Message of Greetings sent by State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre, on the 73rd Anniversary of Mon National Day celebrations
Message of Greetings sent by State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre, on the 73rd Anniversary of Mon National Day celebrations
ပြန်ကြားရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန/ နေပြည်တော် / November 09, 2020
(9 February 2020)
ON the auspicious occasion of Mon National Day, highly regarded, valued and honoured by Mon ethnic nationals as a day of great significance, I send these greetings and good wishes to all Mon ethnic nationals to be blessed with good fortune and auspiciousness.
At the Conference of Mon Ethnic Nationals held in 1946, it was unanimously decided to designate the first waxing day of Taboedwe, Buddhist Era 1116, the day on which the capital city of Hanthawaddy was founded, as Mon National Day. Since that time we have been celebrating Mon National Day and this year marks the 73rd anniversary.
Since Myanmar is a Union composed of different ethnic nationals, unity of ethnic nationals is extremely important. If we review with objectivity the true nature of the more than 70 years period after we attained independence, we were unable to establish unity among the ethnic nationals because we were not able to solve political problems through political means. As a result, our State moved further away from peace and our development has lagged behind. We have seen this with much regret.
At this time, it is known by everyone that the Union Government has given priority to the task of national reconciliation and peace, to bring an end to internal armed conflicts and to establish genuine peace by solving political problems, which are the root causes, through political means. We also firmly believe that the dreams of all union ethnic nationals namely democracy, equality among nationals, and the right to self-determination will truly come into reality.
The fact that the NMSP – New Mon State Party has taken the path of national reconciliation and peace since 2018 and has been cooperating fully along the whole process of political dialogues is a matter which gives me great satisfaction and encouragement.
It is of utmost importance to turn the differences within the union into strength by taking firm hold of the opportunities arising out of genuine political dialogues to turn the dreams of our forefathers into reality.
The Mon National Day celebrations, not only brings honour and recognition to the age old traditions of the Mon ethnic race, their capabilities and qualities, it also shows the beauty of diversity within the Union.
I firmly believe that although there may be challenges on our path to the future Democratic Federal Union, we will be able to confront and overcome these challenges with the united strength of all union nationals based on mutual respect.
May all Mon ethnic nationals continue to participate hand-in-hand, in unity, energetically with other ethnic national brothers and sisters on the path to the future Union; may all Mon ethnic nationals living in Mon State and in other respective regions enjoy peace; and may they have continuous development.
I have great pleasure and honour to send this message of greetings with good wishes.
Aung San Suu Kyi
State Counsellor
Ref: The Global New Light of Myanmar