Ethnic leader Nai Shwe Kyin dies at 91 ( The Nation ) March 8, 2003

Ethnic leader Nai Shwe Kyin dies at 91

Published on Mar 8, 2003

Mon leader Nai Shwe Kyin, who played a major role in Burmese political history, died yesterday at the age of 91.

The former rebel and founder and president of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) died peacefully at his Myaing Thar Yar residence in the Mon State capital of Moulmein at 1.30 am (2am Bangkok time), according to Thai military sources monitoring Burmese affairs.

Born in 1913 in Kawhnat near Moulmein, Nai Shwe Kyin received a degree from Rangoon University in British colonial times before entering the British Navy with the rank of instructor. The Mon leader played a major role in crafting the future of his people from an early age. He founded the Mon Freedom League in 1947 to support the struggle for an independent Burma before being jailed a year later for his political activities.

Nai Shwe Kyin's armed struggle began when he joined the Mon People's Front after his release from prison in 1951.

In July 1958, the day after the Mon Peoples Front surrendered to U Nu's government, he formed the New Mon State Party (NMSP), which became the main party for Mon independence from Rangoon until the signing of a truce with Burma's ruling military junta in June 1995.

Nai Shwe Kyin retained the presidency of the party and lived peacefully in Moulmein after the 1995 peace accord.

Younger Mon fighters accused him of receiving business concessions from the junta in exchange for the cease-fire and split away to maintain armed resistance.

He once told The Nation that armed struggle could not achieve Mon aims and would destroy all parties. The cease-fire at least offered the Mon people the chance to improve their living standards, he said.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation