A demonstration originally planned for Monday against the Chin State government’s establishment of a national park and dam on locals’ ancestral land has been delayed until next month.
Villagers from the community of Chuncung, whose land and livelihoods would be affected by the project, will determine a date for the demonstration after the November 3 by-elections, following a request to do so from local administrators.
“The township general administration office called us. They said they would be busy with security issues because of the by-elections and requested that we demonstrate after it. So we decided to demonstrate after the by-elections,” a Chuncung elder told Khonumthung News.
The proposed dam is on Laitili Lake, a sacred place to the Chuncung community. The national park, located around Mt. Zingmuh, would intersect Hakha, Falam, and Htantlang townships. Villagers from Chuncung have relied on the area for generations as grazing pastures for livestock and for agriculture.
Mt. Zingmuh is located more than 8,400 feet above sea level and covers 7,750 acres in Hakha, 6,000 acres in Falam, and 4,000 acres in Htantlang.