A coalition of Chin civil society organizations issued a statement demanding for the Arakan Army (AA) to stop disturbing development projects promoting regional stability in Paletwa township, in southern Chin state, in an area where the Rakhine armed group is fighting with the Myanmar Army. The statement issued by the Chin CSOs Network said Chin and Rakhine ethnic groups have lived peacefully together in Paletwa region for many years. Chin people are patient and they understand the AA’s armed struggle but that the armed group’s latest actions are upsetting the peace. “AA forces are causing instability and it’s creating barriers…
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After a month-long blockade on the trading route between Burma’s No. 2 border trading camp near Rih-Zokhawthar and India’s Mizoram State, the road will re-open on Thursday. The Champai Vehicles Association ended the import of products from Burma on March 26. The Champai Trade Union and Zokhawthar Transportation Team held discussions at the Champai circuit house on April 23 and both parties agreed to resume the transportation of good cross-border. The border blockade between Chin State and Mizoram has been making life difficult, traders said. “It’s difficult to get back the money that we lent in Mizoram. Now the road…
Burma’s Vice President Henry Van Thio is scheduled to visit Chin State this week to inspect the implementation of regional development projects, according to the state’s municipal minister U Soe Htet. The Vice President is expected to visit Kanpetlet, Mindat, Matupi, Hakha, and Thantlang townships during his five-day trip, with special attention given to construction and transportation projects. “He is coming to see regional development projects sponsored by both the state government and the Union government. He will give suggestions regarding regional development,” U Soe Htet told Khonumthung News. Campaigner U Thein Myint said that he is going to report…
The Union’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement has committed to providing more than 1 billion kyat (US$653,950) for social programs in Chin State. Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye attended a ceremony transferring the assistance funds at the Hakha city hall in Chin State on April 20. The funds are designated to support pregnant women, children under two years old, people with disabilities, as well as volunteer housing and kindergartens throughout the state. “A new thing this year is that the Union government is providing assistance for disabled people. Chin State has the highest number of disabled people. The Union government has started to provide assistance for them this year including in Chin State. It’s a good news,” Chin State’s social minister Pau Lum Ming…
Thousands of people gathered in the southern Chin State town of Matupi on Thursday for the second protest in less than a month against plans by the state government to build the local district office eight miles outside of the town. Carrying placards and vinyl posters demanding that the government reverse its decision, nearly 3,500 protestors set out from the eight-road junction in Matupi at 9:30am and marched to the Hakha-Mindat Junction Road via General Aung San Road before returning to their starting point. The protestors say they are angry that the state government has ignored their demand to build…
A total of 224 prisoners were released from In-tai-lay in Kalay, Sagaing Region, on Wednesday as part of a presidential amnesty to mark the traditional Burmese New Year. All but 28 of the prisoners had been charged with drug-related offenses. Of the total, 179 were male prisoners and 45 were female. One of the men released was identified as a foreigner, and one woman was said to be in poor health. Four of the released male prisoners were between 75 and 80 years of age. Besides the 196 prisoners who had been charged under the Narcotics Act, there were 18…
The number of domestic and international visitors to Chin State’s heart-shaped Rih Lake rose noticeably during this year’s water festival, according to officials at the iconic site. While official figures were not available, the reason for the increased traffic seemed self-evident. “I think it’s mostly because the road to get here has greatly improved, making it easier for tourists to make the trip,” said Lalpeklawma, an official with the information and public relations department for Rihkhawdar, the town where most visitors to the lake spend the night. The annual water festival is one of the most popular times to see…
The Australian embassy in India has resumed interviews of Chin refugees in the country in the wake of a recent announcement by the UN refugee agency UNHCR that they still need the protection of the international community. The move comes months after the UNHCR decided in late 2018 that the refugees no longer needed international protection. The Australian embassy suspended its resettlement program for the refugees in line with that decision. “After the UNHCR decided to stop protection for Chin refugees, the Australian embassy also stopped interviewing,” said Salai Cung Dawt, head of the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) office…
Nearly 5,000 people are expected to turn up for a protest tomorrow over a long-simmering dispute about the proposed location of the new Matupi district office in southern Chin State. For months, local residents have demanded that the new office be built at the site of the current office or elsewhere in the downtown municipal area. The Chin State government, however, has already decided to relocate the office in Hpanai-Ngalai, a village eight miles away from Matupi town. This will be the second protest against the move in less than a month. “Lower house MPs, upper house MPs, members of…
Chin university students from around Burma will hold their 21st annual students’ festival in the southern Chin State town of Mindat on April 25-29. The festival, which is held at a different location in the state each year, aims to promote solidarity and mutual understanding among students from the many different Chin sub-groups. “Our objective is to have good friendship, unity and solidarity among Chin students,” Salai Thang Naing, the chairman of the Mindat University Students’ Union, told Khonumthung News. “We have many different small tribes, so we mostly focus on our own region and our own tribe. That’s why…