The government imposed a curfew in war-stricken Paletwa township in Burma’s southern Chin State after the Arakan Army (AA) kidnapped an MP and foreign nationals. The curfew that was enacted by Paletwa Township General Administrator Koe Aung on November 9, requires civilians to be in their homes from 6 pm to 6 am and will last for two-months. Gatherings of five or more has been outlawed. Koe Aung defends the measures, claiming AA plants landmines, targets civilians, launches ambushes on the Burma Army (aka Tatmadaw) then blends into the civilian population. The Tatmadaw has been accused of many of the…
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The budget for Chin State for the 2019-2020 fiscal year is more than 260 billion kyat (US$170.75 million), according to government officials. It marks an increase from the 2018-2019 budget of 220 billion kyat ($144.45 million), with half provided by the Union and half from the state. This next year, the Union government has allocated more than 136 billion kyat ($89.3 million) for regional development and the state will kick in nearly 127.23 billion kyat ($83.55 million). Wi Kaw, the planning and finance minister for Chin State, told Chin media outlets in a meeting on October 31 that not all…
If a mega dam is built on the Laymyo River—also known as the Lemro River—in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township, some 20,000 people from more than 50 villages stand to be displaced, according to environmental advocates. Chin Rivers Watch reported on the negative impacts of the proposed hydro-power project on Monday during a press conference in Yangon. The organization said that the government has carried out a feasibility study concerning the construction of two dams on the Laymyo River—one in Chin State and one in Rakhine State. The first project would be near Ko Phe She village in Paletwa, and…
Legislators from North, Central and South America gathered at the Carson Center in Carson, California to show their support for the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW). PARLACEN, the Central American Parliament has begun to implement the DPCW into its member states’ laws, as well as the city of Policarpa in Colombia, which has also implemented Article 10 into its city code. The DPCW has also received support from the National Assemblies of Ecuador, Nicaragua and Panama. In the U.S., the DPCW has received 17 congratulatory certificates from the congressional districts and 15 support letters from city mayors.…
The Arakan Army (AA) has continued to detain parliamentarian Huay Ting in their custody but on Monday morning released nine other people they had been holding, according to a Chin State government spokesperson. AA forces took Huay Ting, who represents Chin State’s Constituency 11, into their custody on Sunday. Along with him, they detained five Indian nationals working on road construction within the Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, two translators, and two boat operators. The group was traveling from Paletwa in Chin State to Kyauktaw in Rakhine State, an active conflict area. “They released all detainees at 6:00 a.m. this…
The state-level commemoration of the 72nd Chin National Day will be held in Thantlang town on February 20 of next year, a government spokesperson said. The proceedings were originally planned for Paletwa in southern Chin State, but the area has seen intensified armed conflict between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army. “Our cabinet has decided to hold the upcoming Chin National Day in Thantlang town. The priority venue is the Thantlang football grounds. An alternative venue is the sports stadium, which is still being constructed,” the Chin State municipal minister Soe Htet told Khonumthung News. He blamed the cancellation…
An employee with the education department in Paletwa Township was taken from his house this last week by an as-yet unidentified group, his family members said. Tawng Pang was abducted at around 9:00 p.m. on October 27 from Pwi Wong village in Ouk Thae Mawa village tract in Paletwa. Family members say that nearly one week on, they have not received any update on his whereabouts. “I don’t know who they are. They spoke the Rakhine language. They said that they had questions for my dad,” Tawng Pang’s daughter told Khonumthung News. “I’m so worried that something will happen to…
October 25th, 2019 – Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) from Belgium and the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) from Italy host a seminar in Seoul, South Korea on November 29th to discuss global human rights abuse cases with 40 legal experts, journalists, and representatives from civil society organizations. The lecturers in the seminar will include some of the leading academic scholars of new religious movements from the United States and Europe. At the seminar titled, “Intolerance and discrimination against new religious movements: an international problem”, the participating experts will cover the current issues of destructive damages caused by…
On the 19th, the HWPL Peace Education Conference was held under the theme, “HWPL Peace Education, Changing the Future of Korea by Building an Upright Character” to create a peaceful future. HWPL has made agreements with education ministries and institutions, providing peace education to students of different nationalities and cultures. HWPL, the host of the conference, has developed peace education on a global level for the past three years since 2017. Working with educators around the world, HWPL developed teaching materials that can nurture students into peace leaders and citizens. It has signed Memoranda of Agreement with education ministries in…
Locals and internally displaced people (IDPs) from other areas who have sought refuge in Meezar village in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township, say that they have been forced to carry food and supplies for Burma Army troops. The Burma Army called up a total of 35 people in Meezar on the morning of Wednesday, October 23 to work as porters, carrying food rations from the village of Twin Chaung Wa to Kha Maung Wa. The trek is one full day on foot and was scheduled for Thursday. “The Burma Army gave the order to the village headman and the local…