Nearly 200 government employees in Chin State were suspended for joining the Civil Disobedience Movement.
The military is trying to break up the movement after civil servants refused to work until the junta steps down, according to Mai Thinn Yu Mon, a Chin human rights activist. Despite facing pressure to return to their posts, she predicts they’ll keep fighting until the military regime is forced out.
The movement was started by health workers across the country who refused to work after the military staged a coup about three weeks ago. Many civil servants have joined the campaign.
In Chin State, 172 General Administrative Department (GAD) staff were suspended by their bosses, who claimed they violated a number of offenses when they walked off the job to join protests. In Hakha District, 116 were suspended. There were 18 suspended in Thangtlang Township, 4 in Tedim Township, 12 in Tongzan Township and 22 in Mindat Township.
According to Mai Thinn Yu Mon, the suspensions, which is the first action the junta has taken against GAD staff, demonstrates the campaign is working and the government can’t operate without them. Although some might buckle to the pressure, most understand that according to the law they can’t be fired for striking and will continue fighting until democracy is restored, she said.
Many people donated money to help the civil servants who lost their income after joining protests. Recently the Chin Baptist Church in the US contributed $100,000 to the protest movement in Chin State.