Mizzima
A breakaway from the New Mon State Party (NMSP), calling itself the New Mon State Party (anti-Military Dictatorship) (NMSPaMD) has split from the main party so that it can actively oppose the junta.
The NMSP and its armed wing, the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) do not want to fight against the junta and favour negotiating with them instead, because fighting the Myanmar Army goes against the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) that the NMSP signed with the Myanmar government of Thein Sein in October 2015.
This decision was confirmed at the 11th NMSP Congress, held on 25 December 2023 in Mon State where the majority of NMSP members voted for the party to adhere to the NCA and not oppose the junta army.
As a result, NMSP members who wanted to oppose the junta left the NMSP and formed the breakaway NMSPaMD, under the leadership of the NMSP General Secretary Naing Zaya and the NMSP Deputy Chief of Staff Brigadier General Saloon Htaw
The breakaway NMSPaMD said it is against sticking to the NCA because junta soldiers are now murdering Mon people and despite the NMSP having three rounds of formal talks with the junta as part of the NCA it had achieved none of its aims.
In a statement, the NMSPaMD said that Mon people are being oppressed, particularly in the townships of Kyaikhto, Thaton, Bilin, Kyaikmaraw, Thanbyuzayat, and Ye, where the junta has been killing and arbitrarily arresting people, launching airstrikes, firing artillery and burning houses.
So, the NMSPaMD said that to safeguard citizens it would collaborate with other Spring Revolution forces to launch attacks against the junta.
A representative of the NMSPaMD said: “In our fight against the military dictatorship, we will join forces with those who share our objective of opposing them. We have prepared for the worst-case scenario. Our party has no intention of fighting alone; instead, we will collaborate with organisations actively involved in our region and the revolutionary forces that have emerged from the Spring Revolution.”
Similarly, another group that signed the NCA in 2015, the Pa-O National Liberation Organisation/Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLO/PNLA) has been fighting junta forces in Hsi Hseng Town, in southern Shan State.
