As Burma Army troops enter southern Chin State’s Matupi Township, members of ethnic Chin political parties say they are worried that fighting will spread in the region. Reinforcement troops with 100 military vehicles and two helicopters arrived in Matupi on February 3. It shares a border with Paletwa Township, where the Burma Army—or Tatmadaw—and Arakan Army (AA) have engaged in intensified clashes in recent months. “If they open a military operation in Matupi, both the AA and Tatmadaw have weapons. Our local people will suffer a lot,” Chin National Democratic Party chairperson Zozam told Khonumthung News. “I am so worried…
Author: Editor
As of last week, no one is allowed to walk in front of a military base after 5:00 p.m. in Matupi Township, southern Chin State, the Burma Army announced. According to a Matupi Township administrative officer, the commander of the No. 2 strategic command base in the area released an order on February 6 declaring that people must avoid the area around the military camp between the hours of 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. Matupi borders Paletwa Township, the site of recent fighting between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army. Because of this, “security has been tightened in the…
By Moe Kyaw – The road linking Kalay in Sagaing Region to Chin State’s Falam and Hakha townships will undergo changes with loans from the World Bank, according to Chin State’s chief minister. Chief Minister Salai Lian Luai revealed the potential upgrades to the road at a meeting in Hakha’s Carson Hall on Monday. The Chin State transportation minister, Sui Thio, explained how data would be collected for environmental and social impact assessments (EIA and SIA): a survey team will reportedly gather information from 30 villages in three townships along the route. Chin State will receive a US$200 million loan…
By Moe Kyaw – Kalay Township in Sagaing Region will receive a 1 billion kyat (Nearly US$656,000) from the Union development fund during the 2018-2019 financial year, according to regional parliamentarian Daw Aye Aye Mu. The funds will be used to support more than 50 projects. Most of the money will go toward constructing transportation infrastructure, followed by social projects, and projects related to water. The implementation period began with the start of 2019 and will go until September 30. Local participation is reportedly required in the projects. A development fund will be allocated for select village tracts and Kalay…
By Lalnun – The Yangon-based All Chin Society selected Burma’s vice president, Henry Van Thio, as the Chin Person of the Year for 2018. The society has 19 member organizations, and this is the first time that they have given out the award. According to vice chairperson Hung Saw, it is dedicated to an individual who has “worked for the country and ethnic people.” “Our selection process is that the person must be an ethnic Chin, effectively working for Chin people and the whole country,” he told Khonumthung News, adding that Henry Van Thio “met these criteria.” The All Chin…
By Moe Kyaw – Chin National Day will be commemorated this year in Aizawl, in India’s Mizoram State, for the first time in a decade. The 71st celebrations of the day will be held on February 20 for the first time since 2009, and are being organized by the Chin Pawlpi group. “We are resuming the Chin National Day celebration because there are many ethnic Chin people living in Mizoram state. We felt so upset because we couldn’t hold our national day celebrations for many years,” Salai Huliana, secretary of Chin Pawlpi, told Khonumthung News. “From now on, we hope…
By Lalnun – Drivers of “tricycle motorbike” taxis—motorbikes with a sidecar—formed a union in Sagaing Region’s Kalay on Tuesday. Led by members of the 88 Generation Open Society Institute, drivers of the vehicles held a meeting at Kalay Township’s city hall on Tuesday and established their union. “We heard that the regional government wouldn’t allow tricycle motorbikes in the transportation system in the future. It should not be like this. That is why we formed a union,” U Thaung Naing Thu, an 88 Generation Open Society Institute member told Khonumthung News, referring to a news leak that the authorities would…
By LE TAUNG – Government authorities in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township have warned internally displaced people (IDPs) not to speak negatively of the Burma Army to the media. The IDPs fled from their homes following clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army in the Daletmay area on the banks of the Kaladan River on January 22. They are now taking refuge in Paletwa town. Township administrator U Koe Aung visited the IDPs, and according to members of the group he met, he warned them not to speak badly of the Tatmadaw if they were interviewed by reporters.…
Locals in southern Chin State’s Matupi town—located in the township by the same name—were alarmed over the weekend when around 100 military vehicles arrived in the area. Two more helicopters were delivered to soldiers in the town on Tuesday. Matupi town is the base for the Burma Army’s Infantry Battalions 304 and 140. Residents speculated that the equipment is designated for reinforcement troops headed to Paletwa Township in Chin State and northern Rakhine State. Both locations are the sites of recent fighting between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army. There are also reports of further infantry battalions and an…
By Lalnun – A trust will be set up to promote the rights of people living with disabilities in Burma, government officials said. U Soe Aung, deputy minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement ministry reportedly told parliamentarians at the end of January that the government had drafted a plan for the 2019-2020 financial year to provide education and work opportunities for those whose disabilities prevent them from going to school. Daw Siami (Daw Aye Aye Mu), an MP for Sagaing’s Kalay Township, brought up the issue in the Union Parliament, asking for the government’s strategy to assist those with…