ABSTRACT
For the majority of Mon refugees, 1997 was marked by increased efforts to begin meeting their own food needs, either by means of agriculture, trade or wage labour. However, the security situation in the Mon ceasefire zones was far from stable. In Tavoy District in particular, the NMSP was challenged by the emergence of armed anti-ceasefire factions. Meanwhile, further to the south in Mergui District, the strains of the ceasefire were also proving too much for the party to control. In late 1996, a combination of strategic and economic self-interest led independent-minded local military commanders to form the breakaway Mon Army Mergui District (MAMD), the most significant non-NMSP Mon armed group since the 1980s.
