were not able to meet or work together for a common goal. This history should not repeat itself. The USDP, just like the military regime (SPDC/SLORC), has no intention to find peaceful solutions to Burmas ethnic conflicts or to recognize the rights of ethnic people. The USDP has launched military offensives against ethnic armies and committed human rights violations in ethnic areas since it came to power. All the members of the UNFC should stand firmly by their common defense policy and political goals and work in solidarity to realize the rights of ethnic nationalities in Burma.

Overseas Mon Coordinating Committee (OMCC)

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