A report said that Colonel Kyaw Kyaw, Minister of border affairs and security in Chin state and his 100 people had destroyed more than 300 houses of illegal settlers in Sihzang forest area in Falam Township, Chin state by four excavators (JCB) at 6 am on 1st September 2016.
The Minister said that although the residents in Sihzang forest area were warned twice by the state government, they didn’t response to shift other place.
“It is the decision of state government. They are given twice warning in the month of July and August, and given again on 22 in this month. As they didn’t manage to clear the houses we had decided to do this way,” he said.
The residents are sheltering at Baptist Church in Chichai village now and some are at their relatives in nearby the villages.
“We were warned to move from this place immediately by the government. But we have nowhere to go. We didn’t protest and challenge the government. In fact, we have no other place to stay; now our houses had been destroyed. Though we thought that the government will arrange settling in other location for its citizens, in reality we had faced this kind of bad experience,” said one of the victims.
The state government is planning to plant teak trees in the area after removing the houses.
It is learnt that the illegal residents in Sihzang forest area are shifted from Bualpi village in 2015 as natural disaster happened in those areas.
Although the government cannot accept them as refugees of natural disaster, the local claimed themselves as refugees of natural disaster and livelihood crisis.