"As pressure mounts on the ceasefire groups to transform into Border Guard Forces, media attention has focussed on those groups, especially the Wa in Shan State and the possibility of impending conflict. While there is no doubt that the situation there is precarious, with the oncoming rainy season, it is unlikely that there will be any military action until at least November 2010. Instead, the Burma Army has increased its pressure on the New Mon State Party (NMSP), a smaller and easier target, bordering Karen State and Thailand in the South of the country. While no official statements have been made, recent reports suggest that the NMSP is already considered illegal. At a 7 May meeting with the USDA, Major General Thet Naing Win of the South-east Command reportedly told the audience that the NMSP should be considered an illegal armed group. A source within the NMSP confirmed the group?s new status.1 With the NMSP?s uncertain future, a new political party, the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP), has registered its intention to contest the election. Although, at the time of writing, the new party remains to be officially approved by the election commission, it remains the only glimmer of hope of Mon representation in the near future..."