An interview with Dr. Thiri Mon Chan, the chairman of Political and Military Leading Committee of Mon State Defense Force
The Mon State Defense Force (MSDF) is an armed resistance force established after the military coup to represent the Mon people and fight the military council with all the weapons they possess. The MSDF was established in September 2021 and is divided into MSDF-North and MSDF-South, with the former responsible for recruiting new soldiers and military training and the latter for conducting military operations.
In this interview with Than Lwin Times, Dr. Thiri Mon Chan, chairman of the Mon State Defense Force (MSDF) Political and Military Leadership Committee, talks about the current military activities of the MSDF, his views on the Mon Unity Party and the New Mon State Party, and why Mon youth should join the Spring Revolution.
Q: First, please tell us about the activities of the MSDF.
A: The MSDF is divided into a northern and a southern military region. The northern region is responsible for military training and other essential activities, while the southern region is responsible for military operations. But we haven’t had any military activities in the south. Recently, some resistance forces from Mon and Tanintharyi have come to join us. We hope that soon we’ll be able to conduct certain military operations. We’re also willing to cooperate in military operations with other ethnic armed organizations, the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), and the local PDF.
Q: What is the military situation in the south and north of Ye Township, where the MSDF is operating?
A: We haven’t conducted military operations in the northern region. We’re currently in the territory of our ally. In the south, we could conduct military activities depending on the situation, but no significant operations yet. In the future, we plan to work not only with the Mon defense forces, but also with other allies and ethnic armed groups.
Q: What would you like to say to the revolutionary forces fighting to overthrow the military dictatorship?
A: There is a weakness in the link between the resistance and the political groups. In fact, we have to fight against the military council in the form of a compact army. It would be more effective if we coordinate not only with our military allies, but also with other political forces underground and on the surface.
Q: What would you like to say about the Mon Unity Party’s re-registration with the military council?
A: From my point of view as a Mon person, this is unacceptable. Everyone knows what the military council hopes to achieve from the planned election. He [the coup leader] only made his promise to hold the election because he wants to remain in power. We don’t know when the election will actually take place. They said they’d be held in 2023. And then they postponed them indefinitely. We ethnic peoples can’t expect the junta elections to give us the rights we want. Other major political parties like SNLD didn’t re-register with the regime, so they’ll not participate in the election. What I want to say to the Mon Unity Party is that a political party can exist without registration. The SNLD exists as long as it has the support of the people. It’s not true that you cannot stay in politics only if you’re registered. This type of registration is a form of give and take. They’ll take more than you have given.
Q: The New Mon State Party, one of the Mon armed groups, is currently holding peace talks with the military council. What do you think about that?
A: All political analysts understand that. The peace talks sponsored by the military council aren’t real politics. Right now, only the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) and the NMSP are in ceasefire and participating in political talks with the regime, but there are many other armed groups in Kachin, Karen, Karenni and other parts of Myanmar. We can’t achieve real peace through these talks. This isn’t the real situation. It’s just the military’s tactic to divide and rule. They have done that on many occasions. After the ’88 Uprising, they made ceasefires with ethnic armed organizations, especially the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), to crush the pro-democracy forces. They intensified their offensives against the Karen National Union (KNU). Today, the PPST is not a group that in opposition to the military council. Genuine peace in Myanmar can only be achieved through talks with all armed groups, including the NUG and the PDF in Sagaing Region. We can’t expect fulfillment of our aspirations for peace from the military council’s peace conference with the PPST or the NMSP alone.
Q: What would you like to suggest to the Spring Revolution?
A: The Spring Revolution has been over two years now. What I emphasize is the need to have a compact force. We now have the NUG and there are the PDF and other ethnic armed groups. But they don’t operate as a compact force. Therefore, the NUG should strive to form a compact force like other armed groups such as the Kachin, Wa, and Arakan. The military regime was able to maintain its rule for more than 70 years using the tactic of “divide and rule” because the ethnic armed groups didn’t have compact and united political and military allies. We’ll only achieve our goal if the armed groups and political forces, including the NUG, can be united in the best possible way.
A: What would you like to say about the NUG?
A: Almost the whole country recognizes the NUG. However, in order to unite other armed groups and EAOs, they should be clear about the rights of ethnic peoples from now on. How will they establish a federal union that the ethnic peoples aspire to without clear [principles]? They should be clear about how they’ll stand on ethnic rights. They should be clear about their future political agenda and federal policies to mobilize the ethnic peoples. I think they need to work with other allies and armed groups on many things, such as the model of government.
Q: Why do the Mon peoples need to participate in the revolution? What do you need to do to encourage them to participate?
A: There is a view that the Mon have held since the military coup. There were indoctrinated views that the current military coup and other political developments are just the things between the military and the NLD or the military and the Bamar. But they later came to a realization. We, the people of Mon, want peace and to live in peace. The flame of war hasn’t raged in our state. Therefore, we haven’t yet acted, but continue to live on good terms with the military council. But from our point of view, the whole country is in a state of war. The flame of war is like a forest fire. It can spread to our side. In accordance with our policy, we must prepare for it before it arrives. The war will continue to intensify and will inevitably come to our state. No matter how peacefully the people of Mon State live now, if they don’t prepare to defend our state, we’ll face more intense flames of war. We, the MSDF, are preemptively protecting the lives and property of the people of Mon to minimize the damage. Do it preemptively. This is the only way we’ll get the peace we want.
Sent by Than Lwin Times.