New Mon State Party

   (NMSP)

   Established in July 1958 by Nai Shwe Kyin; claims to represent the Mons and has operated in rural areas around Moulmein (Mawlamyine), along the shore of the Andaman Sea and on the Thai-Burma border. Its armed force, swelled by students who went underground after the 1963 peace talks, was 1,000 in 1971 and around 1,500 in the late 1980s. The NMSP split into two factions, led by Nai Shwe Kyin and Nai Nol Lar, in 1981, but they were reunited in 1987. In 1990, the party claimed that it controlled four districts, around Thaton, Moulmein (Mawlamyine), Tavoy (Dawei), and Mergui (Myeik). The New Mon State Party has been a member of the National Democratic Front and the Democratic Alliance of Burma. Its armed force is now known as the Mon National Liberation Army. The NMSP signed a cease-fire with the State Law and Order Restoration Council in June 1995, in part because of pressure from Thailand and because the fall of Manerplaw left it dangerously exposed to Tatmadaw attacks. As a cease-fire group, it enjoys only limited independence but continues in its efforts to promote the interests of the Mon community. A 2001 breakaway faction, the Hongsawatoi Restoration Party, has refused to recognize the cease-fire. When Nai Shwe Kyin died in March 2003, he was succeeded as NMSP president by Nai Htin.

   See also All Ramanya Mon Association (ARMA); Three Pagodas Pass.