Salai Hkwi Yang, a spokesperson for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), said his party plans to only contest 36 of Chin State’s 39 constituencies for the 2020 general election in order to make room for the ethnic parties to win the remaining constituencies. The USDP is not contesting Matupi and Falam townships and a seat for House of Nationalities for Hakha Township, he said. “I think their candidates should be elected for these constituencies. And that’s why we’re not fielding our candidates for these townships. During the 2018 by-election, we did not contest their candidates. So we’re maintaining…
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An ethnic Chin girl died after stepping on a landmine in Rakhine State’s Ann Township on Monday, according to local sources. Wathong, age 17, was looking for bamboo shoots in the jungle near Kazukai village when the mine exploded. According to Mai Nang Wai, who works with the Relief and Rehabilitation Committee for Chin IDPs (RRCCI), Wathong lost her legs in the blast and died en route to the hospital. “She was a mentally disabled person. She was not killed on the spot. She died on the way to the hospital as local CSOs [civil society organizations] tried to send…
Speaker of the Chin State parliament Zo Bwi—who is also the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) party chair for the state—has announced that he won’t run in Burma’s general election on November 8. According to Zo Bwi, he had planned to run for election in Hakha Township for the state parliament, but the NLD selected him to run for a seat in the Union Parliament’s Lower House. He said that he decided against it in order to help his party focus on developing a winning campaign strategy in the state. “I proposed running for a seat in the state parliament,…
Locals in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township say that they still are unable to get online, despite a news leak that internet service had been restored to the area after being blocked by the government for more than one year. The government has cut off mobile internet services to eight townships in Rakhine State, in addition to Paletwa Township in Chin State, since June 21, 2019, citing security concerns as the military engages in intensifying offensives against the Arakan Army. Locals believed internet access would be restored on August 1. “Currently, we cannot use the internet here,” Aik Tun Min,…
The Khumi Affairs Coordination Council (KACC) reported that the Arakan Army (AA) has been detaining four ethnic Chin youth in Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township since July 29. Mai Nang Wai, a KACC spokesperson, said that seven Chin youth were returning from Yangon to Paletwa Township in Chin State when they were stopped by the AA in Kyauktaw, and four were taken into AA custody. She added that one of those missing is Ai Aung Soe, who is working with a local civil society organization in Paletwa. “As far as I know, they returned to Paletwa through Pi Chaung, Ngathareng village,”…
Only one high school was allowed to resume classes in Chin State’s Paletwa Township when schools started up again across Burma in the third week of July as part of the country’s easing of a partial lockdown started in April. Salai Aung Min, the head of the Paletwa Township Education Department, said only a single high school was allowed to open because of the instability caused by the conflict between armed groups. In addition, personal protective equipment (PPE) required to comply with new health regulations set by the government’s Ministry of Health and Sports to prevent infections of the novel…
The Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD) announced last week it would contest the general election in at least 48 constituencies in two states and two regions. The constituencies include all 33 in Chin State, eight in Magwe Region, four in Sagaing Region, and as well as the Chin affairs ministerial posts Rakhine State and Sagaing and Magwe. The announcement came on July 22, following approval by CNLD secretary Salai Ceu Bik Thawng in a party meeting on July 19. “We already approved 48 representatives. Some people are still applying to be electoral candidates, so our selection process is ongoing.…
On July 20, a webinar on a new religious movement in South Korea and its political, religious, and social dimensions with the recent COVID-19 crisis invited international scholars and experts in the field of religion, international law, and human rights. Titled “COVID-19 and Religious Freedom: Scapegoating Shincheonji in South Korea”, the webinar addressed the recent issues of aggressive attack from politically powerful conservative and fundamentalist Protestant churches in the country on a newly-established, fast-growing Christian denomination named ‘Shincheonji (New Heaven and New Earth) Church of Jesus’ founded in 1984. The new Christian movement by Shincheonji has become a target of…
All of the high schools in conflict-affected southern Chin State accepting enrollment for the 2021-2022 academic years were prevented from opening when classes across Burma resumed again on July 21, following the end of a partial lockdown introduced in early April. Salai Aung Min, head of Paletwa Township Education Department, said none of the learning institutions could comply with the new health regulations set by the government’s Ministry of Health and Sports, intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus when students return to classes. Government health officials rated schools across Burma with scores of A, B or C, with…
The Chin State Election Commission plans to construct more than 30 ballot stations accessible to people with disabilities so that voters with wheelchairs can participate in Burma’s general election on November 8. There are a total of 3,031 people in the state who are eligible to vote who also have disabilities, according to the election commission. Lin Kyaw, the commission’s secretary, said that they would create 37 ballot stations for these individuals in eight townships in Chin State—all except Paletwa, which continues to be the site of armed conflict between the Burma Army and Arakan Army. “These ballot stations may…