Rumors spread on social media accused a 50-year-old police corporal at the Paletwa Police Station of raping a woman in a detention room. Win Lwin, police chief for the station in southern Chin State, denied the accusations. “There’s no internet service in Paletwa Township, yet rumors have been spreading on Facebook.” He said a man in custody who suffers from mental depression and is an alcoholic spread the rumors after claiming to witness the alleged rape on November 28. No evidence of rape was found after the alleged victim was sent to the hospital, Win Lwin said while elaborating that…
Author: Editor
A copy of a letter allegedly signed by the chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD) for Thangtlang Township, involving corruption during the recent general election, has spread on social media. The letter allegedly listed six companies and their owners who supported the politician in return for business concessions in the education department after he was elected to office in the township. Zo Bwi, NLD chair for Chin State, told Khonumthung News the NLD disciplinary committee investigated the matter and sent its findings to the party’s headquarters. Although he didn’t know the results of the investigation, Zo Bwi was…
Family members of Salai Aung Soe are increasingly anxious after the four-month period has passed since he was abducted by the Arakan Army (AA). Despite multiple calls for his release from the community and the Khumi Affairs Coordination Committee (KACC), the ethnic armed organization (EAO) has refused to release him. Salai Aung Soe was taken captive by AA on July 29 along with three other Chin. The youth, who were traveling to Paletwa town, were taken near Nga Tha Rai village in Kyauktaw Township. The others were eventually released, but Salai Aung Soe was not. AA is embroiled in a…
Three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Paletwa Township, southern Chin State this weekend, bringing the area’s total number of patients to eight. Dr. Soe Thet Win, of the township’s health department, told Khonumthung News that the three newest patients had returned from travel to Kyauktaw Township in Rakhine State and were tested on November 29 after three days in quarantine. It was found that they had contact with another COVID-19 patient on November 26. “Four previously confirmed patients have already been discharged from hospital [on Sunday]. Therefore, only four confirmed cases are receiving medical treatment in the…
Residents of Paletwa Township want the government to restore 4G internet services immediately in southern Chin State, as 2G isn’t fast enough to access the internet. Aung Ma Phyu, from Chin Women’s Organization in Paletwa town, told Khonumthung News she can’t send an email or even open a website indicating how this could endanger her during the pandemic because she couldn’t read news about COVID-19. Residents used to transfer money electronically using Wave Money in Paletwa. Since the Co-operative Bank (CB) has ceased operation, the only option left in town is Myanmar Economic Bank. A government employee, who requested anonymity,…
Chin villagers displaced by clashes between Arakan Army (AA) and Burma Army in Ann Township, Rakhine State, are facing severe food shortages after few donors have provided aid in recent months. Salai Zaw Min Tun, from Chin Humanitarian Assistance Team – Rakhine State, told Khonumthung News that many internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the town of Ann are “struggling” after not receiving support for over two months. After the election, only the seniors and infants in the camps got help from Chin civil society organizations (CSOs), he said. The government provided 150 million kyats ($114K) for IDP relief in Ann…
Farmers are angry with the government because of plans to build a dam to divert water to Chin State’s capital, Hakha because it will inundate their farms if it is completed. A November 24 statement by the farmers in the Nawi Valley said if the project goes ahead without their consent, the Chin State government will be seen as a “dictatorship”. Farmers say they refuse to be forced off the land they’ve been cultivating since 1920, and have already demonstrated their opposition to the dam. The Chin State government estimates the Nawi Dam Project, planned at the confluence of three…
After four cases were confirmed, there’s concern among residents in Paletwa Township that coronavirus infections will continue to spread in southern Chin State, where there’s very little personal protective equipment (PPE) available to stop transmissions among the large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in close proximity of each other. Zar Ni, who helps the IDPs in Paletwa Township, told Khonumthung News news of the cases came as shock to thousands still reeling after being forced from their homes from the conflict between Arakan Army and Burma Army. “We told IDPs not to leave the camp unless there was…
Seniors and children over the age of four-years-old are suffering from malnutrition because they’re not given the same nutritional support as others, an organization working in the internally displaced persons (IDPS) camps in Sami town, located in southern Chin State, told Khonumthung News. “I think pregnant women and children under the age of five are getting enough nutrition because they rarely get sick,” said Zaw Li Aung, director of People’s Hope. Women are giving birth without complications. During breastfeeding, they also receive nutritional powder from the government. But the other IDPs only get rice, yellow beans, cooking oil and salt,…
Khonumthung News interviewed Soe Htet, Chin State government spokesperson and municipal minister about the continued clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army (AA) in southern Chin State, the humanitarian crisis concerning more than 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Paletwa Township, and his expectations for the region given these circumstances. You are a native of Paletwa. What can you tell us about ongoing clashes there? I am not a revolutionary man. Many civilians have been killed and have disappeared in armed struggle. Many civilians have been arrested. Many people have been injured. Burma’s civil war has already been…