ABSTRACT
By 1995, with the MNLA outgunned by the Tatmadaw and Thailand no longer willing to provide covert support or safe refuge, it was clear that only a negotiated settlement with Rangoon would allow the NMSP to retain control over its remaining liberated zones. The June 1995 ceasefire agreement brought the NMSP leadership a good deal of criticism, not least from within the wider Mon nationalist community. However, there was also a widespread understanding that, faced with a poor set of options, the party had had little choice but to agree a deal with Rangoon.
