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The Chin State government will hold a press conference in the state capital of Hakha on June 24 to assess the administration’s annual performance—but all media inquiries must be submitted in advance. An invitation letter sent to media groups stated that each organization could submit three questions to the state’s information and public relations department. The deadline for submission was Tuesday. Par Pwi, chief editor of The Hakha Post, told Khonumthung News that while the press conference is welcomed, the demand that questions be pre-determined is not. “If possible, they should not ask for questions ahead of the press conference.…
The Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) sent a warning letter with a bullet to a Sagaing man who has reportedly been engaging in mining metals in Chin State’s Tedim Township. The accused, U Than Sawng, lives in Kalay Township. According to the ZRA’s letter, sent on June 13, he has been illegally digging for minerals in Tedim’s Mwetawng area. The letter was signed by Maj Zo Thang, commander of ZRA’s eastern command, and stated that the area where the mining was taking place is owned by ethnic Zomi people. If U Than Sawng is caught mining again, the ZRA said it…
The Chin community based in Malaysia raised 18.9 million kyat (US$12,375) for internally displaced people (IDPs) fleeing clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army (AA) in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township. The Chin Emergency Relief Committee of Malaysia (CERCM) donated the funds through the Paletwa Social Volunteer Association. CERCM is made up of the Malaysia regional committee of Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement signatory the Chin National Front, as well as Chin churches, civil society organizations, and individuals. “We feel like our Chin brothers in Paletwa are suffering. We sympathize their suffering. We stand with them. That is why we…
The Hills Education organization and the Chinbridge Institute have announced they will give financial support to Chin students who recently passed their high school matriculation exams but cannot afford to continue their studies at Kalay University in Sagaing Region. “We are trying to make their dreams come true,” Van Cung Lian, the director-general of the Chinbridge Institute, told Khonumthung News. “Scholarship award-winning students will not only get a grant, they will also get other capacity building and skills. Our objective is to make Chin students become experts, academics or professionals in the future.” Two scholarships will be awarded for 2019—one…
Chin State’s Minister of Municipal Affairs, Electricity and Industry Soe Htet said he would take action against those who have issued death threats against him and former minister Isaac Khin on social media as soon as he has enough evidence to press charges. “We are preparing to take action against the people who made the threats on a social media network,” he said, speaking to Khonumthung News. “We know who has been doing this. A few people, including staff from the education and healthcare departments, are spreading hate speech and creating conflict between Rakhine and Chin ethnic people. We are…
Intense clashes between Burma Army and Arakan Army (AA) forces in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township have sent more than 700 people fleeing to the town of Paletwa since last Friday. The clashes, which occurred seven miles from the town center on June 7-8, forced residents of five villages— Peinnae Tapin, Thae Machaung The, Kyauk Pyin Htawng, Kywae Thawng and Lawng Tin—to seek refuge in Paletwa. A total of 722 people from 143 families have fled to Paletwa since late last week. Some of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are staying with relatives, while others are sheltering at the local…
Nearly 800 local people, including student and youth organizations, protested in the town of Matupi today against the planned venue of Matupi District’s new district administration office. The protest, which started at 10am, was the third of its kind against the Chin State government’s plans to build the district administration office in Hpanai-Ngalai, a village located about nine miles from downtown Matupi. According to protestors, local people are unhappy about the state government’s already approved plan to build the new district office so far from the town center. “What we want is to build this district office in the downtown…
As Burma’s Ministry of Education announced its high school matriculation exam results last week, Chin State had the lowest passing rate in the country. Some 10,771 students took the exam in Chin State during the 2018-2019 academic year and only 2,110 passed, or 19.6 percent of students. Nearly 80 percent of those who took the test—which relies largely on rote learning—failed. More than 250 students received distinctions in at least one subject, and in as many as five subjects. “Many students in other states and regions are living in boarding schools with private teachers, so students get full support from…
More than 100 schools in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township are facing difficulties beginning a new academic year because they have no teachers, a government spokesperson said. According to U Soe Htet, the state’s municipal minister, there are 118 schools that don’t have teachers for the 2019-2020 school year, and 94 schools that have only one teacher, meaning that a total of 212 schools are struggling with this shortage. “Paletwa Township has regional instability. Therefore, school teachers don’t want to live here,” he said, referring to the multiple clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army this year in…