Today I send my heartfelt greetings to our Mon brothers and sisters to mark Mon National Day. Over 75 years ago, this day was chosen as Mon National Day as it is the date when the brothers Samala and Wimala founded Hanthawaddy, which we also know as Bago. From Hanthawaddy, the Mon ruled over a vast and prosperous kingdom in southern Myanmar for two and a half centuries. It was in this period that much of Mon culture, language, script, religion, and wisdom spread through the country and left such a deep impact on Myanmar to this day. The Mon people in many ways laid the foundations of what has become our cherished and shared heritage. Myanmar owes a great debt to the Mon people for their contributions, not only in the distant past, but through to the present day.

Sadly, the Mon have also shared the burden of military brutality and repression. Since 1949 the Mon have struggled for self-determination and the right to decide their own future. A right no-one can justly take. And yet the Mon have been beset at every turn by the machinations of the Tatmadaw. Even after signing the military’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, the Mon were again betrayed by the military.

Just as Mon history and culture form an integral part of Myanmar’s shared heritage, so too has the legacy of brutal military rule left its scars upon the Mon people. The Mon and all people of Myanmar today share one struggle. The struggle for freedom, democracy, and self-determination. For the sake of all that is Myanmar, and for the sake of all that the Mon have contributed to Myanmar, we must remain united and steadfast in our cause, and we must win. I wish all my Mon brothers and sisters strength and success in their struggles so that next Mon National day will be celebrated in a truly free and prosperous nation.

Sincerely,

H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of Ministry of International Cooperation
Spoke Person of Nation Unity Government
Former Special Envoy to United Nations