International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) and Junub Open Space conducted their first “IPYG Youth Empowerment Project” in Juba, South Sudan, in December. The class was attended by 34 participants, including staffs of the Junub Open Space, teacher at the Victoria Secondary School, and 30 students. The title of the first class was “My friend, Maize” which introduced the growing process of maize to give an insight into the order of nature to the students. The IPYG Youth Empowerment Project aims to foster the young people as peace advocates who can practice and spread peace with the values of cooperation, diversity,…
Author: Editor
On December 28, about 50 prominent South Korean religious leaders issued a joint statement declaring the Presbyterian pastor Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon as a “public enemy” with sacrilege and criminal activities, as concern and controversy are coming from his hate speeches and anti-government activities. The event was hosted by the Christian Federation of Anti-Corruption and Sponsored by Pan-Religion Association. In the statement the religious leaders “denounce Rev. Jun for the sins committing social conflict and division” due to his remarks including “God, if you mess around, I’ll kill you.”, “Islam and homosexuality are diseases,” and “Women say Satan’s words.” “Tell a…
4 schools in Burundi including Rehoboth School, Le Dauphin School, Ecole Oasis Des Anges School, Lycée communal of Cashi had implemented HWPL peace education as regular curriculum for about 4 months from August to November. HWPL, an international peace NGO known as Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light, has been cooperating with the schools, institutes, or government agencies throughout Africa to support the peace education curriculum and materials. This peace education, where more than 200 students from 4 schools participated in, was aimed to cultivate students as peacemakers by raising awareness of the importance of peace-building as well as…
An ongoing curfew in Paletwa Township has made it impossible for locals—most of whom are Christian—to engage in their regular Christmas festivities. The curfew, which lasts from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. every night, was imposed by a General Administration Department (GAD) officer in the southern Chin State township on November 9. It was invoked through Article 144 of Burma’s penal code, and bans people from being out in public during restricted hours and prohibits gatherings of five or more people. It was put into place in response to ongoing clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army in…
Some 40 villagers from the communities of Kyaung Chaung and Thaphan Chaung in Paletwa Township sought refuge in Paletwa town on Tuesday, due to fears of intensifying clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army (AA) in southern Chin State. According to a local social worker in Paletwa, villagers left Kyaung Chaung preemptively on Tuesday after AA soldiers arrived in the village on December 12. “Even though the AA troops didn’t make any problems, the villagers were afraid of being caught in the middle if clashes broke out between the Burma Army and the AA,” the social worker said.…
Education department officers in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township say they are concerned that the ongoing curfew in the area will contribute to the continued low graduation rates among Paletwa’s high school students. At less than 7 percent, Paletwa had the lowest matriculation exam pass rate of Chin State’s nine townships during the 2018-2019 school year. The Chin State government organized an evening study course to assist students in their exam preparation, but since the township authorities imposed a curfew under Article 144, no one is allowed out in public. The course was then canceled. The curfew was introduced by…
A high school that was hit by an artillery shell in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township re-opened on December 12. The shelling, in Myothit ward, occurred four days earlier, at around 4:00 a.m. on December 8. The high school in question is located near the military compound of Burma Army’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 289. There has been speculation that the shell was fired by the Arakan Army, with which the Burma Army has engaged in intensifying clashes in recent years in the region, but Khonumthung News was unable to confirm the source of the weapon. Salai Aung Min, manager…
“1st Peace Educator Workshop for the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO (KNATCOM) in 2019” took place in Kenya Education Management Institute on 11, December. Hosted by KNATCOM HWPL, this workshop was organized by an international NGO named HWPL affiliated with the UN ECOSOC. 34 people including principal education officer of the Ministry of Education, deputy director of programme of KNATCOM and educators from UNESCO associated schools participated in the event. The workshop was devoted to enabling educators from UNESCO associated schools to experience and practice peace value education in the fields through presentation sessions on peace education materials and pilot…
A ferry has stopped its operations on the Kaladan River after an artillery shell hit its boat in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township during clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army on December 10. The boat was carrying passengers between Paletwa town and the village of Tawngpyo when it stopped at a jetty. It was then hit by the shell, killing two people and injuring five. “Because of the recent incident, the passenger boat line has stopped its operation, but small private boats are traveling on the river,” boat operator Yaw Bar told Khonumthung News. “Currently, all of…
A passenger boat on the Kaladan River was hit by an artillery shell as it traveled from Paletwa to Tawngpyo village in southern Chin State at noon on Tuesday, killing a 10-year-old child and a woman. At least five of the approximately 20 passengers were injured, eyewitnesses said, including the father of the deceased child. His condition is reportedly critical. All are receiving treatment at Paletwa’s public hospital. The boat left Paletwa town at around 9:30 a.m. on December 10. An eyewitness said that a shell hit the boat as it stopped at a Burma Army checkpoint in Nombu village.…