The Chinland Defence Force (CDF) in Hakha Township released a Catholic monk and a Baptist pastor that the civilian resistance group claimed it detained for allegedly reporting its activities to the Burma Army (BA).
Catholic monk Rev Fr Noel Hrang Tin Thang and Pu Cung Hnin, the pastor, were detained on July 26 while on their way to Hakha town to visit the military, a CDF official said.
CDF told Khonumthung News the duo from Surkhwa town was freed on August 4 after they promised to stop informing to the military. “They agreed to our demands and signed a promise. They confessed reporting about the CDF, and we told them not to do it again,” a CDF officer said. They reduced their punishment, the officer explained, because CDF respects religious leaders.
The men signed a four-point agreement with CDF during a special meeting attended by other Catholic leaders. They agreed not to cooperate with the military or inform about CDF or spread fake news. Rev Fr Noel Hrang Tin Thang has to transfer to Hakha town, and not take money from the military junta.
According to CDF, the monk welcomed 57 BA soldiers from Infantry Battalion 305 when they arrived in Surkhua on July 1, and accepted tender from the army for his company Seng Thang.
On May 8, CDF attacked and seized a police station in Surkhua, later torching it. The incident attracted the attention of the BA, which sent soldiers to the town to attack CNF on May 31.