Mon Leaders Demand Release of More Political Prisoners

October 20th, 2011

IMNA – Mon political leaders from all parties welcomed the recent amnesty by Prime Minister Thein Sein in which over 6,000 prisoners were released, but call on the government to release more political prisoners.

Nai Ngwe Thein, Vice-Chairman of the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF), said, “We welcome the release of the prisoners, but the government should not release only the persons they would like to release. If the government truly wants to move forward for national reconciliation, it should release more political prisoners.”

MNDF won several parliamentary seats in the 1990 election, but was banned as a political party in 1992.

Nai Ngwe Thein added that if the government desires national reconciliation, it must also announce a nationwide ceasefire and halt all offensives against ethnic armed groups.

He said the government must organize tripartite political dialogue between the government, democratic oppositions (including those parties that did not participate in the 2010 elections), and the ethnic political parties (armed groups and other parties), after the announcement of a nationwide ceasefire.

The Chairperson of the 2010 elections-winning Mon party, the All Mon Region Democracy Party’s, explained, “We have demanded along with our brotherhood ethnic parties that the government release more political prisoners who are imprisoned because of their political beliefs.”

In a statement released on 15 October, the Ethnic Brotherhood Forum (EBF) calls on the government to release ‘88 student leader Min Ko Naing and ethnic Shan leader Khun Htun Oo, among other political prisoners, unconditionally.

The Ethnic Brotherhood Forum consists of five political parties: Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, AMDP, Rakhaing National Progressive Party, Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, and Chin National Party.

An Executive Committee member of the New Mon State Party, Nai Shwe Thein, said, “The demand to release all political prisoners is quite important if all of us plan to move forward for national reconciliation.”

NMSP held its first talk with the Mon State government’s peace mission on 6 October in Ye. However, so far no agreements for a ceasefire have resulted.

Among the 6,359 prisoners released last week, none of the well-known Mon political prisoners, such as Nai Yekha, Nai Myo Thawe, and the young monk Ashin Uk Kong Sah, were released.

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