With both roads and waterways blocked between Kyauktaw in Rakhine State and Paletwa in Chin State, locals in Paletwa are facing severe shortages of rice, cooking oil and salt. Khonumthung News has learned that Burma Army military columns in the area have blocked the arrival of rice to waiting civilians and are selling it at up to three times the market price. Unable to get supplies from Kyauktaw since February, locals from five village tracts in Paletwa set out to buy rice in Lailinpi town in Chin State’s Matupi Township recently. The route to Lailinpi passes Shinletwa, where the Burma…
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Burma News International (BNI) sent an open letter to the president and state counselor to withdraw all charges against several editors accused of violating the Terrorism Act. Nan Paw Gay, the chair of BNI’s policy committee, told Khonumthung News the government should protect freedom of the press and not criminalize it. As Burma transitions the road to democracy and national reconciliation efforts are underway with the ethnic groups Nan Paw Gay asked why the government is arresting journalists from ethnic media groups. “We want the president and state counselor to protect the media and this is why we sent the…
Eighteen ambassadors to Burma from Europe and the US called for an end to fighting in Chin and Rakhine states to prepare for the Covid-19 pandemic that has already spread to 181 countries around the globe after it was discovered in December of last year. A joint statement said: “We are deeply concerned about the high level of fighting, casualties and civilian displacement occurring in Rakhine and Chin States, and the threat of further conflict in other areas.” The focus for all nations of the world must be “on protecting the most vulnerable communities from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.…
With the aim of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, some 299 returnees from abroad remain in quarantine in Chin State for the designated period of 14 days. The Chin State government said that of a total of 469 returnees, 170 had already completed their required quarantine period and tested negative for COVID-19. They were then discharged. Some 299 remained as of Tuesday. “We have monitored all returnees from foreign countries for at least 14 days. If they are not sick and do not show any symptoms of viral infection during the quarantine period, they will be discharged from…
The Chin State government accused the Arakan Army (AA) of robbing rice destined for civilians in food-strapped Paletwa township but Chairperson of the Paletwa Food Ration told Khonumthung Media Group they tried to buy the rice at regular rates. The government claimed the AA intercepted a vehicle carrying 100 rice bags to the township on March 29 and stole all it. But Sein Tun Hla, chairperson of the Paletwa Food Ration Transportation Committee, said the armed group tried to buy the rice at regular rates and the AA soldiers only asked for 20 bags. “They requested assistance from us…That’s why…
Nearly 7,000 ethnic Chin people living in Rakhine State have had to flee fighting between the Burma Army and Arakan Army (AA) and are in need of emergency assistance, civil society organizations (CSOs) said. The Burma Army and the AA have clashed in Rakhine State since the end of 2018, leading to the displacement of some 150,000 people in the state. “Chin ethnic people are a minority in Rakhine State. Media outlets cannot cover their situation. Another thing is that humanitarian assistance hasn’t reached these people,” Salai Tun Hla Kyaw, the chairperson of the Chin University Students in Rakhine State…
Burma News International (BNI) asked the government to stop blocking Rakhine and Karen media outlets from mobile phone users. “This is a crucial time for the news media to distribute accurate and timely information to the people,” said Nan Paw Gay, the chairperson of the BNI policy committee, in a press statement. For the democratic process to move forward and develop a “sustainable peace process” it’s crucial not to prevent freedom of expression. During the Covid-19 pandemic the people of Burma must have access to vital information about the current crisis, Nan Paw Gay said. While countries around the world…
As doctors in the public hospital in Paletwa, Chin State monitor returnees from abroad for signs of the coronavirus, greater concerns loom about the ability to prevent and treat the virus in a township cut off from the rest of the country. Because of intensified fighting between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army, both roads and river routes into the southern Chin State town of Paletwa have been blocked. The government has also shut off the internet to the region for months, limiting locals’ awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to protect themselves from it. Some 22 people…
Anyone returning to Kalay, located in Burma’s Sagaing region, from a foreign country is being placed in a 15-day quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic that has already affected at least 177 countries. Currently, there are 15 people (10 males, 5 females) quarantined at the Sitagu eye hospital after health officials implemented the new directive. They can’t leave the facility, have family and friends visit them or contact with any others during their stay. If an individual violates their quarantine, legal action will be taken under the 1995 anti contagious disease law. In Sagaing region, restaurants, bars and…
In an effort to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government has imposed a 24-day lockdown on the whole of the country since March 24, leaving Chin migrants and refugees without jobs or food. Salai Cung Dawt, who works with the Chin Human Rights Organization, said that members of the Chin community in India,who typically work in factories and as day and night laborers, arenow struggling for their survival under the new restrictions, which have left them unemployed. “They cannot afford to pay their rent on their homes or pay for their daily food,” he said. “The…