The government shut down internet access again in Rakhine and Chin states. Internet services in Rathaytaung, Buthitaung, Maungdaw, Myaebon townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa township in southern Chin State have been suspended by the communication ministry since February 3. A government employee from Paletwa town that wished to remain anonymous told Khonumthung News the shutdown will impact businesses. “I don’t know when they will allow internet access again, and I don’t know why they shut it down.” “This will hinder work in the office. Without the internet, money can’t be transferred or received…If it’s not a security issue, we…
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Chin State parliament approved five Chin languages to be introduced into schools after meeting late last month. Initially, four ethnic languages were proposed said MP Van Thawng for Thangtlang township constituency-1. After more discussions, a fifth language was added. Languages, Laizo, Lai, Zo, Cho and Khumi will be taught this year in schools in Hakha, Thangtlang, Falam, Tedim, Tongzan and Paletwa townships. For the first time ever, course books will be created for these languages in government schools and students can pick what they want to study despite where they are residing, said Awng Liang, MP for Matupi township constituency-1.…
January 18th, 2020 – IPYG & IWPG Youth and Women Peace Development Workshop was held in Burundi’s capital city of Bujumbura, hosted by East African Community Youth Ambassador Platform/Burundi Chapter, Together we can/All for one vision. A total of 13 people from East African Community Youth Ambassador Platform/Burundi Chapter, Eglise de la Fraternité Chrétienne (EFC), Together we can/All for one vision, and Faith in Action Burundi/Community in Action attended the workshop under the theme of “Perceptional Development and Enlightenment about Burundi Women and Youth Ownership Workshop for Peace Agriculture Education.” The workshop was held to introduce IWPG (International Women’s Peace…
Company officials have sought support from village headman in Chin State’s Tedim Township in resuming the Mwe Tawng mining project, Khonumthung News has learned. The Yangon-based Myanmar Thiha Company is preparing to apply for an extraction license from the government for the Mwe Tawng project. It is located on the border between Chin State and Sagaing Region. There are nearly 20 villages around Mwe Tawng, which translates to “Snake Mountain.” Company officials came to meet village headmen from communities around the mining project area on January 28 in an attempt to get them on board with the initiative, locals said. …
The Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD) has warned the Arakan Army (AA) not to reference the Khumi people as an ethnic Rakhine sub-group. After releasing detained ethnic Khumi parliamentarian Hawi Tin on January 21, the AA published a statement declaring that the “Khumi ethnic tribe belongs to the Rakhine ethnic group.” The armed group also said that southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township—which Hawi Tin represents in the legislature—was once a land that belonged to their Rakhine ancestors. The CNLD has asked the AA to refrain from making such statements about the Khumi, who are also known as the Mro…
The public health department in the Chin State town of Rihkhawdar established a medical checkpoint at a bridge marking the border between India and Burma on Monday in response to the spread of coronavirus through the region. The checkpoint is located at the Rih-Zokhawthar bridge gate, at the No. 2 border trade zone/ “A team of officials from the government and three medics from the public health department have worked on it. The medical team does a medical check of those passing through. There are no restrictions. People are traveling as usual,” Rihkhawdar immigration officer Maung Maung told Khonumthung News.…
Teachers in the Chin State capital of Hakha have said that if the government does not reconsider its order to extend the academic year through March, they will “launch a strong movement” against it. On Sunday, nearly 100 teachers and students in Hakha protested the Ministry of Education order and changes to the examination schedule. “We are still waiting to see how the government will respond to us. If the situation does not change, we will launch a strong movement again,” primary school teacher Thein Zaw Win told Khonumthung News. Demonstrators demanded that the extension of the school year be…
An extension to the academic year by one month put forward by the Ministry of Education has been contested by teachers who say it is “overloading” them with work. The original order from the ministry stated that schools must be open until March 31, but it has been modified, with schools now required to be open through March 25. Students from Grade 4 and Grade 8 taking their final exams in the first days of March. Grade 10 students must take their exams between March 11 and March 20. Other students will be tested between March 23 and 25. March…
Chin land activists are concerned about the historic materials being consulted regarding the demarcation of Chin State. The state, which borders Sagaing and Magwe regions and Rakhine State, has overlaps in the boundaries. A Union-level team is working to determine new demarcation lines, and the earliest known map of the area is a British colonial map dating back to 1938. Mang Za Hkup, who is working with the Chin Land Affairs Network, said that he welcomes the move to re-demarcate the state’s borders, but that the 1938 map alone is not enough to complete the task fairly. “The 1938 map…
A 22-year-old Paletwa Township woman was injured in a landmine explosion just 10 days after her mother had also stepped on a landmine in the area. Khin Lon sustained injuries to her right calf on January 17 after the mine exploded while she was tending to her farmland in Nga-shar village. “She went to bring her paddy seeds to her rotating farm. Then she stepped on a landmine. She was admitted to Sittwe hospital,” a Paletwa local told Khonumthung News. Khin Lon’s mother, Hawi Tin, also stepped on a landmine in the jungle on January 7. Her injuries—to her face…