Burma: Mon MP Skeptical About Pace of Change

Mon MP Skeptical About Pace of Change
LAWI WENG Monday, December 12, 2011

An ethnic Mon member of Burma's upper house of Parliament has expressed disappointment with the pace of reform in the country's new quasi-civilian legislature, saying that his efforts to raise the concerns of ethnic people have fallen on deaf ears.

“They [the government] don't want to talk about the rights of ethnic people. I keep raising this issue whenever I get a chance, but it seems they want to delay talking about it,” said Banyar Aung Moe, an elected member of the Amyotha Hluttaw, or House of Nationalities, from Ye Township in Mon State.

As a member of the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP), the only ethnic Mon party in Parliament, Banyar Aung Moe has advocated allowing ethnic minority children to study in their own languages. However, he said, his proposal was rejected without debate.

“I kept proposing this in the second session of Parliament, but I was told it would not not be discussed until the third session,” he said, speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone from Naypyidaw.

He has also highlighted the plight of fishermen in southern Burma, many of whom are being forced out of the fishing industry by high taxes. He said he wants to know if the government has a plan to improve this situation, which has left many with no other option than to seek employment abroad.

Even though he has spoken up for the interests of Mon State's people in the national capital, Banyar Aung Moe said that his efforts have not pleased the state's chief minister, Ohn Myint.

He does, however, have admirers outside of Burma's official political system. Nai Sunthorn, the chairman of Thailand-based Mon Unity League, said that Banyar Aung Moe has been the most active of the seven Mon representatives currently serving in the both houses of Parliament.

However, Banyar Aung Moe admits that the odds of succeeding with any of reform initiative are daunting, noting that the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party holds large majorities in both houses.

“We have about 80 people, while they have about 600 people. It is difficult to discuss the issues that we propose while they have such a vast majority,” he said.

But that could change, he said, now that Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, have decided to run in upcoming by-elections—a move he believes could strengthen the forces of democracy in Parliament.

In the meantime, political change has barely begun, and another pressing issue—the need for a nationwide ceasefire—has yet to be addressed.

“We don't know about their strategy for ceasefire talks with the New Mon State Party, but they need to bring in some representatives from the AMRDP to build trust,” he said.

Mon MP Skeptical About Pace of Change