CHRO

Rhododendron News

Volume XII, No I. January – February 2009

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

CONTENT:

 

EDITORIAL

• SPDC’s New Report Shows Proliferation of Buddhist Religious Infrastructure

 

GENERAL HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS

• Oil Workers Exploited by Junta-backed Private Company

• Justice Denied

• Chin Administrative Official Dismissed from Job

• Extortion and Forced Labor to Reconstruct a Bridge

• Extortion and Confiscation of Livestock

• Football Tournament to Profit Burmese Soldiers

• Prostitution Proliferate Due to Economic Hardship

• Army Officer Extorts Huge Sums of Money from Traders

• More Chin Territory Annexed in Re-demarcation of Inter-State Border

• 15 Year-Old Girl Raped by Burmese Soldier

• Civilian Forced Labor Employed to Renovate

• School Children Forcibly Conscripted into Burma Army

• Chin Historical Researcher Threatened by Authorities

• Travelers Face New Security Regulation

• Student Hospitalized after Assault by Two Army Officers

• Pay Money or Go to Jail

• Chin Students Face Discrimination in Education

 

ABUSE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

• Partially Constructed Church Building Ordered Shut

• Chin Church in Rangoon Closed Down By Authorities

• More Churches Locked Up By Authorities

• British MPs Expressed Deep Concern Over Church Shutdowns In Rangoon

 

RESPONSE TO THE FOOD CRISIS IN CHINLAND

• Live Aid Concerts to Combat Hunger in Chin State

• Australia Hosts Famine Live Aid Concert Series

• WFP: ‘Food Plus Cash-For-Work Programme’ Underway In Chin State

 

REPORT

• BURMA: Report Documents Abuse of Chin Christians

 

 

Editorial

 

SPDC’S NEW REPORT ON DEVELOPMENT IN CHIN STATE SHOWS PROLIFERATION OF BUDDHIST RELIGIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE

 

A recent report published by Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) “Chronicle of National Development” features hundreds of pages detailing infrastructural developments that have been undertaken across the country by the military junta over the past 20 years in Burma. The report, adorned with glossy pictures of bridges, roads and buildings that have been built by the junta boasts the generals’ effort toward a “modern and developed nation.” Published by the Ministry of Information, the report compares economic and infrastructure developments in the country between the period before and after 1988 when the Burmese military took over power.

 

The SPDC has long held the view that the people of Burma can be coaxed into putting off their dreams for freedom and democracy by showing them a few buildings and bridges built with the ‘goodwill and generosity’ of the Tatamadaw. There is little doubt that the release of the report was carefully timed in order to sway public opinion in favor of the regime ahead of the impending general elections in 2010.

 

A section of that report, about 18 pages long, was devoted to development initiatives in Chin state, which is neatly entitled “The Changing Scenes of Modernization.” Like other sections in the report, the SPDC boasts its accomplishments in Chin State in various sectors of development. But, not surprisingly, a careful scrutiny reveals that the most significant sector of development in Chin State over the last 20 years was the proliferation of Buddhism and Buddhist religious infrastructures. According to the report, a total of eight new Buddhist pagodas were built, many of them on the very site where a cross was destroyed, while 56 new monasteries were constructed during the period in Chin State. During the same period, the SPDC has outlawed the construction or renovation of churches and Christian religious buildings.

 

More than 6 Billion Kyats was reportedly spent for the project with funding from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Border Areas and National Races Development Program. Comparatively, 4 high schools, six hospitals and 2 bridges were built over the same period.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization has long documented and reported on the state-sanctioned expansion of Buddhism into Chin State and the resulting discrimination and persecution of Christians by Burma’s military junta as part of a policy to Burmanize the Chins. In 2004, CHRO published a report “Religious Persecution: A Campaign of Ethnocide against Chin Christians in Burma,” in which it documented in detail the targeted abuse and persecution against Chin Christians by the military regime. It included the destruction of Churches and crosses, the burning of Bibles, the physical abuse of Christian pastors and restrictions on Christian activities. The United States State Department still lists Burma a Country of Particular Concern or CPC, which violates religious freedom, and notes many of the abuses documented by Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

If the SPDC’s latest report on development in Chin State has accomplished anything, it wouldn’t be a result that the SPDC would want to see – that a grateful Chin people will have a more favorable view of the regime ahead of the planned election in 2010. If anything, the report only gives further proof to what CHRO and other human rights groups have been saying – there is systematic effort by the military junta to promote Buddhism at the expense other religions as part of a long-held policy aimed at making Burma a nation of “One Race, One Language, One Religion” or “Burman, Burmese, Buddhism.”

 

General Human Rights Situations

 

OIL WORKERS EXPLOITED BY JUNTA-BACKED PRIVATE COMPANY

 

23 January 2009: Win Thuza Enterprise, a buyer and seller of crude oil, which is operating under a government license, is exploiting oil workers in Magwe Division by securing oil at exploitatively low rate from local oil producers and workers.

 

The company has allegedly paid huge sums of money to the authorities to secure the right to be the sole buyer from oil producers and workers at Guan Say oil field, located just one mile away from Guan Say Village, Gangaw Township, Magwe Division. As a result Win Thuza Enterprise is buying crude oil at a 25 percent lower rate. The company is threatening to have the oil field shut if the producers sell their oil to other buying customer.

 

“They [the company and authorities] warned us that if they discovered that crude oil has been sold to buyers other than Win Thuza Enterprise, they will shut down the oil field,” said U Kyaw Htun, a local oil worker.

 

“A gallon of crude oil is 1200 Kyats at the market, but we are forced to sell at just 900 Kyats a gallon to the company. There is no profit left for us. We can barely survive under such a circumstance,” he explained.

 

Guan Say oil field was discovered in 2002 and has been privately operated by four local men.

 

JUSTICE DENIED

 

26 January 2009: A District Judge in Gangaw has dismissed complaints by the family of an 18 year-old Chin girl against U Pho Tha, owner of Win Thuza Enterprise, who alleged had impregnated her with promise to marry her, CHRO has learned.

 

Ma Yatana (a.k.a.) Ma Chawlay, a first year English Major student, is a daughter of U Tin Ngwe, resident of Myauk Khin Tha village, Gangaw Township of Mawge Division. On January 6, 2009, the 18 year-old girl told U Pho Tha that she was pregnant and asked him to marry her as he had promised. When U Pho Tha told the girl he had a wife and a family and was unable to marry her, parents of the girl lodged a complaint at the Gangaw District Court. But the judge, alleged bought by U Pho Tha, dismissed the case on the ground that it lacked evidence. According to the girl, U Pho Tha had had sex with her at least three times starting on 16 November 2008.

 

“Justice has been denied. This is just an example that in Burma you can do anything if you have money. You can buy people in high level of authorities,” U Tin Ngwe, a disappointed father said.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization was told that there are at least a hundred similar cases in Gangaw area where people in authorities have spoiled the life of young girls and then bought their way out of trouble.

 

 

CHIN ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIAL DISMISSED FROM JOB

 

23 January 2009: The administrative head of Thangtlang Township Peace and Development Council was summarily dismissed from his job during the first week of December 2008 following allegations of misconduct by members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

Pu Khua Hlei Thang’s dismissal came following complaints by the USDA in Naypyidaw. The charges included allegations that Pu Khua Hlei Thang had allowed a “No Vote” to beat the constitutional referendum in Thantlang Township and that he misappropriated Cyclone Nirgis Funds for his personal profits.

 

According to a Thantlang resident who knew dismissed official, the charges stemmed from an argument Pu Khua Hlei Thang had had with USDA officials when he was accused of letting the “No Vote” win in the Township during the constitutional referendum. “There were two sides that campaigned during the referendum and the public decided to vote against the constitution. What could I have done in that situation?” Pu Khua Hlei Thang was quoted as saying. Another charged involved allegations that Pu Khua Hlei Thang misappropriated 3 million Kyats that was collected from the public at the rate of 1000 Kyats per household in Thantlang for Cyclone Nirgis Funds.

 

EXTORTION AND FORCED LABOR TO RECONSTRUCT A BRIDGE

 

19 January 2009: Burmese authorities in Kalay Township of Sagaing Division have been collecting money and free labor from residents in the area to construct a bridge near No. 6 School, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

“In November of 2008, the authorities collected 1000 Kyats from each household in the entire area for the reconstruction of the bridge. In addition, they also demanded free human labor for it,” a local resident explained.

 

He said that the bridge needed to be repaired each year because the authorities allegedly divided up the money they collected from the public among themselves and never spent the money to actually repair the bridge.

 

EXTORTION AND CONFISCATION OF LIVESTOCK

 

6 January 2009: Burmese soldiers stationed at Shinletwa Village of Paletwa Township have been engaged in a string of extortion and confiscation of domestic animals from villagers in the area, a local person told Chin Human Rights Organizaiton.

 

Patrol Column Commander Captain Kyaw Wa and his troops who were patrolling southern Chin State during December of 2008 demanded 100,000 Kyats from each village he visited without any reason given, and shot and killed chickens and other domestic animals in the villages without asking, the local testified.

 

“People are fed up with these kinds of abuses that have been ongoing in our area,” he said.

 

 

FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT TO PROFIT BURMESE SOLDIERS

 

6 January 2009: Widespread abuses of human rights were committed by Burmese troops in southern Chin State during a regional football tournament sponsored by the army, a local villager told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Started on December 14, 2008, a week-long regional football tournament was held by Burmese troops stationed at Shwe Letwa Village of Paletwa Township where villagers from 10 villages in Shinletwa Village Tracts were asked to participate.

 

A local villager told Chin Human Rights Organization that during the tournament, the army issued a mandatory order requiring villagers to buy alcohol from them. Every four villagers must buy a bottle of distilled liquor. In addition, the army put a fine of 5000 Kyats on anyone who was drunk and threw them in a pit for one night.

 

Each participating village was required to bring two to three chickens for the army. For the entire duration of the game, six villagers were forced to do sentry duty each day by the army.

 

“All the profits made out of the game were to profit commanding officer Bo Kyaw Wa and his troops,” said the local villager.

 

ARMY OFFICER EXTORTS HUGE SUMS OF MONEY FROM TRADERS

 

6 January 2009: Burmese troops belonging to Light Infantry Battalion 289 stationed at an army camp at Vuangtu village of Thangtlang Township extorted money from cattle traders and confiscated five cows from them, one of the traders told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

During the first week of December 2008, three Chin cattle traders with a herd of 30 cows arrived at Phaikhua Village on their way to the Indian border. Laying in wait at the village was a Burmese army captain and five of his men from LIB 289, who asked them half a million Kyats from the traders and confiscate five of their cows with threats to throw them in jail for illegal smuggling.

 

“We later learned that five of the cows he confiscated from us were sold by the Captain and his men at nearby villages at the rate of 350,000 Kyats per cow,” the victim explained.

 

 

PROSTITUTION PROLIFERATE DUE TO ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

 

4 January 2009: More Chin young girls are driven into prostitution due to growing economic hardship faced by Chin people.

 

Taking advantage of their economic hardship, Burmese army officers are luring an increasing number of Chin girls into sex work by improperly touching and having sexual intercourse with underage young girls for money, a local person told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

“My life has been ruined, and unfortunately, I am what I am doing,” said a girl who is now engaged in the sex profession.

 

Four young daughters of U Maram living in Ye Poat Ward of Gangaw Town are a classic example. The girls were forced to drop out of school due to survival difficulties in the family. Too young to work and not having enough to support them financially, the four underage girls are now turning into sex profession. They pay the local police from 5,000 to up to 10,000 Kyats a month in return for permission to perform sex services.

 

“I think that what I am doing is the best option available for me because my life has been ruined and we are struggling for survival, what other option is there? You can probably hide how your life has been ruined, but the fact that you cannot make a survival cannot be hidden. So this [profession] seems to make the best sense for me under the circumstance,” Boh Sung, one of the four girls, was quoted as saying by her closest friend.

 

 

MORE CHIN TERRITORY ANNEXED IN RE-DEMARCATION OF INTER-STATE BORDER

 

2 January 2009: A large area with some of the most naturally resourceful land of Chin territory was annexed to Magwe Division through forcible re-demarcation of inter-state borders by Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council.

 

A total of 45,502 acres of land measuring 71 miles in length and one mile in breadth belonging to Chin State since the colonial era was annexed to Magwe Division in a re-demarcation program implemented between 8 and 15 September 2008 by the military junta.

 

The annexed area is abundant with teakwood and some of the most valuable forest products, CHRO has learned. The re-demarcation resulted in the removal of a historical memorial stone marking the borders of Chin State and Magwe Division that has existed since during the British colonial era, one mile into Chin State.

 

A native Chin forestry official who cannot be named for his security said, “The orders to re-demarcate [to annex Chin State] came from direct orders of the military’s Northwestern Commander. Nobody, even the highest SPDC officials in Chin State dared to question the decision.”

 

“Between 2006 and 2007, 15 villages in southern Chin State were already annexed to the Burma Proper. This latest annexation came about because nobody dared to protest the last time around. It is sheer oppression against the Chin people because we don’t have the power,” said another Public Works employee of Chin origin who is working in Burma Proper.

 

Another Chin working at the Ministry of Forestry office in Kalaymyo said that similar annexation was implemented to annex Chin territory into Sagaing Division in the past years.

 

15 YEAR-OLD GIRL RAPED BY BURMESE SOLDIER

 

2 January 2009: A 15 year-old Chin girl from Thayakung village of Kalay Township, Sagaing Division, was raped by corporal Oo Htun of Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (89) based in Kalay Myo, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

“I and some of my friends were having a dance party after church that night on January 1, 2009, when Corporal Oo Htun and some of his men came to the house and gave me 2000 Kyats as a present. Moments later, the corporal asked me to accompany him to the shop for some cigarettes. He was walking behind me for awhile. But a few moments later, he asked me to accompany him to his camp to get a flashlight, which I innocently agreed. But when we got to the camp, he forced himself on me,” the victim whose name is identified only as Pari testified.

 

“I tried to scream for help but to no avail,” she said. “After he raped me, he threatened me that he would hurt me if I let anybody else know about the incident and promised me to give me another 2000 Kyats if I kept quiet,” she recounted.

 

According to a relative of the victim, the corporal and three of his men were posted at Thayakung village in September 2008 to collect tolls from vehicles traveling on Kalay-Kangaw highway. He became known to the girl during the Christmas.

 

CIVILIAN FORCED LABOR EMPLOYED TO RENOVATE SCHOOL

 

9 February 2009: Civilian forced labor was used to renovate an old high school in disrepair in Khuathar ward of Hakha, the capital of Chin State, a local resident told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Slated for completion before the start of the 2008-2009 academic year, the authorities decided to employ civilian forced labor when they decided that the 75 million Kyats sanctioned for the project was not enough to meet the imposing deadline.

 

The work is still in progress at the start of 2009 with civilians from Khuathar ward still being engaged in the construction without pay, the source said.

 

“People are very upset because they are not being paid and they know the money is there for the project,” he said.

 

CHILDREN FORCIBLY CONSCRIPTED INTO BURMA ARMY

 

6 February 2009: The Burma Army is forcibly conscripting children into the army in southern Chin State, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

On January 18, 2009, three Chin children, age 13 and 14, were forcibly recruited to serve in the army by Sergeant Maung Thant from Burma Army Infantry Battalion (304), operating under Tactical Command II based in Matupi.

 

Among the three recruited children is Mang Ngwe Htein, an only child of a widow. The mother, devastated about losing her only child, tried to plead with the Battalion commander for her son’s release, but to no avail. The commander ordered the child to be kept in custody.

 

“Those who tried to plead for the children’s release were just brutalized,” said a local man from Matupi.

 

Reports from Matupi said that Burmese troops in the southern region have been trying to take advantage of people’s survival difficulty due to the ongoing famine by offering a reward of 50,000 Kyats and one sack of rice to families whose member agreed to join the army.

 

“One or two people in town have actually joined the army for want of the reward, but people stopped enlisting because those promises of reward were never realized. This is why the arm has resorted to forcibly conscripting people to meet their recruitment quotas” said a Matupi Town resident.

 

“The forced recruitment of children has parents worried about their children, so in some villages parents have tried to keep their children out of the sight of Burmese soldiers by hiding them in the jungle,” he continued.

 

At the time of this report, the three conscripted children are still in army custody.

 

Sergeant Maung Thant of Infantry Battalion (304) has been responsible for the forced recruitment of under age children in the area. In September 2008, he forcibly conscripted three children from Yung village of Matupi Township.

 

 

CHIN HISTORICAL RESEARCHER THREATENED BY AUTHORITIES

 

6 February 2009: Local authorities in Hakha, the capital of Chin State, have warned an independent Chin historical researcher not to continue with his research work or risk facing formal charges against him for treason against the state, a local person reported to CHRO.

 

On January 17, 2009, Hakha police station chief and five of his men ordered a local Chin historical and cultural researcher to immediately discontinue his research work and threatened him with legal action if he did not comply.

 

“The came to my house and searched all my research notes, they summoned me to the station and interrogated me about my work, and they even interrogated my wife and children and threatened me with legal action,” said the researcher who is a native of Sakta village.

 

“Even normal religious and social activities are now increasingly restricted these days. They [the authorities] are deliberately restricting Christian religious activities under the pretext of security preparation for the upcoming elections in 2010,” said one prominent Christian religious leader in Hakha.

 

TRAVELERS FACE NEW SECURITY REGULATION

 

2 February 2009: Travelers in Kalay Township, Sagaing Division have been warned by authorities not to carry more than three note books and to be prepared to have the contents of their personal notebooks searched by immigration officials at checkpoints, an unnamed traveler has informed Chin Human Rights Organization

 

On January 22, 2009, three immigration personnel assigned at Mile 8, a border crossing point between Chin State and Sagaing Division interrogated travelers bound for Chin State-Mizoram border and warned them against carrying more than three notebooks, one of the travelers reported.

 

The new measure is believed to be connected with security preparations for the planned election in 2010.

 

“Each of us, including women passengers, was ordered to get off the vehicle and thoroughly body-searched by the immigration agents. They even went through every page of our personal note books and told us that we were only allowed to carry a maximum of three note books while traveling,” one of the travelers told CHRO on condition of anonymity.

 

“The new restriction is making things inconvenient for us traders since we need to have at least five different note books for the list of sales, expenses, credits and so on,” said one woman cross-border trader.

 

 

STUDENT HOSPITALIZED AFTER ASSAULT BY TWO ARMY OFFICERS

 

10 February 2009: A tenth grade student was hospitalized for severe bodily injuries after two drunken army officers savagely beat him, a relative of the victim told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

The assault took place on January 15 when two army officers became intoxicated after a dinner meeting and asked Maung Mai Pacia, a tenth grade student from Lailenpi village to borrow a guitar from a local church and to entertain them with songs. When the student told the officers he didn’t know how to sing or play guitar, the drunken officers became enraged and beat him mercilessly with the guitar and their pistols.

 

They continued to assault him on the head and torso until the guitar was all smashed up, leaving him with serious head injuries and dislocated bones in one of the arms. The victim was treated at a village clinic at Lailenpi for one night, but was later taken to a hospital in Matupi where he remains.

 

The two army captains belong to Infantry Battalion 304 stationed at Satu village and Lailenpi Village of Matupi Township respectively.

 

“The final exams are getting close and he is still in the hospital. All that he had studied hard for the whole year is going to be for nothing. We struggled hard to pay for his education and now all of this will be for nothing,” said a devastated father of the assault victim.

 

PAY MONEY OR GO TO JAIL

 

11 February 2009: A Hakha Township judge has threatened to impose a one-year jail sentence on a local girl accused of being responsible for negligently starting a fire that burned down three houses if she failed to give to the judge 300, 0000 Kyats (300 US Dollars) in bribe money, according to a relative of the accused girl.

 

On February 10, 2009, three houses at the government quarters in Hakha, the capital of Chin State, burned to the ground after a female high school student living in one of the houses allegedly dumped hot ashes from a cooking stove into the garbage bin. The hot ashes apparently smoldered and caught fire.

 

Local police later arrested the girl and charged her with criminal negligence causing fire. Before her court appearance on February 11, Township Judge U Myint Wai told the accused girl that he would dismiss her case if she paid him 300,000 Kyats or she would face a one-year jail sentence.

 

“The family is in a financial crisis right now because the girl is just a high school student and her father U Lian Uk is currently being hospitalized,” said a relative.

 

Money is an important factor in influencing courts’ decision here in Chin State and elsewhere in the county, the chief of the Hakha Township Police was quoted as saying.

 

CHIN STUDENTS FACE DISCRIMINATION IN EDUCATION

 

24 February 2009: Students in Chin State are paying 800 Kyats per person every month for extra classes at school, compared with their peers from lowland Burma who are not required to pay anything for the same program, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

According to a high school student who could not be named, students in Chin State are required to pay various fees, including fees for mandatory extra classes that are offered after the regular school hours. He said that despite a government order saying education should be free, only students in Chin State are required to pay money, while students in the adjacent Magwe and Sagain Division of lowland Burma enjoy free education.

 

Sayama Sui Zi, a teacher in Chin State told Chin Human Rights Organization that the practice of having the students to pay for their education is an arrangement made by the Chin State Education Officer with schools so that the teachers can earn a side income to supplement their meager and grossly insufficient salaries.

 

“I don’t care much about the 800 Kyats that we have to pay for extra classes. But what I have a problem with is the teachers not giving us lessons properly at school. This is why we have a very low success rate at high school,” said Ngun Tin Par, a tenth-grade female student.

 

Abuse of Religious Freedom

 

PARTIALLY CONSTRUCTED CHURCH BUILDING ORDERED SHUT

 

19 February 2009: Municipal authorities have ordered local Christians not to continue with the construction of a partially constructed church building in Gangaw Town of Magwe Division, while allowing a Buddhist monastery under construction in a nearby village of Kan to continue without restriction, a local source has told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

An official order issued by the Township Municipal Office on November 18, 2008 prohibited the continuance of construction of a church building belonging to Gangaw Evangelical Baptist Church. At the same time the Municipal authorities gave official permission for the construction of a Buddhist monastery in a nearby village and donated a 10-acre plot for the project. The permission also includes the right to freely solicit donations from residents in the area.

 

“We are in a dilemma because if we go ahead with the construction, they could lay charges for defiance of official order but then they still denied us permission when we tried to go through official procedures,” said a local Chin resident.

 

Similar orders were in place in Kalay Township of Magwe Division. A church under construction in Tharawaddy village was recently dismantled by local authorities.

 

The Gangaw Town Evangelical Baptist Church was established in 1985 with official permission is set to celebrate its Silver Jubilee or 25th anniversary in 2010. But the members are now uncertain whether they would be allowed to go ahead with the celebration.

 

 

CHIN CHURCH IN RANGOON CLOSED DOWN BY AUTHORITIES

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

 

07 January, 2009: SPDC’s local authorities have locked a Chin church in South Dagon township of Rangoon – former capital city of Burma – on 22 December 2008, accusing the church was built without permission.

 

Mr. Ko Ko Hlaing of Township Peace and Development Committee and his men came to the church in the evening around 6 pm and shut the door, according to the church pastor Joy whose full name remains anonymous for security reasons.

 

The Chin pastor and his church members were not able to celebrate Christmas and New Year.

 

“Our church has been running for two years and we have ten thousands unreached people in our neighborhood. The church is closed down now. We need your prayer and supports urgently so the building is re-opened and can run our ministries continuously,” said the church pastor, 36, a Matu-Chin from Southern Chin State.

 

The church has applied for building permission several times but it has never been granted and it is not strange to hear that religious persecution is still happening in our country, according to Chin activist and pastor Shwekey Hoipang, a close friend of Pastor Joy.

 

MORE CHURCHES LOCKED UP BY AUTHORITIES

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

 

14 January, 2009: Three churches based in South Dagon township, Rangoon have been locked up and sealed without any specific reasons since late December 2008 by Township Peace and Development Council Officer and local authorities.

 

The authorities came mostly in the evening or at night and shut down the churches including Evangelical Baptist Church, Karen Baptist Church and Dagon Joshua Church according to a Chin witness whose name is not revealed for security reasons.

 

A 25-year-old Dai-Chin said: “I visited this church [Evangelical Baptist Church] two times and met with the pastor’s wife. According to her, the church was closed at 6 pm on 29 December by Township Peace and Development Council officer, accompanied by many local authorities.”

 

“She said the officer did not give any reason for doing this and that the church members were not allowed to worship anymore. The pastor showed the Legal Registration Certificate for the church issued by Ministry of Home Affair and Religion but in vain.”

 

Members of the Karen Baptist Church are said to have been banned from worshipping and going to church for about three weeks.

 

A private English teacher from Southern Chin State, who visited the church and did not happen to meet with the church pastor, said he tried to talk to the neighbours but nobody dared to speak about what had happened to the church.

 

The Dagon Joshua Church was sealed at night on 22 December 2008 and the church pastor was said to have been summoned and interrogated a few times by the local SPDC’s authorities. Bags of cement, planks of wood and zinc for roofing that belong to the church were reported missing after the closure.

 

The church pastor was accused of using ‘defrauded money’ for helping victims of Nargis Cyclone, buying a plot of land to build the church, persuading local people to join in worship services on Sundays and intending to celebrate Christmas without permission.

 

Sources reportedly said that some other churches and private houses where home cell services are conducted were also closed down in parts of Rangoon. These ‘ruthless and uncivilised’ actions are believed to be SPDC’s responses to Christian communities, both local and international, that help victims of Nargis Cyclone by donating foods and other supplies.

 

Pastors and church members as well as Christians in the country send out a prayer request for an end to this kind of religious repression as Burma’s military regime is planning to hunt down more houses, flats and churches in the former capital to stop Christian gathering and activities.

 

BRITISH MPS EXPRESSED DEEP CONCERN OVER CHURCH SHUTDOWNS IN RANGOON

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

 

12 February, 2009: In response to recent forcible church closures in Rangoon, at least 33 British Members of Parliament expressed their grave concern by signing an Early Day Motion (EDM) in the House of Commons, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) on Tuesday.

 

At least 100 churches in Burma’s former capital city, Rangoon, have been closed down and 50 pastors forced to sign documents promising to stop holding church services, under threat of imprisonment if failure to act in accordance with a command, CSW’s reports said.

 

The EDM, proposed by John Bercow MP, Co-Chair of the All Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma, called on the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief to investigate violations of religious freedom in Burma.

 

CSW’s Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert said: “This recent crackdown on Christian activity in Rangoon is a worrying development and a serious violation of religious freedom. I am delighted that John Bercow and other MPs have taken this step to call for respect for religious freedom in Burma, and for the regime to stop its policies of discrimination and persecution of religious minorities, particularly Christians and Muslims. CSW welcomes the MPs’ call for the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief, Asma Jahangir, to investigate violations of religious freedom in Burma and hold Burma’s military regime accountable for their many human rights abuses.”

 

The church closures mark the most significant crackdown on Christian activity in Burma in recent years, affecting as many as 80 per cent of churches in Rangoon. Some local Christians believe that the immediate cause of the oppressive measures is church involvement in relief provision for victims of Cyclone Nargis.

 

Burma is categorised as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ by the US State Department, for its violations of religious freedom. In 2007, CSW published a report, Carrying the Cross: The military regime’s campaign of restriction, discrimination and persecution against Christians in Burma, which revealed a 17-point document allegedly from an organisation affiliated to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, titled “Programme to Destroy the Christian religion in Burma”. The first point states: “There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practised.”

 

Response to the Food Crisis in Chinland

 

LIVE AID CONCERTS TO COMBAT HUNGER IN CHIN STATE

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

 

14 February, 2009: In an attempt to raise awareness and fund for the famine-affected people in Burma’s Chin State, ‘Chin Famine Live Aid Concert’ is organised by Chin Communities across the globe in partnership with CHRO (Chin Human Rights Organisation).

 

The event will take place in countries including Australia, United States, Canada and Europe this year to support for the estimated 100,000 people with more than 200 villages severely affected by the SPDC-ignored ongoing famine in Chin State.

 

Victor Biak Lian of Chin Human Rights Organisation said: “This is a global campaign against starvation in Chin State, raising awareness about the suffering of our Chin fellows due to the ongoing rat-infested famine among the Chin people inside and outside Burma. This is the time when we, Chin people outside the country, come together and share what we each can to help our brothers and sisters.”

 

Chin Community in Melbourne, Australia has received a number of Chin vocalists and human rights activists over the past week for the event scheduled today, which is held as part of the ongoing international relief efforts for the Chin famine victims. Another two concerts organised by Chin Communities in Australia will take place at Adelaide and Perth on 21 and 28 February respectively.

 

A combined event of Chin Famine Live Aid Concert and the 61st anniversary of Chin National Day will be held in London, UK on 21 February. Miss Dim Lian, Secretary of Chin Community UK, sends a message: “As our symbol (the hornbill) signifies loyalty, we are together wherever we live. When you get hurt, we feel the pain. Let’s keep our spirit alive, accommodate, stoop and cater for our fellow Chins in everything we do. This is a corporate responsibility in which each of us has to play our parts in restoring a caring culture among the Chins.”

 

Last year, similar events were successfully held in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore with famous Chin singers from Burma and India including Sung Tin Par, Zam Nu, San Pi, Mimi Lalzamliani, and Malsawm Tluangi (SP).

 

Food crisis in the remote areas along the Indian-Burmese border has begun since late 2006 when a plague of rats destroys basic crops and paddy fields in the region. Reports said that some 20 percent of the Chin population have been severely affected by the famine with 44 children losing their lives to malnutrition, diarrhoea and famine-related diseases. Thousands more have fled to neighbouring countries including India, Thailand Malaysia as refugees.

 

AUSTRALIA HOSTS FAMINE LIVE AID CONCERT SERIES

 

Lian Ding Hmung

Chinland Guardian

 

4 February 2009: The first of many well-known Chin vocalists invited to perform at the Chin Famine Live Aid Concerts has arrived in Australia, even as more artists are scheduled to arrive over the coming days. Cung Lian Thawng, a local musician and vocal talent arrived at the Melbourne International Airport Monday.

 

‘I am honoured by the invitation and the opportunity to be a part of the effort to help the famine victims in Chin State,’ Cung Lian Thawng said on his arrival.

 

Mami Varte, another famous performer from Mizoram is expected to arrive from India on February 7.

 

The Chin Famine Live Aid Concerts will take place over the next three weeks in three Australian cities; Melbourne on February 14, Adelaide on February 21, and Perth on February 28. The concerts are part of an ongoing awareness and fundraising campaigns to benefit Chin famine victims. Similar events were successfully organized in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore last year with more events being scheduled to take place in the United States and Canada over the next few months.

 

‘The Chin communities living in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth have put in considerable energy and time planning and preparing for the concerts,’ says David Thang, a contact person for the organizing committee in Melbourne. ‘With these concerts we hope that more people in Australia, including the Australian government and aid organizations will be aware of the situation and take responsive actions. We have high hope that our investment will pay off,’ he says.

 

Rev. James Tin Kung, a contact person of the organizing committee in Perth echoes the same sentiment. ‘We arranged these concerts because we believe that even a cent counts for those who are in need. We have a responsibility to help our brothers and sisters at home who are facing starvation.’

 

According to Chin Human Right Organization (CHRO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), an estimated 100,000 people from at least 129 villages have been severely affected by the ongoing famine, which happens only once in fifty years because of rodent infestation. Twice in a century, an indigenous variety of bamboo in Chin State flowers abundantly and attracts the rodents. The rats eat the fruit of the flowering bamboo, multiple quickly and destroy as much as 75 percent of the crops in Chin State, Burma.

 

The concerts in Australia will also feature speeches by prominent Chin activists such as Victor Biak Lian of Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), Dr. Sui Khar and Dr. Salai Ngun Cung Lian of the Chin National Front (CNF).

 

 

WFP: ‘FOOD PLUS CASH-FOR-WORK PROGRAMME’ UNDERWAY IN CHIN STATE

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

 

15 February, 2009: In response to the food crisis caused by a plague of rats, World Food Programme (WFP) launched its programme called ‘Food Plus Cash-For-Programme’ in six townships of Chin State.

 

In its recent report, WFP said the programme focuses on improving productive assets that will increase food security, such as agriculture land development, construction of trafficable roads as well as others identified by the local Chin communities. The project will also benefit a total of 6, 360 households in 50 villages, the report added.

 

The project activities, which are set to begin in mid-January 2009, will be carried out in coordination with UNDP, GRET (Groupe de Recherche et d’exchange Technologiques), KMSS (Karuna Myanmar Social Services) and CAD (Country Agency for rural Development).

 

The WFP’s report also said: “Project activities are underway and we are coordinating with UNDP who are implementing projects in the southern part of Chin Sate. Specifically, through 12 projects, WFP will develop 155 acres of terraced land in Tiddim, Falam, Hakha, and Thantlang Townships in collaboration with GRET, a total 15 miles of roads in Tonzang and Tiddim with KMSS, and 72 miles of road assets in Hakha and Thantlang with CAD. Each project will last 15-45 days.”

 

“The expanded terraced land is expected to support 1,898 households in 17 villages when completed, and the newly constructed roads will provide 28,972 villagers an increased access to 25 surrounding villages. The roads are expected to improve the communities’ food accessibility as well as access to water.”

 

Chris Kaye, WFP Country Director and Representative, told Chinland Guardian when asked about how WFP makes sure relief aids reach those worst famine-affected in the remote jungles: “We intend to carry out further assessments in March to help strengthen our understanding of the needs in more areas of Chin. As you rightly point out however, we are constrained by terrain and logistics capacity. Rest assured, with our partners, we will continue to do all we can to address the hungry poor in Chin.”

 

Chin churches, organisations and individuals worldwide have also been actively involved in contributing towards the betterment of the devastating situation facing their Chin fellows in military-neglected Burma since late 2006. A series of Chin Live Aid Concerts was organised in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia to raise awareness and fund for the famine victims in 2008 and is set to take place this year in countries including Australia, United States, Canada and Europe.

 

Besides its report on the famine ‘Critical Point: Food Scarcity and Hunger in Burma’s Chin State’ in July 2008, Chin Human Rights Organisation has since 2006 been actively involved in initiating the famine concerts, raising awareness among international communities and collaborating with both local and international organisations.

 

Leaders of local religious and famine organisations said that they are willing to collaborate with international organisations and NGOs in order to address the situation more effectively.

 

Four Chin groups based in Aizawl, Mizoram including Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee, Chin Humanitarian Relief Committee, Women’s League of Chinland and Public Affairs Committee, agreed to work in close cooperation by providing cross-border food aid to the worst famine-affected areas of Chin State, according to the report in October, 2008.

 

The Chin projects are funded with generous contributions from DFID (UK Department for International Development) and Denmark.

 

Report

 

BURMA: REPORT DOCUMENTS ABUSE OF CHIN CHRISTIANS

Human Rights Watch shows systematic, officially sanctioned religious freedom violations.

DUBLIN, February 20 (Compass Direct News) – A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released in January details serious and ongoing abuses against the Chin people, a minority group in Burma’s northwest who claim to be 90 percent Christian.

HRW’s research echoes a 2004 report by the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) that described targeted abuse of Christians in Chin state, with the Burmese army subjecting pastors and church members to forced labor, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and sometimes death.

While religious oppression is extreme in Chin state, restrictions also apply elsewhere in Burma, also known as Myanmar. Most recently, officials in January forced the closure of more than 100 churches in Rangoon and ordered owners of apartment buildings and conference facilities not to rent their properties to religious groups.

Based on interviews with Chin refugees in India and Malaysia between 2003 and 2008, HRW’s report describes how an increasing number of army battalions stationed in Chin state since 1988 have inflicted forced labor and arbitrary fines on the Chin people, as well as bullied them away from Christianity toward Buddhism.

“When we meet the army, we are shaking,” a Chin refugee pastor told HRW. “Whatever they want is law.”

The HRW report, entitled “We Are Like Forgotten People,” notes that soldiers frequently forced Christians to donate finances and labor to pagoda construction projects in areas where there were few or no Buddhist residents.

They also occasionally forced Christians to worship in Buddhist pagodas. One Chin pastor described how Burmese soldiers brought him to a pagoda and prodded him with their guns, commanding him to pray as a Buddhist.

“They said that this is a Buddhist country and that I should not practice Christianity,” he told HRW.

The military forced village headmen to present “volunteers” for military training or army construction projects and secured “donations” such as food or finance for army battalions. Soldiers severely beat or detained headmen if a village failed to meet quotas, seizing livestock or property in retribution.

Pastors often faced similar treatment, particularly if church members were accused – often without proof – of involvement with the Chin National Front insurgency group. HRW listed arrest, detention and torture as methods used against those accused of being part of the Chin National Front, based across the border in northeast India. Torture included beatings with sticks or guns and electric shocks via metal clips attached to high-voltage batteries. Such measures were also used to crush dissent against army policies such as failure to pay extortionate and arbitrary fees.

The military government promoted Buddhism over all other religions in Chin state through threats and inducements, destroying churches and other religious symbols, and restricting the printing and importing of Bibles and other Christian literature, HRW reported.

A judge in 1999 sentenced one man from Falam township to three years in prison for bringing Chin language Bibles into Burma, contravening Burma’s 1965 Censor Law. Authorities also burned 16,000 copies of Chin and other ethnic language Bibles brought into neighboring Sagaing Division, another Chin majority area, in 2000.

‘Campaign of Ethnocide’

CHRO’s 2004 report, “Religious Persecution: A Campaign of Ethnocide Against Chin Christians in Burma,” explained that Christianity had become inseparable from Chin culture following the arrival of American Baptist missionaries in 1899.

The report, based on information gathered in Chin state, gave numerous examples of the destruction of churches and crosses, the burning of Bibles and restrictions on other religious publications and activities between 1993 and 2004 – including the extrajudicial killings of four Chin Christians in 1993.

Burmese authorities routinely denied permission for the construction of new churches and required permits for large church gatherings, although lengthy bureaucratic processes meant that most of these gatherings were eventually postponed or cancelled.

A September 2008 U.S. Department of State report confirmed that Chin state authorities have not granted permission to build a new church since 2003.

As recently as last November, a government official ordered residents of Tayawaddy village in neighboring Sagaing Division to destroy the foundations of a new church building erected by members of a Chin Christian student fellowship. A report in the Chinland Guardian claimed villagers were subsequently ordered not to rent their homes to Chin students or the homes would be destroyed.

Enticement to Convert

CHRO’s report gave clear evidence of government support for coerced conversions. For example, the government offered free secular education to several children from impoverished families, only to place them as novice monks in Buddhist monasteries in Rangoon.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has also sent Buddhist monks to villages and towns throughout Chin state under the Hill Regions Buddhist Mission program, one of several Buddhist missionary initiatives highlighted on the ministry’s website. Chin residents who spoke to CHRO likened these monks to “military intelligence” operatives who worked in partnership with Burmese soldiers to control the Chin people.

According to one Chin resident, “Anyone who doesn’t abide by the monks’ orders is reported to the State Peace and Development Council [Burmese government officials] and punished by the army.”

Another Chin man from Matupi township attended a government-sponsored “social welfare” training session only to discover that it was a propaganda session led by a Buddhist monk.

“In the training we were taught the 17 facts of how to attack and disfigure Christians,” he explained.

The 17-point method encouraged converts to criticize Christian ways of life as corrupting culture in Burma, to point out weaknesses in Christianity, and to attack Christians by both violent and non-violent means.

“We were promised that 1,200 kyats per month [US$190] would be provided to those families who became Buddhist,” the training participant added. That amount of money is significant in the Burmese economy.

The instructor also ensured participants that they would be exempt from “portering” and other forms of forced labor and compulsory “donations” if they converted, and that the government would provide education for their children.

“I became a Buddhist because of such privileges rather than because I think Buddhism is better than Christianity,” the Chin participant told CHRO.

Religious Policy Elsewhere

According to CHRO, both the Burmese army and the monks are pursuing an unofficial government policy summed up in three words; “Amyo, Batha, Thathana,” which translates as “One race, one language, one religion” – or Burman, Burmese and Buddhist.

This policy was exemplified by the forced closure in January of more than 100 churches in the capital, Rangoon.

Officials on Jan. 5 invited pastors from more than 100 Rangoon churches to a meeting where they were ordered to sign documents pledging to cease operation of their churches or face imprisonment. About 50 pastors attended, according to Burmese news agency Mizzima.

A CHRO spokesman told Compass yesterday that a significant number of these churches were ethnic rather than majority Burman churches.

In mid-January, officials ordered several other major Rangoon churches to close, including Wather Hope Church, Emmanuel Church and an Assemblies of God Church. (See Compass Direct News, “Burma Clamps Down on Christians,” Jan. 21.)

Officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs in January summoned the owners of buildings where churches met and ordered them not to rent their properties to religious groups, according to another local online news source, the Democratic Voice of Burma.

In the late 1990s, Burma stopped issuing permits for land purchase or the construction of new churches in Rangoon and elsewhere, leading many Burmese Christians to conduct services in rented apartments or office buildings.

The church closure orders may simply be an extension of Burma’s existing religious policies, which elevate Buddhism in an effort to solidify national identity. The country’s population is 82 percent Buddhist, 9 percent Christian and 4 percent Muslim, with traditional ethnic, Chinese and Hindu religions accounting for the rest.

In a 2007 report describing religious persecution throughout Burma, including Chin state, Christian Solidarity Worldwide cited the “Program to Destroy the Christian Religion in Burma,” a 17-point document that had circulated widely in Rangoon. Allegedly authorized by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the program’s first point declared that, “There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practiced.”

The Ministry of Religious Affairs subsequently pressured religious organizations to publicly condemn CSW’s report and deny all claims of religious discrimination in Burma.

http://compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=lead&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5820

 

 

 

 

Rhododendron News

 

Volume XII, No II. March – April 2009

 

Chin Human Rights Organization

 

www.chro.org

 

CONTENTS

 

 

Editorial

 

U.S Senate Report on Trafficking Underscores Continued Rights Violations in Burma

 

General Human Rights Situations

 

Impunity for Army Officer Accused of Sexual Assault

Corrupt Officials Employ Forced Labor

Soldiers Exploit Chin Women under Guise of Marriage

Soldiers Commandeered Traveling Passenger Vehicle

Burmese Soldiers Extort Kyats 100,000 from Trader

Request for Additional Elementary School Teacher Ignored

Self-Reliance to Avoid Govt.’s Exploitation & Red-tape

Widespread Corruptions Blamed for Constant Blackout

Illegal Road Tolls Collected from Vehicle Owners

Village Community Impoverished by Forced Labor

Racial Discrimination against Chin Farmers Continues in Sagaing Division

Inadequate Development Budget Leads to Forced Labor

Unfair Salary Cut for Govt. Employees in Chin State

Families Relocated to Avoid Incessant Forced Labor & Extortion

 

Religious Freedom

 

Authorities Shut Down Chin Church in Rangoon

Christians Forced to Contribute Wood towards Pagoda Construction

 

Food Crisis in Chiland

 

Food Scarcity Likely to Worsen in Chin State – Aid Group

 

Situations of Refugees

 

More Chin Refugees Found Detained in Malaysia

Chins Suffer from Inadequate Access to Protection in India

Over 200 Burmese arrested in Malaysia

 

Press Release

 

U.S. Senate Releases Report on Abuses in Malaysia, Raids Continue

CHRO Releases New Report on Situations of Chins in Delhi

 

Editorial

 

U.S SENATE REPORT ON TRAFFICKING UNDERSCORES CONTINUED RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN BURMA

 

 

A report released late April by the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the trafficking and exploitation of undocumented migrants from Burma along the Malaysian-Thai border said that thousands of Burmese nationals who are seeking protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia have fallen victim to human traffickers and corrupt officials.

 

 

At the center of the investigation is the alleged complicity by elements of the Malaysian government, particularly the Immigration Department and the RELA, a 400,000-strong government-authorized vigilante force, in the mistreatment and trafficking of Burmese refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, often in collusion with syndicates in Thailand.

 

 

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee took a year to complete its investigation and issue its final findings. As shocking as it may be to see the results of the report, it is important to understand what prompted the initiation of such an investigation in the first place. It is not every day that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a major branch of the US foreign policy-making body undertakes an investigation into an international issue of such a seemingly insignificant matter. In short, apart from US foreign policy interests, the fact that such an investigation was conducted shows the seriousness of the problem.

 

 

The Malaysian government has recently responded to the report by promising to conduct an investigation into the trafficking of Burmese migrants and refugees along the Malaysia-Thailand border, one of several recommendations made in the report. But the response fell short of promising to take important steps to ensure that the mistreatment of vulnerable people, such as refugees, does not happen in the future. Such steps would involve, according to the report’s recommendation, an accession to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the disbanding of RELA (Ikatan RELAwan Rakyat), which has been accused of many of the violations against undocumented migrants and refugees.

 

 

The issue highlighted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in its latest report represents just one among a host of important and pressing issues pertaining to Burma. The recent crisis of ‘Rohingya Boat People’ and the continuing plight of Burma’s ethnic refugees inside and along the borders of India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia are becoming an issue of concern for not just one country or of one region but the entire community of nations. The recent US Senate report underscores that argument.

 

 

In this increasingly interconnected world, the problems of one country can no longer be contained within that country’s borders. There are no countries other than Burma’s neighbors who would best understand that. The continuing outflow of refugees and migrants from Burma into its neighboring countries just shows how violations of basic human rights in one country can cause a burden for the region and the world. And the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s recent report underscores just exactly that.

 

 

General Human Rights Situations

 

IMPUNITY FOR ARMY OFFICER ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

 

 

4 March 2009: Local authorities are yet to take any action against Captain Aung Kyaw Oo, patrol unit commander from Matupi-based Light Infantry Battalion (304) who was accused of molesting and attempting to sexually assault on a local Chin woman, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

 

The accusation stemmed from an incident in September 2008 in which Captain Aung Kyaw Oo and his troops were patrolling the areas northwest of Matupi Town. Upon their arrival at a location between Aru and Lailenpi Village, the Captain spotted a local woman who was taking a bath in a stream. He immediately ordered his men to go ahead of him and approached the woman with the intent of sexually assaulting her.

 

 

According to a local man whose identity is held anonymous, Captain Aung Kyaw Oo then started lifting up the woman’s sarong and rubbing her upper thigh as he tried to force himself on her. When the woman started screaming for help and tried to struggle, the Captain’s men turned back and came running to see what was wrong, only to discover that their commanding officer was trying to rape the woman. Ashamed and angry, the Captain Aung Kyaw Oo fired three shots in the air with his pistol.

 

 

The victim’s family lodged a complaint with a local police station at Lailenpi accusing Captain Aung Kyaw Oo of molestation and attempted rape, but no action has been taken in the matter to date.

 

 

The woman is from Aru Village and was recently married to a Lailenpi villager when the incident took place.

 

 

 

CORRUPT OFFICIALS EMPLOY FORCED LABOR

 

 

March 4, 2009: A massive use of forced labor is being reported in Matupi Township of southern Chin State where a construction project for a new hospital is now underway at Lailenpi Village.

 

 

A villager of Lailenpi reported to Chin Human Rights Organization that corrupt officials from the Public Work Department who are charged with the construction of the new hospital are forcing villagers to work in the construction without pay despite the fact that there is a Kyats 70 millions budget sanctioned for the project.

 

 

“Saying that the budgeted money is not enough to complete the construction, the entire village [of Lailenpi] has been ordered to supply sand for the construction, which we must collect and carry from the banks of nearby streams and rivers. Of course we have to comply with the order because we dare not argue with them,” says a villager interviewed by CHRO.

 

 

The construction has been underway since the beginning of 2009, although villagers are still unsure of just how many rows of building will be built. According to the villager, two persons from each household is required to collect sand from Tisi stream, a three-mile walk from Lailenpi and transport them to the village. “Everyone in the village is facing a lot of difficulties and is disappointed by continually having to work without pay,” he lamented.

SOLDIERS EXPLOIT CHIN WOMEN UNDER GUISE OF MARRIAGE

 

 

6 March 2009: Chin women in southern Chin State, an area that has been heavily militarized in the past years with the establishment of Tactical Command II in Matupi Township, are increasingly falling victims to Burmese soldiers who married the local Chin girls and left them husbandless once the soldiers completed their postings with the battalions in Chin State.

 

 

A local man from Matupi area interviewed by Chin Human Rights Organization said that more Chin girls, who were married with Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (203) and (140) operating under the Tactical Command II based in Matupi, have been abandoned by their Burmese husbands once they have served their posting periods with the battalions, leaving the women ‘widowed or husbandless,’ and creating social problems within the community.

 

 

“These women were obviously exploited just for the purpose of sexual entertainment for a brief period under the guise of ‘marriage’ and then left defenseless and ashamed in the community,” a Matupi local said.

 

 

He continued, “In addition to feeling ashamed, the women ultimately have to be looked after by their parents and families, and that creates an added social and economic burdens for their families and community who are already struggling for their own survival. If a soldier gets transferred or have served his rotation in the battalion, he would go away secretly without informing his Chin wife.”

 

 

A dozen Chin women from Matupi area are known to have fallen victims to such exploitation by Burmese solders from LIB (304) and (140) since 2000. They included three (3) women from Matupi Town, four (4) women from Phanang village, three (30) women from Valangpi and Leisen Village, and two (2) women from Sabawngte village respectively.

 

SOLDIERS COMMANDEERED TRAVELING PASSENGER VEHICLE

 

 

7 March 2009: A traveling passenger vehicle was commandeered by a group of three Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (286) between Laitui Village and Tiddim Town, forcing passengers off the vehicle and leaving them stranded for hours. The passengers had to wait for another vehicle crossing by the route and had to pay additional fares, one of the passengers on the commandeered vehicle testified to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

 

The incident happened during the second week of January 2009. According to the passenger who spoke to CHRO, the three Burmese soldiers stopped the vehicle and ordered everyone out and commandeered the vehicle. All passengers were left on the road side not knowing when the soldiers will return the vehicle or when another vehicle would pass by.

 

 

The vehicle was carrying a full-load of passengers from Tio, a river crossing point between divides India and Burma.

 

 

“It is not only very unfair for the owner of the vehicle who doesn’t get compensated for gas, but also for us travelers who have to bear additional costs unnecessarily. But we dare not question those in uniforms because they have the power,” said the traveler.

 

 

He added that a similar incident in late 2008 had caused several passengers to be stranded for three hours in the middle of nowhere after Burmese troops commandeered three vehicles they were riding in.

 

BURMESE SOLDIERS EXTORT 100,000 KYATS FROM TRADER

 

 

27 February 2009: A group of five Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (269) forcibly extorted 100,000 Kyats from a wool trader during the second week of February, the victim told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

 

“I make very little profits from wool trading. I had to give 100,000 Kyats to the soldiers because I was carrying 8 bags of wool. Such big amount of money is playing into the capitals, not to mention the profits. They are just ruining our family’s livelihood,” the woman explained.

 

 

According to the victim, Burmese soldiers from the same Battalion are regularly on the prowl for traders in the area, at least on a weekly basis to squeeze money out of Chin traders.

 

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IGNORED

 

 

14 March 2009: A request that was made a decade ago to the military regime for additional school teachers at an elementary school in Falam Township is still being ignored, a local person told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

 

An elementary school at Kamone Chaung, Wai Bu Lah Village Tract of Falam Township, which was formally recognized as a government school in 1992, has only two teachers to teach nearly 200 students from Kindergarten class to Grade 4. The school’s request for three additional teachers since 1998 has not been responded to by the authorities to date.

 

 

By comparison, a similar request by another elementary school located just nine miles away in Thayakung village, Kalay Townshio of Sagaing Division, was granted almost immediately, just three years after the request was made, in 2007.

 

 

The headman of Kamone Chaung Village U Ni Thang said, “Not having adequate number of teachers has left the children illiterate. Even the 4th Graders cannot recite Burmese alphabets from start to finish.”

 

 

Another villager said, “Some 4th Graders cannot properly spell their own names. The classrooms are not even partitioned.”

 

 

Similarly, in recent years more children are reported to be dropping out of primary schools in Rih Sub-township areas due to inadequate teachers and other economic hardships.

 

 

Kamone Chaung Village was established in 1984 by U Ki Pe and U Ngwe Mang. The village now has 56 households. Six villages in the surrounding areas rely on the elementary school in Kamone Chaung for their children’s education.

 

SELF-RELIANCE TO AVOID GOVT.’S EXPLOITATION AND RED-TAPE

 

 

15 March 2009: More communities are initiating self-support projects instead of relying on the military government for development in order to avoid bureaucratic red-tapes and other exploitative measures by government officials, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

 

A hydro electric power plant construction project being initiated by communities in Kya Inn village, Kalay Township, Sagaing Division exemplifies such efforts. Started in early 2009, the power plant is expected to produce a 250 Kilowatt electrical power.

 

“When the government did something for us, they usually demanded back twice what was worth from the community [in the form of ‘donations’ and forced labor], and that is why it is more worthwhile to initiate things entirely on our own altogether,” one villager explained.

 

 

He continued, “It is one thing they [the government] always took advantage of us, but it is another when we have to wait forever for approval to our requests. So it is more sensible not to ask from them at all and to initiate things on our own.” He explained that a request made to the authorities since 1998 by the community asking the government to build an irrigation system that would supply water to more than 10,000 acres of farmland was never responded to.

 

To avoid such lengthy bureaucratic procedures and possible exploitative measures, Chin communities in Wai Bu Lah Village Tract had also built a bridge through a self-support project.

 

WIDESPREAD CORRUPTIONS BLAMED FOR CONSTANT BLACKOUT

 

 

16 March 2009: Residents of Gangaw, Magwe Division are forced to live in virtual darkness due to widespread corruptions by officials working at the Department of Electricity, a town resident reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

 

Corruption reportedly runs through all levels of officials within the Township Department of Electricity, from the department’s head U Tua Lan Thang all the way down to the lowest level. The officials are allegedly ‘excessively’ selling off [for personal profits] diesel fuel meant to power the electricity plant in Gangaw, leaving inadequate power supplies for the town residents.

 

 

Residents are only getting electricity supplies for just one hour a day for four days out of an entire week, according to one resident. A 2007 supply chart submitted by the department to higher authorities however indicated that residents received a three-hour electricity supply each day of the week.

 

 

One woman resident said, “I don’t know exactly how much fuel they [the power officials] have illegally sold off, but the electricity current is so low that even when you touch the open wire it won’t have an electrocuting effect. We have to light candles even when we have the electricity.”

 

 

“Gangaw probably has the lowest rate of electricity supply among all the cities in the country. These people do not have the slightest sympathy for the fellow human beings other than their own welfare,” she continued.

 

 

Similar allegation of corruptions involved the Gangaw District Peace and Development Council Chairman Major Htay Oo who in 2005 embezzled much of the money sanctioned for road maintenance in Gangaw Town.

 

ILLEGAL ROAD TOLLS COLLECTED FROM VEHICLE OWNERS

 

 

17 March 2009: Police personnel from Tiddim Township Police Department are regularly collecting illegal tolls from owners of private vehicles plying the Tiddim-Tio route, a traveler told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

 

A police inspector and his men who were recently charged with security for the upcoming elections in 2010 in Tiddim Township have been collecting road tolls from vehicles travelling on Tiddim-Tio route without any fixed amount. According to one traveler interviewed by CHRO, the police typically would not let go of the vehicle until the owner paid them whatever amount that they had demanded.

 

“This so-called road toll is in addition to what we had already paid as vehicle toll. They are obviously not concerned about security; all they want is to make fast money,” one driver said.

 

 

Similarly, Sergeant Oo Htun and his military unit who are charged with security in Thayakung area of Kalay Township, Sagaing Division have been illegally collecting extortionate amount of money from vehicles passing through Kalay-Gangaw road.

 

VILLAGE COMMUNITY IMPOVERISHED BY FORCED LABOR

 

 

18 March 2009: A village community is increasingly burdened and impoverished by incessant forced labor demands associated with a government-run Jatropha [a type of bio-fuel] plantation project.

 

 

Kamone Chaung village is located in Wai Bu Lah Village Tract of Falam Township, northern Chin State. Since December 2008, an entire community in the village has been forced to work on Jatropha plantation without pay by orders of Falam Township Department of Forestry. A resident of the village told Chin Human Rights Organization that the villagers were forced to clear a 6-acre land of forest near the village as well as forced to perform other kind of forced labor for the plantation.

 

 

“Our village was already dealing with severe food shortages and families have been reduced to working for a day’s meal each day. Having to perform forced labor for an extended period has really affected our survival ability,” said a villager whose identity is withheld for security purpose.

 

 

He continued, “The common sentiment of the people here is that this government is only there to cause us trouble. They forced us to do various kinds of forced labor for them including planting and cultivating Jatropha, yet they wouldn’t build an irrigation that would really have benefited the community here.”

 

 

The Jatropha plantation project was first started in Kimone Chaung Village in 2006, with the promise that the fruit produced would be purchased back by the authorities. Instead, the recent orders to cultivate more Jatropha meant that the authorities have not only bought back the fruits produced from the 2006 planting, they are compelling villagers to more of unpaid labor.

 

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHIN FARMERS CONTINUES IN SAGAING DIVISION

 

 

19 March 2009: Chin farmers in Kalay Township, Sagaing Division are being unjustly targeted for collection of unofficial levy, an informed resident of the area told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

 

Thayakung village, located in Sagaing Division’s Kalay Township, has about 300 household and is heavily populated by Chin people, the majority of whom are farmers. Since 2005, the Chin farmers have been subject to an unofficial levy on their farm produce at the rate of 3 Tins (roughly 60 kilograms) of rice per every acre of paddy cultivated.

 

 

U Maung Sa, current Chairman of Htautkyant Village Tract Peace and Development Council issued the order to collect levy from Chin farmers without any written official documents from higher authorities. He said that the levies collected from Chin farmers would be used towards repairing damaged bridges within the Village Tract. No bridges has been repaired or maintained in the area since the collection began in 2005.

 

 

“Imagine how much money U Maung Sa already has accumulated since 2005. There are nearly 500 acres of farmland in Thayakung village. And we haven’t heard about any bridge being repaired in the last several years,” a member of Thayakung Village Council said.

 

 

Similarly, Forestry Department in Falam Township, citing land tax, has been demanding from Chin farmers from Wai Bu Lah Village Tract two Tins [roughly 40 kilograms] of rice per every acre of paddy cultivated.

 

INADEQUATE DEVELOPMENT BUDGET LEADS TO FORCED LABOR

 

 

20 March 2008: Residents of Rih Town of northern Chin State ended up having to provide unpaid labor due to ‘grossly’ inadequate budget provided by the military regime to pave a 2-kilometer-long main road of the town.

 

 

Started in September 2008 and set for completion in April of 2009, the military regime sanctioned a mere 10 million Kyats for the project, just a fraction of the actual budget needed to complete the project.

 

 

A member of the Special Public Works Team (12) based in Gangaw observed, “In a normal situation, we need at least 15 barrels of asphalt and 50 million Kyats to construct a one-mile asphalt road. It is ridiculous that the authorities would expect that a mere 10 million Kyats would do the job to pave a 2-mile-long road. This is nothing but sheer oppression.”

 

 

A Chin resident of the town said, “This is only very typical of the military regime. It is their way of showing that they have the power over the Chin people, that they can do whatever they please to oppress us socially, religiously and ethnically.”

 

UNFAIR SALARY CUT FOR GOVT. EMPLOYEES IN CHIN STATE

 

 

22 March 2009: Unlike their counterparts from any other States or Division in Burma, government employees in Chin State have their meager monthly salary cut for as much as 7000 to 8000 Kyats each month, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

 

Although unofficial, the cut in salary is affecting all public employees in the State, making it even more difficult for families of government employees to make ends meet. Not practiced in any other States or Divisions within Burma, the monthly salary cut in Chin State is meant to cover the costs of ‘entertainment activities’ for visiting ‘junta dignitaries’ as well as to cover the cost of procuring Jatropha [a type of bio-fuel] and tea seedlings.

 

 

“Because of the arbitrary cut in our monthly salary our family now has faced an even more difficult challenge for survival. I had to tell my 8 Grader son to discontinue school, can you imagine how difficult and sad a decision that is?’ said one distraught father and resident of Rih Town.

 

 

Another government employee said, “Those of us who are government employees now have to live in a vicious cycle of debts, and at the mercy of businessmen from whom we borrow money.”

 

 

Since 2006, public employees in Chin State have been forced to engage in forced labor during weekends to work at government-run tea and Jatropha plantation farms, have their monthly salary cut for the costs to cover ‘entertainment activities’ for high level junta officials visiting the State.

 

 

8 FAMILIES RELOCATED TO AVOID INCESSANT FORCED LABOR AND EXTORTION

 

25 March 2009: Eight families from Rezua sub-township were forced to relocate to other places to avoid incessant forced labor demands and extortion by the Burmese army in their areas, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

 

Sergeant U Than Hlaing, patrol unit (II) commander from Matupi-based Light Infantry Battalion (140) has been accused of forcing civilians in Rezua area to porter for the army on virtually a weekly basis and extorting thousands of Kyats from each household in the entire area. Each household is reportedly paying 15,000 Kyats a year to the Sergeant: 5000 Kyats for home tax, 3000 Kyats for road toll, 5000 Kyats for farm tax and another 2000 Kyats for water.

 

 

No longer able to keep up with the forced labor demands and arbitrary taxes, eight families from Ruavan village of Rezua sub-township relocated to Kamone Chaung village of Falam Township.

 

 

“You don’t see such excessive amount of arbitrary taxes being collected in other places. Having to do forced labor regularly on top of that is too much to bear,” said U Ni Lan, a local resident.

 

 

A Corporal from Burmese army LIB (5) based in Gangaw commented, “At best two-thirds of the money will be pocketed by the Sergeant and only a third of that money be submitted to higher authorities. That kind of money collection has become a profitable side income for army personnel on patrol in the front line.”

 

Grossly underpaid and under-supplied, Burmese army operation in Chin State has been virtually living off the local population through forced labor, extortion and confiscation of livestock and properties.

 

 

Religious Freedom

 

 

SPDC AUTHORITIES SHUT DOWN CHIN CHURCH IN RANGOON

 

 

Van Biak Thang

 

Chinland Guardian

 

26 April, 2009: The local authorities in North Dagon Township, Rangoon closed down the Dai Christian Fellowship Church last Sunday, 19 April while the church pastor was attending an International Brethren Conference in Malaysia.

 

 

SPDC’s local authorities came to the church in the evening and ordered not to do any worship services again, according to one of the church leaders, who added: “This is the only church service that the Dai people in Rangoon have and it is becoming a rendezvous for all of us. Unfortunately, the church has been closed down and every church member feels really sad so we need your special fervent prayer for help.”

 

 

One of the church leaders, who asks not to be named for security reasons, said the DCF church, which has got about 70 regular church-goers, was ordered to close and stop holding church services without giving any reasons by three local authority officers.

 

 

An orphanage ‘Victoria Childcare Home’ with about 15 children being looked after by the Dai Christian Fellowship (DCF) was also included in the recent closure. Other churches based in Ward 46 of North Dagon were said to have been locked on the same day but the number has not yet been known.

 

 

UK-based Dai-Chin pastor, Rev. Shwekey Hoipang, who co-founded the church in late 2007, told Chinland Guardian: “The Military Regime makes a series of raids to close down the churches, Bible colleges and orphanages in Rangoon in April 2009. It is clear that the Military Regime’s strategy is to destroy the Christian activities one by one and one place to another discretely. It is an ongoing plan of the Military Regime to wipe out the Christian in Burma.”

 

 

It is estimated that more than 200 Dai people, one of the Chin tribes from Southern Chin State, live in Rangoon, former capital of Burma.

 

 

Since December 2008, more than 100 churches in Rangoon’s South Dagon and Pabedan townships have been shut down, about 50 pastors forced to sign the documents promising to stop holding church services, and 80 per cent of churches in Rangoon affected, according to a report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) early this year.

 

 

Burma’s military regime has been condemned by international communities and Chin Christians across the world for its brutal yet escalating crackdowns on Christian activities in the country.

 

CHRISTIANS FORCED TO CONTRIBUTE WOOD TOWARDS PAGODA CONSTRUCTION

 

Van Biak Thang

 

Chinland Guardian

 

26 April, 2009: The SPDC’s local authority has ordered villages in Thantlang Township, Chin State to donate 12-feet long wood planks for a pagoda being constructed at Lungler village near the Indian-Burmese border, sources disclosed.

 

 

One local traveller from Lunger village reportedly said the pagoda construction is going on now and other villages around Lungler including Tlangpi, Tlanglo and Lungding are forced to provide a total of 16 wood planks each.

 

 

The pagoda construction has started since March 2009, now nearing its completion and 7 Buddhist monks are said to be coming to the village late this month, according to an Internet-based newsletter yesterday.

 

 

Villagers from Lungler and nearby suffered much from a series of forced labour, portering and money-extortion to renovate a military camp of the Light Infantry Battalion (266) stationed at Lungler village, according to Khonumthung News last year.

 

 

The Chin people, mostly dependent on wood for cooking as electricity is not fully available, have faced an increasing shortage of wood throughout Chin State due to deforestation and a slash-and-burn farming system.

 

 

Food Crisis in Chinland

 

 

FOOD SCARCITY LIKELY TO WORSEN IN CHIN STATE – AID GROUP

 

by Salai Pi Pi

 

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The scarcity of food in rat-infested Chin State in western Burma, is likely to escalate during the monsoons, according to a relief group in exile.

 

 

Salai Cinzah, Chairman of the Chin Humanitarian Relief Committee (CHRC), in exile, said on Monday, the villagers, the victims of food shortage caused by rat infestation in Chin state, were worried as the coming monsoons would disrupt the ongoing relief assistance by the International Non-government Organizations (INGOs) and NGOs.

 

 

“They [villagers] are worried that the shortage of food will get worse in the monsoons, as the weather will make it difficult to access the places, where they are staying and the inflow of aid from outside and inside Burma would be hampered,” Cinzah told Mizzima.

 

 

The rat infested Chin state, is the most backward and least developed state in military ruled Burma, where only a few villages can be accessed by car during the rainy season, making transportation of food and other commodities difficult and expensive.

 

 

Most of the affected areas are over 160 kilometres away from the places where most of the relief agencies’ field offices are established in Chin state.

 

 

Cinzah said, though there are some INGOs and NGOs distributing aid and money to the most critical areas in southern Chin state, there are a lot of affected villages facing shortage of food and which needs to be given assistance.

 

 

“Although, some villages have received aid from INGOs and NGOs, a lot of villages are still facing insufficiency of food and need help,” he said.

 

 

He added, “The worst thing is that there is no sign of reduction in the number of rats that damage the crops on the field, consume food grains and other food items.”

 

 

Last month, the World Food Program (WFP) in its report said, the food scarcity of vulnerable households in Chin state remains precarious as their purchasing power continues to be limited due to the loss of crops, while the situation of early 2009 seems to be stabilizing, with the relief aid of the international community.

 

 

Moreover, in addition to emergency food assistance, WFP which serves as a coordinating agency of several relief agencies in Chin state also said, “Some agencies have begun to distribute seeds for winter crops, and take preventive measures against future infestations.”

 

 

WFP and its coordinating relief agencies have responded to the food crisis in Chin state by projecting a “Food for Work” programme in 3 townships and “Food plus Cash for Work” programme in 5 townships.

 

 

The report said, “The activities focus on improving productive assets that increase their food security, such as agricultural land development, construction of trafficable roads, as well as other projects identified by the communities themselves.”

 

 

WFP also expected that the assistance project, of USD 708,000 given by United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Denmark, would benefit a total of 6,360 households in 50 villages and added, it had requested European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) to support another additional 7,500 beneficiaries with 203 tons of food as well as to carry out a food security survey.

 

 

Meanwhile, Terah, another relief worker from the Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee (CFERC) told Mizzima that the new symptoms of food scarcity was found in the areas of Chin’s southern township Paletwa near northern Arakan state.

 

 

“We are told that some villages in Paletwa Township near Arakan state also experienced shortage of food as rats began damaging the crops in the fields,” said Terah.

 

 

Source: Mizzima News

 

Date: 20 Apr 2009

 

 

Situations of Refugees

 

 

MORE CHIN REFUGEES FOUND DETAINED IN MALAYSIA

 

Van Biak Thang

 

Chinland Guardian

 

04 April, 2009: An ‘unknown’ number of Chin refugees have been found detained in Malaysia after a team of three UNHCR officers and three interpreters visited the Langkap detention centre at Teluk Intan in Perak last Monday.

 

 

A source said more than an estimated 200 refugees are in the detention centre and about 40 percent of it are Chin including women. The Langkap detention centre has been known among the refugees as having the worst condition with caning punishment.

 

 

Mr. Bawi Ceu, who has been detained since July 2008 when he was arrested with many other Chin refugees at Cameron Highland, was quoted as saying: “We were sentenced by the court to two strokes of the cane and 7-month imprisonment last December. It is not easy as we are just being cooped up. There are many Chin refugees in this centre and please pray for all of us.”

 

 

The Chin detainees, according to one Chin witness, have no other places to sleep but on the cement floor without blankets and also get ill frequently as they are not given enough food. He said those who do not speak and understand Malaysian are shouted at, threatened and even slapped. The Chin refugees face harsh condition and abuses in detention camps where slapping and kicking are common and normal, he added.

 

 

On 1 April 2009, two lorries full of newly arrested refugees arrived at the Langkap detention centre and more than 20 Chin refugees were included. “We shouted if there were any Chin refugees in the lorries. Raising their hands, some women melted into tears and cried once they heard our voices in Chin. After encouraging them, we left uncomfortably,” continued the Chin refugee witness.

 

 

The Malaysian government has since January, 2009 stopped deporting refugees into the Thai-Malaysian border where a deported refugee could get into the hands of human traffickers.

 

 

The current situation of Chin refugees in Malaysia has raised grave concerns among the Chin communities and an email prayer request has been circulated and launched across the globe for especially those who are being detained and facing rough condition in Malaysian detention camps.

 

 

CHIN SUFFERS FROM INADEQUATE ACCESS TO PROTECTION IN INDIA

 

Nava Thakuria

 

Newstrack-India

 

07 Apr 2009 – New Delhi: The Chin people of Burma, who are living in the Indian capital, suffers from less access to humanitarian relief and services by the local government and also the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in New Delhi.

 

 

In a new report released today, the Chin Human Rights Organization finds that Ch people seeking protection as refugees face prolonged wait-periods in extremely poor conditions with very little access to humanitarian relief.

 

 

The CHRO has appealed New Delhi and the UNHCR to ensure that Chin in Delhi have access to expedient and fair protection mechanisms as well as basic human necessities.

 

 

“So many Chin in Delhi live in deplorable conditions- without jobs, without basic amenities, without access to social services,” said Salai Bawi Lian Mang, executive director of CHRO adding “In fact, the Chin are refugees in desperate need of protection, but it takes years to gain protection by the UNHCR. Meanwhile, the Chin are living on the bare margins of society in Delhi.”

 

 

Currently, the estimated Chin population in Delhi is 4,200- the largest asylum-seeking population from Burma living in Delhi.

 

 

Sixty-six percent of the Chin community are unemployed and those who are employed typically work 10- to 12-hour days for less than Rs. 70 (US$1.35) per day. Illnesses are common and access to affordable and quality healthcare is limited. More than half of those Chin who died in 2007 and 2008 succumbed to easily treatable and preventable health problems, such as diarrhea, stated in a statement issued by CHRO from California.

 

 

Mentionable that, hundreds of thousands of people of Chin were forced to leave their homes in the Burmese province to escape from severe ethnic and religious persecution of the military regime. They arrive in India in search of security and the hope of enjoying basic freedoms. Currently, some 75,000 to 100,000 ethnic Chin from Burma are living on the India-Burma border State of Mizoram.

 

 

As UNHCR has no access and provides no protection to the Chin population living in Mizoram, the only available means of protection in India is to travel some 2,400 kilometers to Delhi. Due to the significant distance and expense of this trip, only a small minority of the Chin population in India is able to make it to Delhi. As of December 2008, the population of Chin in Delhi numbered 4,200.

 

 

Although UNHCR supports several programs to provide for and improve the welfare of the Chin community, many of these programs are inadequate and ineffective to meet the community needs. Access to such programs is limited to UNHCR-recognized refugees and more than half of the Chin community in New Delhi are not eligible to benefit from such programs.

 

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/82978

 

 

 

OVER 200 BURMESE ARRESTED IN MALAYSIA

 

by Salai Pi Pi

 

New Delhi (Mizzima) – In a fresh crackdown on migrants, Malaysian authorities arrested at least 200 Burmese nationals on Wednesday, in Kuala Lumpur.

 

 

During a joint operation conducted by the Malaysian police, immigration officials and peoples’ volunteer corps – RELA – on Wednesday, at least 200 Burmese nationals, both possessing legal documents as well as illegal migrants, were picked up at Zalam Imbi in Kuala Lumpur.

 

 

“At around 7:00 pm yesterday, they started launching the operation in Imbi near Times Square. It took over two hours,” Bawi Hre, Chairman of the Chin Refugee Committee- Malaysia, who is following the case closely, told Mizzima.

 

 

“Some were arrested on the streets and some were picked up from their residence,” he added.

 

 

He said, among the arrested Burmese, including women and children, several of them were registered refugees of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), while some have legal travel documents. However, many of them are illegal migrants, seeking jobs.

 

 

“They took them [the Burmese nationals] to the nearby immigration centre in Putrajaya, where they are being temporarily detained,” he said. “I have heard that they will be taken to Bukit Jali [a suburban town in Kuala Lumpur],” he elaborated.

 

 

Nearly a hundred of the detained Burmese, who had legal documents, were later released.

 

 

Kyaw Htoo Aung, Assistant Secretary of Malaysia-based Burmese Workers’ Rights Protection Committee (BWRPC) told Mizzima, that during the operation, RELA and the police used batons against the Burmese nationals, who are now being detained.

 

 

“They used batons in the operation and beat some Burmese nationals,” Kyaw Htoo Aung said.

 

 

Although, such operations against illegal migrants and arrest of Burmese workers are not uncommon, the arrests on Wednesday were significant as it included several children as well as women, he said.

 

 

Rights groups and Bar Association in Malaysia have voiced their concern against the government-backed RELA groups’ action against migrants. RELA has attracted severe criticism by rights groups and campaigners for its harsh crackdowns on illegal migrants and foreign nationals.

 

 

Malaysia, which is one of the emerging economies of Southeast Asia has long been a refuge for millions of migrant workers from regional countries, including Burma, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

 

 

However, with the world economy in recession, observers say that Malaysia is conducting fresh operations on migrants since mid-2008, in order to reduce the burden of its citizens losing jobs.

 

 

Min Thein, officer in-charge of the Malaysia-branch of the Burmese political party, – Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS), – said, “The recent operation might be because of the impact of the global recession, which also hit the Malaysian economy. And it is also an act, to prevent more influx of migrants into the country.”

 

 

According to him, Malaysia, since last year, has intensified its crackdown on migrants far more than in the past. Since the beginning of this year, at least 1,000 Burmese nationals have been arrested and are being detained in detention centres or immigration camps.

 

 

In the first week of April, about 200 Burmese nationals were arrested in Kuala Lumpur and are being detained at the Lengang and other detention centres.

 

 

According to Kyaw Htoo Aung, there are about 500,000 Burmese nationals commonly working in restaurants and construction sites in Malaysia. While several of them have legal documents including over 30,000 UNHCR recognized refugees, the majority are left without any legal documents to stay.

 

 

 

Source: Mizzima News

 

Date: 23 Apr 2009

 

Press Release

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Mai Dawt Chin Plato Van Rung Mang

 

Program Officer- Delhi Field Officer

 

Asalatpur, Janakpuri Asalatpur, Janakpuri

 

Delhi, India Delhi, India

 

[email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Tel: +91.11.2561.7368 Tel: +91.11.2561.7368

 

Mobile: +91.11.991.083.2560

 

 

 

REPORT RELEASE:

 

Chin in Delhi, India Lack Adequate Protection and Humanitarian Support

 

Delhi; April 3, 2009: In a new report released today, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) finds Chin in Delhi seeking protection as refugees face prolonged wait-periods in extremely poor conditions with very little access to humanitarian relief or services. CHRO calls on the Government of India and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure Chin in Delhi have access to expedient and fair protection mechanisms as well as basic human necessities.

 

 

Waiting on the Margins: An Assessment of the Situation of Chin Refugees in Delhi documents the limited protections available to the Chin community and their living conditions in Delhi. Due to long processing delays at UNHCR, it takes on average more than two years to receive refugee recognition- four times longer than mandated by UNHCR guidelines. As a result, more than half of the Chin population in Delhi have cases pending with UNHCR and are not yet recognized as refugees. Without UNHCR-recognition, Chin are not eligible for essential social services and humanitarian relief provided by UNHCR-partner organizations.

 

 

“So many Chin in Delhi live in deplorable conditions- without jobs, without basic amenities, without access to social services,” said Salai Bawi Lian Mang, executive director of CHRO. “In fact, the Chin are refugees in desperate need of protection, but it takes years to gain protection by the UNHCR. Meanwhile, the Chin are living on the bare margins of society in Delhi.”

 

 

Currently, the estimated Chin population in Delhi is 4,200- the largest asylum-seeking population from Burma living in Delhi. Sixty-six percent of the Chin community are unemployed and those who are employed typically work 10- to 12-hour days for less than Rs. 70 (US$1.35) per day. Illnesses are common and access to affordable and quality healthcare is limited. More than half of those Chin who died in 2007 and 2008 succumbed to easily treatable and preventable health problems, such as diarrhea.

 

 

Although UNHCR supports several programs to provide for and improve the welfare of the Chin community, many of these programs are inadequate and ineffective to meet the community needs. Access to such programs is limited to UNHCR-recognized refugees and more than half of the Chin community in Delhi are not eligible to benefit from such programs.

 

 

For this reason, the Chin Human Rights Organization urges the Indian government and the UNHCR to:

 

Ensure Chin refugees and asylum-seekers have unhindered access to effective and expedient protection mechanisms.

Minimize processing delays and corruption that hinder members of the Chin community from obtaining protection and access to crucial benefits and services.

Ensure Chin refugees and asylum-seekers have access to: acceptable and appropriate accommodations; stable and adequate sources of income and job opportunities; and quality and affordable healthcare and education.

Promote, expand, and improve current humanitarian programs that benefit and serve members of the Chin community.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in Chin State, Burma to escape severe ethnic and religious persecution committed by the military regime of Burma. They arrive in India in search of security and the hope of enjoying basic freedoms. Currently, some 75,000 to 100,000 ethnic Chin from Burma are living on the India-Burma border in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram. As UNHCR has no access and provides no protection to the Chin population living in Mizoram, the only available means of protection in India is to travel some 2,400 kilometers to Delhi. Due to the significant distance and expense of this trip, only a small minority of the Chin population in India is able to make it to Delhi. As of December 2008, the population of Chin in Delhi numbered 4,200.

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Amy Alexander

 

Regional Advocacy Officer

 

Chiangmai, Thailand

 

[email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Tel: +66.85.029.4846

 

 

 

U.S. Senate Releases Report on Abuses in Malaysia, Raids Continue

 

24 April 2009: Even as the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations publicly released its report documenting the mistreatment of Burmese migrants in Malaysia, the Malaysian authorities continue to conduct raids on refugee neighborhoods in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. CHRO calls for UNHCR to take immediate action to intervene on behalf of detained Chin refugees and asylum seekers.

 

 

The Malaysian authorities rounded up and detained some 300 migrants, including small children, during raids in the Imbi neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur late Wednesday night, April 22. Over 100 Chin refugees and asylum seekers are among those arrested, including 14 children and two pregnant women. The authorities have been conducting similar raids throughout the city with increasing frequency during this past month.

 

 

In the midst of ongoing raids in Malaysia, half the world away, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations publicly released its report Trafficking and Extortion of Burmese Migrants in Malaysia and Southern Thailand, calling on the Malaysian government to address problems of trafficking and other abuses in Malaysia. The report findings include the involvement of Malaysian officials in the arrest, detention, and extortion of Burmese migrants and refugees; mistreatment of detainees in detention facilities, including whippings and torture; and the transfer of Burmese migrants and refugees to traffickers for payment. Burmese migrants and refugees in the hands of traffickers are subject to further extortion and mistreatment and are at risk of being sold into the fishing or sex industry. The report is based on a one-year investigation by the Senate Committee and includes information provided by NGOs, including CHRO, as well as first-hand testimony from trafficking victims.

 

 

“Chin refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia have long been subject to abuse and exploitation by Malaysian officials and their operatives,” said Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of CHRO. “We appreciate this initiative by the U.S. government and hope it will put pressure on the Malaysian government to act responsibly towards migrants and refugees living within its borders.”

 

 

The 106 Chin refugees and asylum seekers caught up in the raids earlier this week are currently being held in Bukit Jali police station. According to Kennedy Lal Ram Lian, coordinator of the Chin Refugee Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, “No one has been released- not even UNHCR card holders.” More than 10 Chin detainees are UNHCR-recognized refugees awaiting resettlement to a third country. If they are deported to the border, they are at risk of being sold to traffickers.

 

 

According to the report, any person involved in the trafficking of migrants and refugees may be subject to prosecution not only in Malaysia and Thailand but also in the U.S. under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Based on the report findings, the proposed recommendations of the Committee include:

 

Investigation and prosecution of persons involved in the trafficking of Burmese and other refugees;

Increased assistance to victims of human trafficking in Malaysia;

Increased funding to local community leaders and political activists to combat the trafficking of persons from Malaysia into southern Thailand;

Consideration of alternatives to detention for refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia;

Free and unhindered access for UNHCR officials to all Malaysian facilities where Burmese persons and other asylum seekers are detained;

Promotion of refugee protection standards in Malaysia.

The full findings and recommendations of the Senate committee report can be found online at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html.

 

 

The Chin community represent one of the largest refugee communities from Burma living in Malaysia. For more than ten years, the Chin people have fled to Malaysia to escape persecution, torture, and severe oppression in Burma. In Malaysia they are they are the constant target of harassment, arrest, detention, and deportation by the Malaysian authorities. They are unable to work, receive an education, access healthcare services, or find acceptable living accommodations.

 

 

 

Rhododendron News

 

Volume XI, No. I, January – February 2008

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

Table of Contents:

 

Editorial:

 

Cross-Border Aid Needed to Address Humanitarian Crisis in Chinland

 

Human Rights Situations in Chinland:

 

Forced Labor for Bootlegging

Illegal Funds Collected from Chin Public

Unfair Tax and Restriction Imposed on Chin Farmers

Money Extorted to Finance Militia Training

Town Residents Forced to Buy and Plant Tea Seed

Corrupt Forestry Officer Imposed Excessive Fines on Villagers

Officials Auctioned Off Seized Goods for Personal Profit

Extortion Rampage

New Recruitment Drive Targets High School Students

Burmese police recruit under age youth in western Burma

 

Refugee Situation

 

45 Chin Perished at Sea

Rela Burns Down Chin Camps in Malaysia

Local Youth Assault Chin Asylum Seeker in New Delhi

 

News & Events

 

CHRO Begins Annual Advocacy Mission

Total Oil Urged to Pull Out of Burma

Chin Marks National Day with Protest

Burmese Regime Bans Chin Historical Day

Ethnic Alliance Warns Constitutional Boycott

 

Facts & Argument

 

Burma’s Referendum: Why Indonesia Matters

 

Back Cover Poem

Once Voice (Chin national Day)

 

Editorial

 

 

Cross-Border Aid Needed to Address Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Chinland

 

 

Rising cost of living and arbitrary and repressive policies of the ruling military junta are driving Chin people into deeper and deeper humanitarian crisis, causing serious alarm of hunger and famine for communities across Burma’s western frontier.

 

Latest information from inside Chin State indicates that more and more communities are finding themselves adversely affected by rising cost of living, arbitrary and excessive tax, forced labor programs and other repressive policies of the State Peace and Development Council. In many parts of Chin State, hunger and famine are becoming a reality for the first time since the army takeover 19 years ago as previously self-sufficient communities are no longer able to make ends meet.

 

Ordinary Chin families such as farmers who account for the majority and make up the backbone of local economy are worst affected by the crisis due to various restrictions and bans, as well as excessive taxes imposed on them by military authorities. In parts of Falam township of northern Chin State farmers are completely banned from clearing new forests for the 2008 cultivation season while imposition of restrictive rules and arbitrary taxes are preventing other communities such as those in the southern township of Matupi from continuing to make their sole and traditional means of livelihood.

 

Additionally, many rural communities are bracing for, or are already dealing with, the rapid boom of crop-eating rodent population with the flowering of bamboos, which has historically driven local communities into disastrous famine every half a century or so.

 

Urban residents such as those living in major towns are facing similar economic crisis. Rising commodity prices and living costs, compounded by various forms of arbitrary and often excessive taxes are taking a toll on Chin families. Apart from excessively large sums exacted for property and municipal taxes, families are required to pay as much as 30, 000 Kyats per household per year in order to be exempt from government-sponsored forced labor programs such as portering and construction related to development and military purposes. This does not include other ‘donations’ that each family must pay on a regular basis such as for the cost of militia and vigilante training conducted by the army in towns and villages across the state. In total, each family ends up paying as much as 300,000 to 400, 000 Kyats to the military government.

 

Despite increasing evidence of humanitarian crises nationwide and the crippling economy, Burma’s military regime still refuses to acknowledge the extent of the country’s problems. The expulsion late last year of Charles Petrie, the head of the United Nations Office in Burma who had voiced concerns over the unfolding crises and the various restrictions on, and official interference with the activities of international humanitarian agencies working in the country, are cases in point.

 

Unfortunately for the Chins, their isolated region lies beyond the reach of very few international aid agencies that are currently allowed to work in Burma. Chin State is designated as a grey zone where insurgency is active, and thus remains restricted. With virtually no help flowing from international agencies from inside Burma, Chin people can expect little help from the outside world to help cope with what is a dire humanitarian situation.

 

Most obviously, recent announcements by the military junta to hold a constitutional referendum and new elections are not going to have any positive impacts on the humanitarian situations, nor are they likely to reverse the worsening trend of human miseries and rights abuses in Chin State.

 

In such a situation, it is urgent and imperative that the international community and aid organizations find an alternative way to deliver the much needed humanitarian help to the Chin people, including by cross-border aid delivery from neighboring India in order to avert what clearly will be a disastrous consequence.

 

Human Rights Situations in Chinland

 

 

Forced Labor for Bootlegging

18 January 2008

 

An army officer is running a bootlegging operation for personal profits by forcing Chin villagers to transport and sell liquors to India’s Mizoram State, a local villager told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Light Infantry Battalion 304’s Major Thein Win Myint, camp commander at Sabawngte village has been making a personal fortune from his illegal business since the beginning of January 2008. The local source says that up to four and five villagers have routinely been forced to carry as many as 40 to 60 bottles of liquor from Rezua town to Sabawngte village where they were sold for three to four times the market price. Villagers are also made to transport a portion of the liquor to across the border into India’s Mizoram.

A bottle of liquor fetches as much as 200 in Indian currency in Mizoram where it is a dry state.

 

“It is very unfair that not only are we (the villlagers) forced in the bootlegging business without any pay, anyone selling liquors is arrested and fined by the army,” says the local source.

 

The bootlegging operation involving forced labor exacted from villagers has been ongoing in the area since the beginning of last year. Amy units stationed in the area such as LIB 274 based in Lailenpi camp has been making illegal profits from bootlegging since early 2007.

 

Illegal Funds Collected from Chin Public

 

19 January 2008

 

Residents of Haka, Chin State’s capital, are to ‘donate’ 500 Kyats per household to pay for the cost of training 42 ‘fire personnel,’ according to an order from Major General Hung Ngai, Chairman of Chin State Peace and Development Council.

 

Each of the six wards/localities of Haka is required to send in seven trainees along with the expenses needed for the training: about 2000 Kyats a day for each trainee.

 

Collection of the ‘donation’ started on 16 December 2007, and the training was conducted through the month of January 2008. “There are at least 5,000 households in Haka and it’s too obvious what the authorities are collecting is much more than the actual cost because everyone knows how much 500 Kyats per household translates to,” a local resident said, stressing that officials any excess money would most likely go to individual officials.

 

Fire fighters are routinely used by the military junta not only for their obvious purpose but more importantly as vigilante or local militia.

 

 

Unfair Tax and Restriction Imposed on Chin Farmers

 

8 February 2008

 

Military authorities have imposed unfair tax and unreasonable restriction on farmers in two townships putting further hardship on already poor communities whose sole survival depends on slash and burn cultivation, an unnamed local source told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

While slash and burn cultivation is entirely banned in most parts of Falam Township for the 2008 new cultivation season, farming communities in Matupi Township of southern Chin State are being levied 2000 Kyats per household along with 12 tins of paddy upon harvest.

 

The order which was issued by Colonel Zaw Myint Oo, Commander of Tactical II Command based in Matupi town, came into effect in November 2007.

 

Local authorities have already begun collecting money from the farmers as of 2007 year-end, prompting many farmers to second guess the worth of cultivating this season. However, more families are left with no choice but to pay the levy as they have no other alternative means of survival. Among these families are residents of Ngala, Lawngban, Khuabawi and Sanbawng localities in Matupi town.

 

Meanwhile in Falam Township, communities affected by the complete ban are taking desperate measures by reportedly selling off what little they have left such as chicken and pigs in order to come up with enough money to bribe local forestry officials in the hope of getting permission to cultivate this season.

 

In imposing the ban, military authorities have insisted that the slash and burn agricultural method is not sustainable practice without actually offering or supporting other ‘sustainable’ alternative programs for their survival.

 

Money Extorted to Finance Militia Training

 

18 February 2008

 

Burmese military authorities in Tamu Township of Sagain Division are arbitrarily collecting money from local residents in order to finance militia training slated for January 2008. According to a local resident, each household is to pay 500 Kyats for the purpose.

 

Village Peace and Development Council Chairman Ko Myo Chit has ordered each locality/ward to send in one able trainee to the training along with 500 Kyats per household in each the locality.

 

Although the funds have been collected, the militia training itself is yet to be conducted as of mid February, and local residents suspect that local officials have used the training as a pretext to collect money without authorization from higher authorities.

 

Town Residents Forced to Buy and Plant Tea Seed

 

19 February 2008

 

Residents of Thantlang town of northern Chin State are being threatened with confiscation of their private gardens unless they plant tea seed in their gardens, which they must buy from local officials. Following directives from higher authorities U Lai To, Village PDC Chairman issued the order to this effect.

 

Since the beginning of January 2008, Chairmen of each local PDC have instructed every household in their locality to buy one bag of tea seed for 4000 Kyats. The purchase is compulsory for all residents owning a garden in Thantlang town but only half them have made the purchase so far as of late February.

 

Tea seeds are shipped from out of State in Burma proper and local authorities are responsible for distribution in their respective areas. About four fifth of the 1500 households of Thantlang town own a garden and they are complaining about the unfair order.

 

Corrupt Forestry Officer Imposed Excessive Fines on Villagers

 

19 February 2008

 

New house owners were the latest target of a corrupt forestry officer who made illegal profits by extorting them money, a local villager reported to CHRO. Siang Ling, Thantlang Township Forestry Officer, imposed excessive fines on two villagers for ‘unauthorized’ use of timbers for construction of their houses. Za Zin of Tlangpi village was fined 30,000 Kyats while a villager from Van Zang was fined 100,000 Kyats for using timbers to build their houses.

 

In late January 2008, the forestry officer was traveling to Tlangpi and Tlanglo villages when he came across people sawing wood planks for building new houses in the village. The owners were immediately ordered to pay thousands of Kyats for unauthorized use of timbers.

 

As the officer traveled around the area, he collected 500 Kyats from each household in every village for their use of firewood and an additional 200 Kyats for cultivating in a shifting farmland.

 

 

Officials Auctioned Off Seized Goods for Personal Profit

 

13 December 2007

 

U Kyaw Maung, the head of Revenue Dept. for Teddim Township of northern Chin State, on November 22, put on an auction to sell goods his department had seized from cross-border traders. The goods included imported tobaccos Indian brand named 92 Zarda fetching up to 40 million Kyats, a local source told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Three jeep loads of goods containing 120 packages of tobacco were seized from four cross-border traders by a joint force of Township Revenue Department, Military Intelligence and Burmese police. The vehicles carrying the goods were also seized and kept as public property for use by State authorities.

 

A package of Indian-made tobacco (Commonly used as an ingredient for chewing betel nuts) is priced at 300,000 Kyats on the market rate. The 120 packages were seized as ownerless and the traders who attempted to reclaim the goods were silenced with threats of arrest.

 

A trader said such seizures are specifically targeted at Chin traders and Burman tobacco importers have never had their goods seized by authorities.

 

 

Extortion Rampage

 

5 December 2007

 

Burmese army and police units on patrol along Teddim and Rih Sub-town routes of northern Chin State routinely extort money from traders passing through the route, according to CHRO source.

 

On November 22, 2007, a trader from Teddim town who was carrying plastic packages with 50 horses to Mizoram, India was arrested at Laitui village by Burmese police who asked him to pay 500 Kyat per horse. Going ahead on his journey eight miles away to Lentlang village, he was again asked to pay the same amount of money by a Burmese army unit from Light Infantry Battalion 269.

 

When he told the soldiers he had already paid up the money to policemen earlier in the journey, the army unit commander said “we are not concerned with the police, if you do not pay the money, both your property and you will be arrested and put in the jail”.

 

For fear of such threat, the trader gave the money he was being asked for. Traders risk being extorted, sometimes twice on a single trip, of at least 100, 000 to 200, 000 Kyats to the army and police every trip. In addition, they usually end up paying 50, 000 to 100, 000 Kyats on their return depending on their luck in meeting with Burmese soldiers.

 

 

New Recruitment Drive Targets High School Students

 

7 December 2007

 

Starting from October 2007, Colonel Zaw Myint Oo, head of Military Tactical Command II based in Matupi town, southern Chin State had restarted recruitment drive targeting high school students in the area. But the ‘recruitment’ is involuntary and some high school students were already conscripted into the army against their will, forcing many students to hide in their house instead of attending school, a local reported to CHRO.

 

The new recruitment program took effect in the first week of October 2007. Colonel Zaw Myint Oo’s order required that each ward/locality in Matupi town contribute five able people for military service.

 

Army battalions such as LIB 140 are already on the prowl for new recruits in Matupi and surrounding villages. At least three high school students were arrested in the first week of November.

 

The three were later released upon intervention by their teachers who pleaded with the army commander. The army commander agreed their release after making assurance that the whole incident will be kept a secret. The students were snatched by the soldiers on their way to visit their native village for a weekend to fetch ration supplies – a trip high school students hailing from outlying villages have to make on occasions.

 

The students however, had to spend overnight at the army camp before being released where they were repeatedly persuaded to join the army by promising them bright prospects if they agreed to join the army.

 

 

Burmese police recruit under age youth in western Burma

Khonumthung News

February 9, 2008 – In the midst of the world body the United Nations accusing the Burmese military rulers of using child soldiers, comes reports of several youths including minors from Chin state and Arakan state, western Burma being recruited in the police force, a retired police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Recently, police officers from Paletwa Township in Chin state and Kyautdaw Township in Arakan state instructed each constable to recruit local youths for police service. If the constable failed to do so, Kyat 4,000 would be cut from his monthly salary.

Afraid of losing their salary, the constables allegedly tricked and persuaded local youths to join the police. They were conned into believing that the salary would be good and their status would improve. Among the recruited youth, the majority are said to be minors.

“Most of the recruited youth are under 18. They could not continue their studies as they are from poor families,” a retired police officer said.

“Taking advantage of school dropouts the authorities frequently engage them as porters to carry army rations and ammunition while the constables persuade them that joining the police force will not only free them from being a porter but it will also be a guarantee for better life,” he added.

Moreover, some youths who were arrested under the emergency Act, (an Act the authorities in Burma frequently used to remain in power) and forced to join the police force.

“There are around 30 minors from my native town who have been forced to join the police force,” a local in Chin state said.

The police recruiting camps in Paletwa and Kyautdaw have sent the recruited youths to police training camps in lower Burma. – Khonumthung…

 

Refuge Situations

 

45 Chin Perished at Sea

 

By Victor Khambil

 

December 21, 2007-Kuala Lumpur: A small boat carrying 99 ethnic Chin from Myanmar accidentally sunk into the sea near Koktoung which located at the southernmost borderline of Thai and Myanmar on December 20, 2007 after colliding with a huge fishing boat at night. According to available information so far received, 45 Chin nationals comprising several children perished or still missing in the most ever devastating tragedy in the Chin history.

 

Most of the victims are Chin refugees heading toward Malaysia to join with their families in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia .

 

According to eyewitness, a boat carrying 99 refugees was hit by a huge fishing boat during the speed on the sea at night. Since the boat was not sunk suddenly into the sea after it was hit, 44 refugees on boat were able to climb over to the fishing boat which stopped near the sinking boat.

 

The worsening political situation in Myanmar is a factor which forced thousands of ethnic refugees out of Myanmar especially the Chin people who are struggling under the torturous rule of military regime in Myanmar . Most of the victims who perished in the tragedy are from Thantlang township of Chin State.

 

According to the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), the Chins who are mostly Christians, in Buddhist dominated country, are persecuted due to their believe in democracy and Christianity and also for their ethnic background, by the Burmese military regime.

 

There are roughly about 20, 000 Chin refugees in Malaysia who are seeking asylum at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) Liaison office in Kuala Lumpur.

 

As Malaysia is not a signatory of 1951 UN Refugee Convention, most refugees in Malaysia are facing almost daily arrests and detention as illegal immigrants. Up to this date there are still more than 700 Chin refugees and asylum seekers who are in immigration detention camps in Malaysia including children and women. Furthermore, many of the male refugees are not only detained but punished with two strokes of canings at their buttocks in prison plus their sentences as illegal immigrants which is the minimum of three months inside jails. After several weeks, most detainees were deported to Thai border where they were victimized again by drug addict human smugglers especially younger women.

 

According to Paul coordinator for Kuala Lumpur based Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia , the factor behind the refugees who are fleeing to cross international border to escape from Myanmar is none other than the military regime who dare even shot dead several monks in September 2007.

 

(Victor Khambil, CHRO refugee issue coordinator, file the report from Kuala Lumpur )

 

 

Rela Burns Down Chin Camps in Malaysia

25 January 2008

 

Putra Jaya, Malaysia: At least 75 Chin refugees and asylum seekers are now homeless and distraught after government-authorized forces in Malaysia burned down their jungle shelters earlier this week in Putra Jaya. This is the latest of many well-documented acts of abuse committed by the authorities against the refugee community in Malaysia.

 

The raid began around 7 am on 20 January when more than 30 RELA members violently stormed the make-shift campsite and burned it to the ground. The material possessions of the camp residents- plastic sheeting for shelter, pots and pans for cooking, donated articles of clothing and food rations, and Christian Bibles- were reduced to ashes. For a community already living on the margins of survival, the consequences are devastating.

 

“Nothing is left for any of them. Nobody knows what they should do, where they should go for shelter, how they can overcome this…They are left with nothing,” reported one Chin leader who recently visited the residents and their burned out campsite.

 

For years, the Chins have taken shelter in the jungles surrounding Kuala Lumpur to escape the harassment and abuse by RELA security forces. Night-time neighborhood raids occur regularly in Kuala Lumpur’s urban areas. Although in hiding, the Chins living in the jungle are not immune to such abuses. Over the course of four years, the camp in Putra Jaya had been raided three times by RELA.

 

According to the camp leader, “None of the raids in the past compare to this. We are empty-handed now. We lost everything- no cooking pots, no food, no clothes, no hope.”

 

The raid was conducted by Malaysia’s controversial RELA or the People’s Volunteer Corps, an untrained, volunteer civilian unit with security enforcement powers. RELA has come under increasing criticism by members of the international community and human rights organizations for reckless conduct and abusive actions during raids. Despite such criticism, RELA is slated to take over all of Malaysia’s immigration facilities during this next year. The transition of authority has already started in some facilities, raising concerns among the refugee community who fear the takeover will lead to increased abuses with greater impunity.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Hundreds of thousands of Chins have been forced to leave their homes in Burma to escape severe ethnic and religious persecution committed by the military regime of Burma. They arrive in Malaysia in search of some sense of security. Currently, there are over 23,000 Chin asylum seekers and refugees living in Malaysia. Instead of finding safety, the Chin people are the constant target of harassment, arrest, detention, and deportation by the Malaysian authorities. In addition, they are unable to work, receive an education, access healthcare services, or find acceptable living accommodations. With the UNHCR registration process closed since July 2005, obtaining refugee status or any protective documents from the UNHCR is difficult. As a result, life for the Chins in Malaysia is full of abuses and uncertainties.

 

For more information on the Chin and their situation in Malaysia, please visit Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) on the web at www.chro.org or contact Amy Alexander at [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or +66.85.230.2609.

 

Local Youth Assault Chin Asylum Seeker in New DelhiKhonumthung News

February 11, 2008 – Local youth on February 9 at night attacked and injured an asylum seeker from Chin state, Burma in New Delhi, capital of India.

The incident occurred in Jeevan Park, Uttamnagar, west New Delhi.

A local youth called Ashu on Saturday at around 11 pm reportedly snatched Maung Kung (28), a Chin from Burma, from Pankha Road in Jeevan Park and forcibly took him to a dark corner.

After a few minutes another local youth was said to have joined Ashu and together they assaulted Maung Kung for almost an hour. They also demanded Rs. 10,000 from him.

“When I did not give them anything they took my temporary UN card and Rs. 860 from my pocket,” Maung Kung with his lower lip swollen said.

Fortunately, some Chin Refugee Committee and Chin community leaders rushed to the place where the incident took place and rescued Maung Kung after another Chin refugee who was passing by saw the incident and informed them.

The CRC and community leaders tried to stop the local youth who claimed that Maung Kung owed them money. Maung Kung denied ever having met them.

“How could I owe them money as I don’t even know who they are,” Maung Kung said.

CRC leaders lodged a complaint at the Uttam Nagar police station as the local youth kept on trying to attack Maung Kung.

The police arrived at the spot and took Maung Kung to a nearby hospital as his mouth and nose were bleeding.

The police arrested Ashu and his friend but later released them as they reportedly confessed to the police that they mistook Maung Kung for another person, according to CRC.

The police suggested that the victim register a case at the police station.

“The police told us that only after the case has been registered, can they book the accused,” Mr. Jeremiah, president of the CRC said.

The victim, Maung Kung, is still not clear under which section, he should register a complaint.

“It was a sort of attempt to murder him,” Mr. Jeremiah was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile a leader from the Chin community also accused Ashu and his friend of kidnapping him.

Maung Kung is from Hakha, the capital of Chin state in Burma. He fled to India in 2005.

He applied for refugee status to the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees office in New Delhi. His application has been pending with the UNHCR office. – Khonumthung.

 

News and Events

 

 

CHRO Begins Annual Advocacy Mission

Chinland Guardian

January 9, 2008

 

A delegation of Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) is in Washington D.C this week for annual advocacy trip that usually starts at the beginning of the year.

 

Victor Biak Lian, CHRO’s member of board of directors and Ms. Amy Alexander the organization’ s regional advocacy officer has a series of meetings in the U.S Capitol meeting with National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S Department of State Bureau for Population, Migration and Refugee, and Bureau for International Religious Freedom, and the U.S Department of State Burma Desk.

 

Refugee Council of United States of America (RCUSA) hosted CHRO delegation by organizing a meeting where all members of RCUSA participated. Ms. Amy Alexander presented update situation of Chin refugees. She raised the security and humanitarian crisis faced by Chin refugees from Burma in India and Malaysia that needed to be addressed immediately.

 

Part of the mission is to highlight human rights and political situation among the Chin people after the popular “saffron revolution”. The CHRO has just published a report “Action, Words, and Prayer: The Chin Solidarity for Protest in Burma” that highlights the active role played by ethnic Chin during the protest against the military junta State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and the aftermath crackdown in Burma.

 

Two elected Chins MPs Pu Cin Sian Thang and Pu Thawng Kho Thang were arrested by the SPDC during the protest in September for their active role in the demonstrations. Several Chin students got injuries during the crackdown and many more are fleeing the country becoming refugees in neighboring countries due to their active role in the protest.

 

When asked how the advocacy trip is going, Mr. Victor Biak Lian responded “We have a very successful trip here in Washington DC , apart from meeting with the NED and different bureau from the State Department, and other agencies we also have a chance to meet with Chin community in Maryland and Washington DC areas. We will continue our mission to meet with Chin Community in Indiana , Michigan and California ”.

 

Salai Bawi Lian Mang, director of CHRO said that “we did pretty good last year in terms of advocacy and I think we have a very good start this year but we need to do more around our neighboring countries, and inside the country. We are going to do that”.

 

CHRO had a very successful advocacy works in 2007 meeting with United Kingdom’s Minister for International Trade and Foreign Affairs, Malaysia Cabinet Minister for Prime Minister Office, several Parliamentarians from United Kingdom, European Union, Foreign Affairs Department of Germany, meeting with senior officials from National Security Council at the White House, State Department and Briefing the US Congressional staff and most of all bringing two Parliamentarians from the UK to India-Burma border.

 

The CHRO delegation is scheduled to meet with Chin community in Indiana and Michigan on Thursday and Friday.

 

“Total Oil’ Urged to Pull Out of Burma

By Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

 

London, UK – 01 February, 2008: A handful of Burmese and British protesters braved the cold weather of London, UK urging Total Oil to pull out of Burma. Holding placards and banners saying ‘Total Disgrace – Free Burma’, the group actively chanted slogans protesting against the French oil giant in front of one of the company’s petrol stations near Kilburn tube station yesterday.

 

“This has been going on since October, 2007 from place to place including Total London Headquarter. We are doing this because a western investor in Burma, Total, refuses to pull out of Burma. We want to put pressure on Total to respect the voices and wishes of Burma’s democratic movements. And we want Total to pull out of Burma rather than helping to keep the military regime in power,” a local resident, Daniel Viesnik of Totaloutofburma.org told Chinland Guardian.

 

The participants, wrapped up well yet shaken by a very chilly wind, handed out leaflets to the passers-by. Total Oil is the fourth largest oil company in the world and one of the biggest foreign investors in Burma; it is in a joint venture with Burma’s dictatorship in the Yadana gas project in southern Burma, according to the leaflet.

 

“I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Burmese people to use our freedom to promote democracy in Burma. Also, I strongly recommend more British people to get involved in this cause,” said a British participant and photographer, who asked not to be named.

 

The ongoing campaign supported by various organisations including Burma Campaign UK last month called on the company to stop giving the brutal military junta hundreds of millions of dollars as the largest western supporter of the military regime. “The existence of Total in Burma profits the junta enormously. The regime uses the money for buying weapons. And they use these weapons to kill the Burmese people instead of protecting and helping them,” said Ko Htein Lin, an 88 Generation student, wearing a red NLD-logo headband.

 

“Each and every one of us, the Burmese, has got a duty to do in this cause. We should stand together in support of giving pressure to Total Oil, a major financial supporter of Burma’s dictatorship,” said a computer student, Myint Wai, holding a placard that reads “TOTALitarian Oil Fuelling the oppression in Burma”.

 

The campaign happens on Wednesday and Thursday every week.

 

With more than a population of 50 millions, Burma has been ruled for decades by one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world. The regime has been condemned and accused of various human rights violations including systematic use of forced labour, rape against ethnic women and conscription of child soldiers.

 

Chins Mark National Day with Protest

 

By Plato Van Rung Mang

Chinland Guardian

 

February 20, 2008 – New Delhi: More than 800 Chins and local supporters took to the streets of downtown New Delhi today to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Chin National Day, which has not been allowed to celebrate in their homeland by Burma’s military junta.

 

‘We want to celebrate Chin National Day, We oppose Burma ’s sham referendum, we need Indian’s support,” they chanted as they marched through downtown New Delhi .

 

Mr. Lal Rem Sanga, the President of Chin Students’ Union (CSU) said, “We want to show the Indian public and government the suffering of our people under the Burmese military regime and to show the unity and determination of our people to preserve identity.”

 

In a memorandum to the Prime Minister and the President of India, the Chin community calls for India ’s principled support and action for democratization in Burma .

 

Surendra Mohan (former Indian MP), and Shri Achar Yeshi Phuntsok (MP), Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, were among prominent persons attending the commemoration who reiterated their support for the Chin and that of the Burmese people as a whole.

 

Chin National Day emerged out of a historic Chin assembly in Falam town that abolished centuries-old feudal administrative system in favor of democracy in 1948. It has since been recognized as an official holiday in the Union of Burma. But Burma ’s military regime has now banned any celebration of the occasion unless it is held as a ‘State’ day in a blatant attempt to rid of what has become a symbol of Chin identity.

 

Burmese regime bans Chin historical day

Khonumthung News

February 20, 2008 – The Burmese military regime has ordered people in Chin state, Burma not to commemorate the Chin’s historic day by the name of “Chin Nation Day”.

Over five hundred Chins in exile held a demonstration against the Burmese junta on the street of Jantar Mantar near Parliament in New Delhi, India on Chin National Day falls on 20 of February. (Photo – Khonumthung)

The 60th anniversary of Chin National Day falls today.

Chin National Day is the day on which the people in Chin state agreed to abolish the inherited chieftainship system and practice a democratic system at a national assembly held in Falam town in Chin state on February 20, 1948.

However, the democratic system failed to take off in Chin society after the military junta seized power in 1962.

Today, the regime did not allow the people in Hakha Township, capital of Chin state to hold the national day as the Chin Nation Day and instead told them to call it the “Chin Culture Day”, according to locals in Chin State.

“You all know the situation in Burma, if the regime doesn’t it want we can’t do anything,” said a local on condition of anonymity.

Moreover, the authorities from Sagaing Division also prohibited celebrating “Chin National Day” in Kalay University campus this year. In previous years, the Kalay university students were allowed to hold their national day function in the campus.

Meanwhile, the Chin Literature and Culture Committee in Rangoon said to have celebrated its historical day in City Lion in Rangoon today. – Khonumthung.

 

Ethnic Alliance Warns Constitutional Boycott

 

Chinland Guardian

 

The Ethnic Nationalities Council, the largest ethnic grouping has called on Burma’s military junta to form a broad-based ‘Constitutional Review Commission’ that will review two separate sets of constitutional drafts that have been separately prepared by the military and opposition groups.

 

In a statement issued on February 29, the ENC calls on the military junta to invite all major stakeholders in Burma’s political scene to new a constitutional consultation process towards finding a negotiated solution to the country’s problem. The ENC however, acknowledges the necessity of making a compromise and concessions on the part of all parties.

 

Among other proposals, the ENC wants any constitutional negotiation to include questions of the role of the armed forces, the right of ethnic nationalities and a federal constitutional arrangement.

 

“For the sake of peace and stability not only in Burma but also in the region, we request the international community, especially our neighboring countries, including China, India and ASEAN, to mediate a tripartite negotiation among the SPDC, the 1990 election winning party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic nationalities,” the statement reads.

 

The ENC however warns of a boycott should the military regime fails to meet its demands.

 

Facts & Argument

 

Burma’s Referendum: Why Indonesia Matters

By Salai Chan Cung Uk

23 February 2008

 

It came as no surprise when Burma ‘s military junta announced in early February that it is holding a referendum in May to adopt a new constitution that will eventually pave a way for a transition to democracy. The timing of the announcement is no coincidence either as the regime is desperate to show ‘progress’ towards political reform ahead of planned visit by UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari who has made it clear to the junta the expectation of the United Nations Security Council and the international community.

 

If anything, the generals have achieved little in convincing the world that its impending referendum in May 2008 and elections slated for 2010 would result in a genuine and participatory political process. In fact, the junta has failed even to convince its closest neighbors, let alone the rest of the international community.

 

Significantly, Indonesia has quickly expressed serious doubts as to whether new elections or constitutional referendum would produce any substantive change while the country’s main opposition groups and ethnic forces remain shut out of the political process. No other ASEAN governments have made similar statements but what is so significant is that the opinion of Indonesia matters more than anyone else given that the regime’s draft constitution was modeled on Indonesian constitution under Suharto.

 

It was no secret that for the military regime Burma ‘s aspired constitution was inspired by the Indonesian model, which allows a strong centralized and military-dominated government. In fact, state-run media in Burma regularly proudly depicted Indonesian constitution as the goal of the long-running National Convention. But state press suddenly kept silence when the popular uprising ousted the Suharto regime in Indonesia in 1998.

 

So if anyone can give advice to and comment on Burma ‘s current draft constitution with authority and credibility, it is the Indonesian people who have experienced and lived through the same constitution for more than three decades. Adopting the military’s draft constitution would thus only mean taking Burma to four decades back in time when Suharto instituted an authoritarian regime by ensuring ‘army supremacy’ in politics as part of his ‘New Order’ slogan.

 

Even putting aside its undemocratic nature and unilateralist and exclusionist drafting process, which has been the source of widespread international criticisms, Burma ‘s draft constitution is still fundamentally flawed in that all democratic freedoms and basic human rights that are essential in any democratic society, are made conditional and whimsical. The overarching power vested in the executive can take away even the most fundamental of human rights.

 

What is evident is that individual freedoms and liberties will continue to be curtailed and violated in the absence of a genuine democratic constitution. The international community, including ASEAN countries must continue to insist on an “open, transparent, inclusive and participatory process” towards a transition to democracy.

 

After all, the end goal of Burma ‘s new constitution should be to achieve sustainable peace and prosperity through NATIONAL RECONCILIATION, and not a mere mechanism to install a new regime. Any deviation from this goal is certainly going to fail to address the fundamental problems that have plagued Burma for the last half a century.

 

Burma ‘s future now hangs in the balance. It is pivotal that ASEAN and other Burma ‘s neighbors especially China and India follow suit and stand with Indonesia in demanding that the political process is both inclusive and participatory. For without any negotiated solution lasting peace will continue to be a dream rather than a reality.

 

Back Cover Poem

One Voice (Chin National Day)

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

06 February 2008

 

No longer could the Chins stand the colony

Nor could they bear the hands of nobility;

Undaunted yet united they made their ways

Towards liberty they thus yearned in one voice.

 

Despite steep mountains and deep vales in between,

Days and nights on foot they traversed to the scene;

No rains and storms stopped their long journey and choice;

Together the Chins sought and fought in one voice.

 

Many a hand had tried but failed to part them

In course of seeking their national anthem;

Many years ago today penned a Chin song

Which in one voice they all sang along so strong.

 

Years of struggles for equal rights and freedom

To the Chins begot a national custom –

Chin National Day, brought up in harmony,

Marking the strength of one voice in unity.

 

Today ought the Chins to heed the tapestry

That history wove into a net of beauty,

Intertwined in the spirit of brotherhood,

In one voice firmly and steadily they stood.

 

 

Rhododendron News

Volume XI, No II, March-April 2008

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

Table of Contents:

 

Editorial

• Double Jeopardy: When Global Food Shortage Meets Local Crisis

 

Situations in Chinland

• More Communities Flee Famine Affected Areas

• Government-backed Opium-Growing on the Increase in Chin State

• SPDC Army Forced Villagers for Porters

• Gospel Baptist Church’s Silver Jubilee Postponed

• Efforts to Help Victims of Famine Underway

• Fears for Famine-Hit Chin Grow as Corruption in Local Authorities Rules

 

Statements & Press Release

• Critical Point: Humanitarian Disaster in the Making in Western Burma

• Food Relief Hampered for Famine Victims in Western Burma

• Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee (CFERC) Formed

• Asylum Seeking Mother and Children at Risk

 

Referendum

• Thura Aung Ko campaigns for referendum in western Burma

• Professor Dr. Salai Tun Than To Stage Hunger Strike

• Referendum Failed in Chin State: Mock Poll Suggests

• Go To The Poll, Cast Your Vote With Clear Conscience

 

News & Events

• Global Day of Prayer for Burma Held In London

• CNF Marks 20th Anniversary of Chin National Revolution Day

 

Opinion & Commentary

• The UN and Burma: the UN Good Offices Mission May Need Alteration

• Back Cover Poem

• The People And The Nation

 

Editorial

 

DOUBLE JEOPARDY: WHEN GLOBAL FOOD SHORTAGE MEETS LOCAL CRISIS

 

Food shortage is a global phenomenon affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world and creating potentially explosive situations and instabilities in many parts of the world. But people in western Burma are facing a double jeopardy: skyrocketing food price created by global food shortage and unproductive local harvests caused by a natural cycle of bamboo flowering that has historically brought devastating crisis in the region every half a century.

 

Bamboo is the primary vegetation in much of southern Chin State and the areas along India-Burma borders. The type of bamboo species found in this region flower only once in every five decades or more. But when bamboos blossomed into flowers they produce large quantities of seeds, attracting rats to the areas. Scientists believe that rich nutrients in bamboo seeds cause rats to multiply quickly. But when the seeds are exhausted rats then turn to standing crops, literally decimating entire rice fields overnight. For the vast majority of people in the area, subsistence farming is their only source of income and survival. For many communities only a tenth of their usual harvests remained after rats have attacked their crops.

 

Hundreds of families have fled the area after depleting whatever they have left including their livestock such as cows, chickens and pigs. Others are foraging for food in the jungle by digging out wild roots and picking whatever edible vegetables they can find in the forests.

 

Meanwhile, the military regime has not provided any kind of aid to communities affected by this crisis. Instead, the authorities have seized food aid provided by private donors and church groups and resold them at overpriced rates to the very people to whom the food was being delivered. In some cases, local authorities have warned against any sort of aid delivery to people in southern Chin State citing concerns that such assistance maybe connected to opposition groups in exile.

 

Ironically, at the very same time when Chin people are struggling for their very next meal and face starvation on a scale unprecedented in recent memory, the military regime was exporting 100, 000 Metric Tons of rice to Sri Lanka.

 

By contrast, the Indian government has spent tens of millions of dollars into emergency programs and preventive measures intended to manage and combat the latest crisis with unprecedented level of inter-departmental coordination between the federal and state governments of Mizoram and Manipur, both of which lie adjacent to Chin State. In fact, in 2000 it was serious enough to prompt the Indian government to scramble an emergency session of its National Planning Commission to deal with a massive regional food shortage with the expected synchronized flowering of bamboos in Mizoram and Manipur States.

 

The most immediate concerns remain food for communities that are already starving and the potential outbreak of disease such as malaria and dysentery especially among communities that are on the move as monsoon season is fast approaching and they lack basic medical attention. But the crisis will also have longer term negative impacts that could potentially permanently transform the demography and livelihood for people in the area.

 

The need for urgent humanitarian aid to people in western Burma cannot be overstated. They are in a double jeopardy: the effects of global food crisis and unresponsive attitude of the military junta on the one hand and local food shortage caused by bamboo flowering on another.

 

 

Situations in Chinland

 

MORE COMMUNITIES FLEE FAMINE AFFECTED AREA

 

16 March 2008 : A mass migratory movement of people is being reported in Tonzang Township of northern Chin State due to devastating famine caused by bamboo flowering, coupled with soaring food price and lack of food aid from the government.

 

The bamboo started flowering from late 2006 in this area. The event was followed by acute shortage of food and harvest for communities dependent on subsistence farming. They became desperate after selling off all their livestock such as chicken, pigs and cows to buy food.

 

Few families have received some financial assistance from relatives living abroad. But the majority of people are finding themselves without any form of assistance.

 

The price of rice has soared from 16,000 Kyats for one bag in 2006 to as much as 19,000 Kyats in 2008. More households who could not afford rice are eating corns and those who could not afford corns are forced to survive on wild roots and leaves from the jungle.

Because of the remoteness, people who have the money are finding themselves unable to afford transportation cost as they need to transport the rice by car or on horseback or by porters through long distance from Tonzang or as far away as Kalay Myo in Sagaing Division.

 

Amist such difficult time, Tonzang Township PDC Chairman had instructed all village adminstrative officials in the jurisdication to collect 1500 Kyats from each household for government’s bio-fuel plantation program.

 

To date these communities have not received any help from the military government and more communities are being forced to migrate out of the area.

 

Similarly, communities in Thantlang Township such as Belhar, Tluang Ram (A) and (B), Lul Pi Lung, Hmun Halh, Sia Lam and Vawm Kua are now experiencing severe famine. They had requested food aid from the government by their request was turned down by Township administrative officials. As a result, more and more households are planning to move out of the area.

 

GOVERNMENT-BACKED OPIUM GROWING ON THE INCREASE IN CHIN STATE

 

15 March 2008 : Opium growing is on the increase in Chin State as local military authories are taxing poppy cultivators instead of punishing them, Chin Human Rights Organization has learned.

 

According to recent reports, poppy cultivation has grown considerably since the beginning of 2008. Burmese authorities have been collecting as much as half a million Kyats from each village in northern Chin State in exchange for permission to grow opium. This practice has encouraged more communities to grow opium for their subsistence.

 

In one particular incident, Burmese troops on frontline patrol used local children as young as ten years old to identify households who are growing opium. After confirming that the households are growing opium, the army then asked 500, 000 Kyats from that village.

 

Places like Tedim Township , Tonzang Township of northern Chin State are particularly good for poppy cultivation. In this fertile region, one acre of farmland can produce two to three kilograms (Kg) of pure white opium. This has encouraged more communities to grow opium and created a thriving back market each year.

 

Cultivation of opium poppy has steadily increased in Chin state in the last five years. But the government did not take any punitive actions on the cultivators. The authorities just imposed tax on their crops, which encouraged more people to grow opium as a means of subsistence.

 

According to CHRO’s source, poppy cultivation is reported to scale (100-200) acres of farmland in Suang Hoih Village , 150 acres in Lam Thang Village of Ton Zang Township, northern Chin state and 200 acres in Toi Tawng hill tract.

 

SPDC ARMY FORCED VILLAGERS FOR PORTER

 

9 March 2008 : The Burmese army, stationed at Shinletwah army camp of Paletwah Township , northern Chin state is routinely forcing villagers for porter, a local person reported to Chin Human Rights Organization. Each household has to porter for the army on a rotating basis.

 

On February 25, 2008 , Burmese army patrol column from Shinletwah army camp forced 18 people from three villages to carry army supplies. Six porters were taken from each of Khungyu, Sin-Oowah and Pathian Tlang Villages . They served on a rotating basis to carry supplies and ammunitions. Each trip lasts one to two days.

 

The continuing demands for forced porter are adding to the suffering of Chin communities who are already dealing with famine in the area.

 

GOSPEL BAPTIST CHURCH’S SILVER JUBILEE POSTPONED

Khonumthung News

April 17, 2008: The Burmese military regime is pressurizing the Gospel Baptist Church in Falam Town in Chin state, to celebrate the church’s Silver Jubilee ahead of the referendum to approve the constitution.

 

The Gospel Baptist Church in Falam had planned to celebrate its Silver Jubilee in the second week of May. However, the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) authorities pointed out that the date set for the jubilee celebration is far too close to the referendum date on May 10.

 

The authorities asked the jubilee celebration committee to advance the date to April 25. “The jubilee committee has finally agreed to celebrate on April 25 because the authorities pressurised them,” said a member of the GBC.

 

The Gospel Baptist Church’s Silver Jubilee will be celebrated from April 25 to 27. The Burmese junta announced last week that it will hold the nation wide referendum on May 10 to approve the draft constitution.

 

The new charter is said to be designed to legitimize military rule in Burma. It also bans democracy icon Noble Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from contesting the elections as her husband was a British national.

 

The military regime scrapped the 1974 constitution after it grabbed power in 1988. Since then, the country has been under military rule. Khonumthung News

 

EFFORTS TO HELP VICTIMS OF FAMINE UNDERWAY

Chinland Guardian

6 March 2008: A fact-finding team will soon be on the ground in famine-stricken areas of western Burma to assess food scarcity situation, thanks to the effort of the recently-formed relief group Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee (CFERC).

 

As its primary mission, the team will travel inside Chin State and identify worst hit areas. They will also collect data that could assist in later distributing relief aid to affected communities. Two teams of fact-finders have been assembled to assess conditions in both northern and southern Chin State.

 

“Data collection is just the first step in what will be a very challenging task,” explains a CFERC spokesperson. “Raising enough funds and getting the help to where they are needed will be an even more challenging job,” he acknowledges.

 

Initial information obtained from sources inside Chin State suggests that the southern townships of Matupi and Paletwa are worst affected by the famine. A steep and dramatic decline in crop production has caused massive shortage of food for many communities dependent on farming for their livelihood. But there are reports food shortage is a state-wide phenomenon.

The current crisis of food shortage is primarily attributed to the flowering of bamboos in vast areas along Chin State borders with India. In a stunning chain of events, the flowering of bamboos causes the explosion of crop-eating rodent population, which leads to the destruction of crops and subsequent famine for the local population.

 

“Much of the existing international humanitarian aid distribution for Burma has been largely focused on the Thai-Burma border. It is a matter of great urgency that the international community pays more attention to situations on the western border,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Aggravating Factors

Tragically for the Chin people this natural cycle is aggravated by arbitrary and repressive policies of the military junta, which have seen increased imposition of various bans and restrictions on already desperate farmers. A complete ban on clearing new forest for farmland is in place in parts of northern Chin State while communities in the southern parts are faced with excessive levies on their meagre crop productions.

 

According to the Chin National Front, one of the leading ethnic forces opposed to Burma’s military regime, a typical Chin family pays as much as 400, 000 a year to the military authorities in taxes and fines.

 

FEARS FOR FAMINE-HIT CHINS GROW AS CORRUPTION IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES RULES

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

11 April, 2008: Fears are growing among Chin communities worldwide for victims of famine-hit areas in Chin State as delivery of humanitarian aids has been hampered by corruption in the local authorities, a source disclosed.

 

More than 300 bags of rice donated by Roman Catholic Church and 150 bags of rice by the Church of the Province of Myanmar were seized and sold at an exorbitant price for profits by the local authorities according to Chin Human Rights Organisation’ s reports.

Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of Chin Human Rights Organization said: “We again stress the importance of quick action to respond to the dire humanitarian situation in Chin State. Timely response could really prevent a disaster. And unfortunately, the military regime is not interested in solving this problem.”

 

Mizoram-based Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee (CFERC) reportedly claimed that Burma’s military regime still denied the current situation, saying ‘no famine in the country’ when a Church in Germany contacted. The committee is actively involved in sending out a team of volunteers to famine-stricken areas for fact-findings and reports amid risks of possible severe punishments from the military dictatorship.

 

An increasing number of villagers mainly in the Paletwa Township in Southern Chin State are fleeing to the Indian border despite warnings from the military government.

Chin communities, churches, organisations and individuals alike have stood actively united in contributing and supporting to ease the situation since the outbreak of the ongoing famine.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization is calling on the State Peace and Development Council to allow unhindered humanitarian relief effort in Chin State and to create a conducive environment for delivery of basic needs for communities suffering starvation and famine in Chin State.

 

The famine which is causing serious shortage of food is believed to occur once every fifty years following a mass flowering of bamboos whose abundant seeds lead to an influx of rats that destroy all the crops. At least three devastating famines due to bamboo-flowering have been recorded in Southern Chin State since the 1860s

 

Statements & Press Release

 

CRITICAL POINT: HUMANITARIAN DISASTER IN THE MAKING IN WESTERN BURMA

 

18 March 2008 – Ottawa, Canada: Chin Human Rights Organization is calling for urgent and concerted international relief efforts to address growing humanitarian crisis in Chinland that has brought much devastation to hundreds of villages along Burma`s western border.

 

A severe reduction in harvest and food productions following simultaneous mass flowering of bamboos through vast areas of the state is causing massive shortage of food for communities primarily dependent on traditional agricultural system.

 

Bamboo is the main vegetation in much of southern Chin State and the areas along the border with India`s Mizoram. Mass flowering of bamboos is usually followed by an explosion of rat populations, leading to the decimation of basic crops and paddy fields in the area. At least three devastating famines associated with bamboo flowering, which happens about every 50 years, have been recorded in this area since the 1860s.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization believes that at least 120 Chin villages along the borders with India and Bangladesh , totaling no less than 50,000 people or roughly ten per cent of the entire population of Chin State , may be directly affected by the famine. According to latest information, at least 150 families from southern Chin State have fled to Mizoram and Bangldesh.

 

A further mass migratory movement of people is likely as more communities are finding themselves rapidly running out of food supplies.

 

“We are at a critical point because it really is a humanitarian disaster in the making. Without timely and effective response, the consequence could be disastrous. It is a matter of great urgency that the international community pay immediate attention to this situation,“ says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of Chin Human Rights Organization, who recently returned from a visit to India-Burma border.

 

“Unfortunately, this tragic natural cycle is made worse by the military regime’s repressive policies against the Chin people where the Burmese soldiers are just living off the local populations through forced labor, extortion and enslavement. “ he says.

In comparison, the Indian government has spent tens of millions of dollars in an effort to forestall and manage a massive famine that was predicted in the adjacent northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur where bamboo grows heavily.

 

The present area of Chin State covers 13907 square kilometers and roughly one fifth of that area is vegetated with bamboos.

 

Exacerbating this natural calamity is a man-made catastrophe caused by the policies of systematic neglect and outright repression by the military junta.

 

A typical urban-dwelling family in Chin State pays over 200, 000 Kyats a year to the military government in mandatory `donations,` fines and taxes, while a rural household is forced to pay at least 100, 000 Kyats per year. Under this circumstance, Chin people have been for years forced to live in abject poverty.

 

It is important to note that in October of 2007, the United Nations Country Team in Burma and 13 international non-governmental organizations working in the country had already cautioned the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Burma . But rather than cooperating and working together with international agencies to address the crisis, the military regime expelled Mr. Charles Petrie, the head of UN mission in Burma after accusing him of giving disparaging remarks about the country’s humanitarian conditions. Given this kind of negative attitude and complete indifference by the military regime, a disaster was just waiting to happen.

 

Given the magnitude and urgency of this latest crisis, Chin Human Rights Organization is calling on all relevant international aid agencies including the World Food Program to carry out urgent relief efforts in Chin State by any means possible, including through existing aid mechanisms inside Burma and cross-border aid program from neighboring India and Bangladesh.

 

 

For more information contact:

 

Salai Bawi Lian Mang (CHRO Executive Director)

Email: bawilian@hotmail. com

Tel: +1-510-332-0983

 

Victor Biak Lian (CHRO Member of Board of Director)

Email: vblian@hotmail. com,

Tel: +66-815300702

 

Amy Alexander (CHRO Regional Advocacy and Campaign Officer)

Email: Amyalex_thailand@ yahoo.com

Tel: +66.85.23.02. 609

 

 

FOOD RELIEF HAMPERED FOR FAMINE VICTIMS IN WESTERN BURMA

 

April 2, 2008 – Ottawa, Canada: Chin Human Rights Organization is concerned that food aid being delivered to famine affected communities in Southern Chin State has been seized by local authorities.

 

CHRO has learnt that more than 300 bags of rice donated by Roman Catholic Church as relief aid for famine victims were seized by local authorities in Paletwa. A mandatory purchasing order was imposed on residents of Paletwa town by the authorities to buy the seized rice at an overpriced rate. Another 150 bags of rice donated for famine victims by the Church of the Province of Myanmar were also seized and sold for profits by the same local authorities during the month of February.

 

“People are struggling for their next meal. The seizure of the food aid has left most of us in a completely destitute situation. Only about 40 households in our village have enough food for the next few weeks,” says a local villager.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization is calling on the State Peace and Development Council to allow unhindered humanitarian relief effort in Chin State and to create a conducive environment for delivery of basic needs for communities suffering starvation and famine in Chin State .

 

“We again stress the importance of quick action to respond to the dire humanitarian situation in Chin State . Timely response could really prevent a disaster. And unfortunately, the military regime is not interested in solving this problem,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization reiterates its call on the international community, especially the World Food Program and individual governments concerned with Burma to help address the already deteriorating humanitarian situations in Western Burma .

 

For more information please contact:

 

Salai Bawi Lian Mang (CHRO Executive Director)

Email: bawilian@hotmail. com

Tel: +1-510-332-0983

 

Victor Biak Lian (CHRO Member of Board of Director)

Email: vblian@hotmail. com,

Tel: +66-815300702

 

Amy Alexander (CHRO Regional Advocacy and Campaign Officer)

Email: Amyalex_thailand@ yahoo.com

Tel: +66.85.23.02. 609

 

 

CHIN FAMINE EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMITTEE (CFERC) FORMED

 

20 February 2008 – Aizawl: Bamboo flowering in vast areas of Chin State along the Mizoram border has triggered a massive boom in the populations of rat and subsequent destruction of standing crops and paddy fields, causing a steep decline in food supplies for the largely agricultural local communities. Even in places where no marauding rodent population is reported, unusual climate change in the areas has caused a substantial reduction in harvest and food production.

 

As a result, hunger and famine are becoming a reality for more communities across the Chin State. Many families have been forced to flee to Mizoram to escape this latest economic devastation while others are struggling to make sustenance by digging out roots in the forest. In the ensuing tragic cylcle of events, their livestock are killed after falling into the holes they have dug in the ground in search of food.

 

In response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis that has been caused by food scarcity in Chin State, an emergency meeting involving Mizoram-based Chin religious denominations, non-governmental organizations and political parties as well as other prominent individuals, was convened on 20 February 2008 (Chin National Day) in Aizawl at Solomon`s High School under the leadership of Chin Christian Relief Committee (CCRC).

 

The meeting was attended by representatives from 29 religious groups (churches & fellowships) , 13 non-governmental organizations and political parties and 5 independent individuals. The participants unanimously agreed to establish the Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee to coordinate humanitarian relief efforts towards assisting Chin famine victims.

 

The following persons were elected to serve in the Committee

 

Chairman – H Chan Thawng Ling

V-Chairman – Lian No Thang

Secretary – Sui Thawn Tai Thio

Assistant Secretary – C. Lai Ko

Treasurer – Chungi Zahau

Financial Secretary – Ro Za Thang

 

In addition, 20 more persons representing various groups were elected to serve and assist in the committee`s work.

 

 

ASYLUM SEEKING MOTHER AND CHILDREN AT RISK

 

6 March 2008 – New Delhi: Starting from 26 January 2008 , a Burmese Chin women asylum seeker and her three minor children have been staging a sit-in demonstration in front the UNHCR office in New Delhi , after they were made homeless following eviction by their landlord.

 

Far Hniang (30), a single mother of three children, Jaremiah (12), Dawt Tha (8) and Ca Dawt Iang (3 months) have been camping out in front of UNHCR office for six weeks now without proper food and shelter. Abandoned by her husband, Far Hniang’s application for refugee status remains unprocessed for over a year.

 

“We come to seek the attention and sympathy for our plight as we have no other place to live and no food to eat. We are destitute without the help of UNHCR. We have no choice but to remain here until we die,” pleaded Far Hniang.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization is highly concerned for the safety and well-being of the family especially in light of the fact that Far Hniang is still a nursing mother and one of her children is barely three months old. CHRO calls on the office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to urgently respond to their needs. Any further delay could put them into serious jeopardy.

 

Having gone without proper food for over six weeks, on 5 March, Far Hniang was rushed to a nearby local hospital after collapsing from physical weakness. UNHCR office has not intervened as of today.

Ms. Far Hniang’s family fled to New Delhi in November 2006 from Zephai village of Than Tlang Township , Chin state of Burma , in search of safety. Their application for refugee status with UN refugee agency remains pending to this date.

 

Similarly, due to lengthy delay in registration and processing by UNHCR many Chin asylum seekers are facing a host of problems including lack of food and shelter, healthcare and education for their children.

For more information please contact:

 

Plato Van Rung Mang, CHRO Delhi Office Assistant Coordinator at + 91-11-25617368

Or visit www.chro.org for background information on Chin refugees in India

 

Referendum

 

THURA AUNG KO CAMPAIGNS FOR REFERENDUM IN WESTERN BURMA

Khonumthung News

April 21, 2008: Burma’s Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Brig-General Thura Aung Ko made an official trip to townships in southern Chin state, western Burma to campaign for the referendum to approve the constitution in the first week of April.

 

On April 4, Thura Aung Ko along with Chin State’s tactical commander Brigadier Huen Ngai visited villages in Matupi town, southern Chin state and reportedly encouraged villagers to cast the ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum to approve the new charter.

 

“They said that the military will rule the country for another 15 years if people do not approve the draft constitution, ” a villager said.

 

During the campaign in Thura Aung Ko, around 500 people from Cawngthia, Phaneng, Ngaleng and Kace villages in Matupi were summoned to attend a meeting.

 

Thura Aung Ko told a gathering of villagers to cast their vote to approve the new constitution so that genuine democracy is restored in Burma soon, said a villager.

 

The regime is also planning to have only one ballot box in a village for casting votes in the referendum scheduled to be held on May 10.

 

The local authorities in Matupi Township have already set up a committee with 20 members of the village council to monitor the polling booths, another villager in Matupi Township said.

 

The polling booth committee has been tasked to persuade voters by whatever means to cast a ‘Yes’ vote to approve the constitution drafted by hand picked men of the junta after a 14 year long national convention.

 

Similarly, local authorities in Thangtlang Township are pressurizing locals to cast the ‘Yes’ vote in the ensuing referendum.

 

“Actually, the people really don’t feel like voting in the referendum. I don’t know whether they will cast a ‘No’ vote if the authorities keep pressurisng them,” said a villager in Thangtlang township.

 

According to a source in Chin state, the authorities might take note of the voter’s bio-data in the polling booths to identify those who cast the ‘No’ vote.

 

The new charter is said to be designed to entrench army rule. It also bans pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from contesting elections because her husband was a Britisher.

 

The military regime had scrapped the 1974 constitution after grabbing power in 1988. Since then, the country has been under military rule. Khonumthung News

 

PROFESSOR DR. SALAI TUN THAN TO STAGE HUNGER STRIKE OVER BURMA’S REFERENDUM IN NEW YORK

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

1 April, 2008 – London, UK: A retired Chin Professor, Dr. Salai Tun Than, arrived in New York, USA yesterday to urge the UN Security Council to monitor Burma’s referendum which is to be held in May, 2008.

 

Flying from San Francisco on his 80th birthday, a prominent Christian political prisoner intends to start a solo hunger strike in front of the UN headquarter if and until his demands are not considered and met.

 

“Regarding the referendum, I don’t think we can do anything to stop them [the military regime]. But we would like the UN Security Council to take necessary actions by supervising the process,” an 80 year-old Burmese scholar told Chinland Guardian.

 

Admitting he has been talking with a Church pastor in New York for his funeral service in case he passes away during his hunger strike, Dr. Salai Tun Than of Inbyit village in Thayetmyo District added, “We are not fighting anybody but injustice. I will like to spend the twilight days of my life fighting for Burmese people and I will like to do this in the name of God. This is, I think, the only thing I can do for Burma as I am getting old.”

 

In addition to his hunger strike, Dr. Than also plans to give speeches and distribute brochures on Burma’s referendum, calling on ASEAN to take part in monitoring along with the UN Security Council and Burma’s regime to hold referendum with pro-democracy people including MPs, lawyers and ethnic groups, a source close to the professor revealed late last month.

 

In 2006 while on his way back to Burma to stage a solo protest against the military regime, Dr. Salai Tun Than was denied getting on board by Thai Airline due to threats on discontinuation of the airline’s service in Burma by SPDC if he was allowed.

 

The professor who once served 16 months of a seven-year sentence for protest in December, 2001 was released in 2003 from the notorious Insein Prison by the military regime after staging a week-long hunger strike from his bed in the prison hospital, also calls on Burmese people and international organisations for supports.

 

A retired agronomist, Dr. Salai Tun Than established Myanmar Integrated Rural Development Association (MIRDA) in 1993 with aims of cultivating oranges, coffees and teas for villages in Ngaphe Township of Magwe Division. But MIRDA, which was reportedly never allowed to operate officially in the country, faced various repeated interferences from the junta.

 

REFERENDUM FAILED IN CHIN STATE: MOCK POLL SUGGESTS

 

Chinland Guardian

 

April 27, 2008: An early simulated poll conducted by authorities in Chin State’s capital of Haka came up with a resounding “no” to the constitutional referendum slated for May 10. The poll, conducted as part of a state-sponsored campaign to educate and persuade voters in Chin State to vote for the new constitution, reveals that the majority of people voted “No” to the new constitution. The shocking result came as the State Peace and Development Council intensified campaign efforts in Chin State.

 

Earlier this month, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Brigadier General Thura Aung Ko, accompanied by Brigadier Genral Hung Ngai, chairman and administrative head of Chin State Peace and Development Council were in southern Chin State where they asked people to vote for the new constitution at a public meeting attended by more than 500 people forced to attend the assembly.

 

“You should vote ‘yes’ in this referendum unless you wish to have another 15 years of military rule, since it was the time taken to draft the constitution by the army,” was the message delivered to the Chin public by the two ranking generals.

 

Meanwhile in Falam Township of northern Chin State, authorities have warned public employees of termination of their jobs and punishment if they voted “no” in the upcoming referendum.

 

“The surprising result of the recent mock poll may have prompted the SPDC to change their campaign tactics” observes a local person. Brigadier General Hung Ngai is now campaigning in Thantlang and Haka Township by trying to buy votes by providing 150 bags of rice to villagers who are facing food shortage due to bad harvest.

 

Report coming from inside Chin state said that 5 people per village including village headmen in Thantlang Township have been summoned by the local authority for training on how to conduct referendum. On April 24, several mock poll station “huts” were built in front of Thantlang town hall where the training was conducted.

 

GO TO THE POLL, CAST YOUR VOTE WITH CLEAR CONSCIENCE

 

Dear fellow Chin people,

 

The referendum is approaching, if you are eligible to cast your vote, please go to the poll and cast your vote because;

 

The voice of the Chin public in the upcoming referendum will be symbolically significant given that the Chins are co-founding member of the Union of Burma. We should keep in mind that we are from a distinct nation and people who joined the Union of Burma by choice accordance with 1947 Panglong agreement. To make the message short, we, the Chin people should, wholeheartedly participate in the upcoming referendum with a clear conscience and express our sincere opinion based on the following points;

 

WE SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE UPCOMING REFERENDUM BECAUSE;

 

• This is a very rare opportunity for the people of Burma, especially the Chins, to participate in this kind of referendum and make our voice and opinion heard.

• It is the rights and responsibility of every citizen to participate in the process of decision making in any democratic society.

• It is very important for us (the Chin People) to participate in the referendum that we have the right to decide our own future and what kind of government we want.

 

WE SHOULD THINK SERIOUSLY, DECIDE AND VOTE WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE:

 

It will be difficult for ordinary citizen to understand lengthy explanation of the SPDC’s plan to make the military as the main arbiter of power in the future. However, the following few points from the SPDC’s 104 basic principles are enough to say “NO” for us (I mean the Chin People from Burma);

 

• The SPDC Draft Constitution places Buddhism in a special position while putting Christian, and other religions in a subordinate position. We should keep in mind that this point alone make every Chin Christians to vote a big “NO” because about 90% of Chins in Chin state are Christians and religious freedom is a major concern for us (Remember SPDC destroyed crosses one by one and replaced with Buddhist pagodas and statue in many places of Chinland?).

• All Chin political parties Zomi National Congress (ZNC), Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD), Mara People Party (MPP) and several elected MP during 1990 general election in Burma have been declared illegal organizations by SPDC and no Chin political party will have a place in the coming election.

• The distinct culture, language and national identity of the Chins are at stake because;

 

1. The Commander-in-Chief will appoint 33% of regional and state legislators

2. The Commander-in-Chief will appoint 25% of national legislators

3. State Governments will have no power;

4. The President (not the people) will decide the state and national budget

5. The minister for border area appointed by the commander in chief will be more powerful than Chief Minister of Chin state.

 

So, tell your friends relatives your community and Church leaders about the above facts. If you are eligible voter, go to the poll on May 10. Think seriously. Then decide, and then cast your vote with clear conscience.

 

FEAR FACTORS:

Of course, the Burmese soldiers are ruthless, crook and they are xenophobic. But this time we have the golden chance. They put the ballot in front of us. The choice is ours. Whoever is eligible to cast the vote should express his/her opinion without fear this time.

 

YOU ARE IN THE MAKING OF HISTORY:

We may be small in percentage, number and geographical area, but we are equal to any nation and people in terms of our collective rights, as a people and nation.

 

SPDC may do whatever they want, but what you chose today will remain in history and shape the future of many generations to come. You are NOT nothing, as SPDC wants you to think, you are something that you are making history with your vote.

 

Sincerely,

Salai Bawi Lian Mang

Director

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

 

News & Events

 

GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR BURMA HELD IN LONDON

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

10 March, 2008 – London, UK: Prayer for Burma 2008 was held with more than 200 participants at Emmanuel Centre in Central London last Saturday as part of an international prayer initiative for Burma.

 

The event jointly hosted by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Partners Relief and Development, Karen Aid and the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) called for an end to the oppression and brutalities inflicted on the peoples of Burma by the military regime.

 

The speakers included Ben Rogers of CSW, Oddny Gumaer of Partners Relief and Development, and Rob Crouch and Shelley Guest of 3P Ministries. Mizo’s talented singer Dadudi sang on behalf of the Chins at the service and Goon Tawng of Kachin State gave a short speech on the Kachin.

 

Churches around the world were urged to pray for Burma during their services on Sunday 9 March, 2008. CSW is also calling on Christians and churches around the world to devote the first week of March to keep watch and pray for Burma.

 

CSW’s Advocacy Director Tina Lambert said: “With recent events including the regime’s brutal crackdown on protests last September, continuing offensives against civilians in Karen State and further human rights violations in all parts of the country, prayer for Burma is now even more vital than ever.

 

“Added to this the assassination of the Karen leader Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, and the regime’s efforts to rubber-stamp its rule by introducing a sham constitution through a sham referendum which would exclude Burma’s major democratic and ethnic representatives, make it so important for churches around the world to remember Burma, and we hope many people will be able to join us in this important event in London.”

 

A message from a relief-team leader from Karen State, Burma reads according to the booklet by Prayerforburma. org, “I am thankful to all of you who pray and care for the people of Burma and to God who has all things in His hands. As I look around the beautiful jungle valley we are in and see the rushing streams and rising mountains and enthusiastic new teams I am filled with gratitude. All of this is a gift from God and those of you who help us in this.”

 

“It is really encouraging that a lot of people come to this service for praying for Burma. But I have seen only a few Burmese. We all need to make more efforts to take part in any activities for our country,” a Chin participant, Sawma told Chinland Guardian.

 

Burma has been ruled by one of the most brutal regimes in the world. Since taking power in a coup in 1962, the military junta (currently known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)) has gone to terrifying lengths to subdue and annihilate the democratic opposition and the country’s numerous ethnic groups. Civilians are regularly used as human minesweepers, bullet shields and forced labourers. Children are abducted and sent to the frontline. Villagers are shot on sight, villages are burnt down, paddy and livestock are destroyed. SPDC has been accused of human rights violations on its own peoples.

 

The Global Day of Prayer for Burma is an annual event initiated in 1997 by Christians Concerned for Burma at the request of Burma’s democracy leader, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

CNF MARKS 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHIN NATIONAL REVOLUTION DAY

Chinland Guardian

March 20, 2008 – Indianapolis: Chin National Front and her supporters around the world celebrated the organiation’ s 20th year of fighting for democracy in Burma.

 

The event took place in many different countries and cities including India and, Washington DC and Indianapolis where the USA Regional headquarters office is located. In every different place of the event, all participants observed a moment of silence for those who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Chin people.

 

When asked why celebrate the day in USA, the Regional Committee Chairman Salai Thla Hei said “This kind of celebration is very important because it is the day that the Chin people revolution was born. By doing this, we give our highest respect to our leaders and all members for their efforts and sacrifices. This act I believe also gives a moral boost for our front fighters. I wish to send my full support once again to all members of CNF and CNA. I would also like to encourage younger generations to join this movement”.

 

In the program conducted in the regional headquarters office, participants including the CNA veterans shared their revolutionary experiences and send their best wishes for CNF as a whole.

 

In a statement issued from CNF headquarters on this day by Chairman Pu Thomas Thangnou warns the SPDC about the inevitable continuation of civil war in Burma unless the military regime adheres to the call by international community and the ethnic people for a serious dialogue to bring about change in Burma.

 

He further calls upon the whole Chin people to be united in national spirit and stand against the military roadmap plan which democratic forces and international see as a sham. He also encourages Chin people to go out and vote “no” at the referendum in May 2008.

 

According to the front’s website The Chin National Front was formed on 20 March, 1988, dedicated to securing the self-determination of the Chin people and to establish federal Union of Burma based on democracy and freedom.

 

Opinion & Commentary

 

THE UN AND BURMA: THE UN GOOD OFFICES MISSION MAY NEED ALTERATION

 

By Salai Laini

Chinland Guardian

 

April 23, 2008: The United Nations Secretary General should reconsider its ‘good offices mission’ mandate on Burma if it continues to fail to help Burma move forward to a real democracy, formulating the possiblity of pushing for the Security Council action.

 

The UN Chief Ban Ki-moon, while on his visit to Thailand in December 2007 using his good offices mission prestige and the weight of the world community he represents, warned Burma that the return to the status quo is not acceptable. His special envoy Ibrahim Gambari has been to the country three times to help it move forward from the status quo to a real democratic reform in Burma after September saffron revolution. So far it achieves nothing.

 

In January 2007 when China and Russia vetoed a resolution on Burma at the UN Security Council, they gave two technical reasons: (i) Burma issue is not a threat to regional security and stability, and (ii) The UN Secretary General good offices mission has its mandate on this issue. If the UNSC takes up on this issue, that will directly undermine the good offices mission efforts.

 

In contrast, the problem in Burma is continuing to be a threat to regional peace and stability for the fact that thousands of Burmese refugees are fleeing to neighbouring countries causing chaos and instability in the entire region. In recent years, there have been reports narrating that those groups having a close connection with the Burmese generals have been engaged in human trafficking and drugs smuggling activities which invite a serious international attentions and concerns. The cruel atrocities committed by the Burmese regime are well documented.

 

Thus far, Burma’s military rulers have rejected the UN good offices mission offer of sending an independent observation team to constitutional referendum on May 10. Despite the western governments have rightly dismissed this move as a blueprint for the generals keeping their grip on power, the generals are clever enough to understand that the international community can do virtually nothing without UNSC binding resolution.

 

Understanding there is no credibility and inclusiveness in the constitutional drafting process, the people in Burma have clearly indicated that they are overwhelmingly casting a “No Vote” at the military backed constitutional Referendum in coming May. But the military junta is using all possible means threatening and forcing people to approve their charter. This kind of actions are only redoubling concerns about the freedom and fairness of both polls, and drafting, deliberating and ratifying the constitutional process as a whole.

 

Probably this is the best last chance for the United Nations Chief to show that its good offices mission can help the people of Burma by pushing itself to monitor the Referendum in May and general election in 2010. Therefore, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should fully exercise the good offices mission mandate to implement it. It may use the threat of UN Security Council action if need arises. However, if the good offices continues to fail at this point, it should consider resigning from its mission completely and hand the full mandate over to the UN Security Council.

 

Such move will pave the way for the Council to fully take over Burma agenda. That will be followed by introducing and implementing binding resolutions on Burma issue and then take the subsequent actions accordingly. This may best help a real democratic reform and national reconciliation in Burma.

 

Back Cover Poem

 

The People and the Nation

Plato Van Rung Mang

The nation is created by the people,

And the people are known by the nation they established.

The nation is founded by the constitution,

And the people are raised by the constitution they established.

The nation is run by the government,

And the people are ruled by the government they established.

Thus, the nation is by the people,

And the people are the custodian of the nation.

 

 

 

Rhododendron News

Volume XII, No. III. May-June 2008

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

***************************************************

CONTENTS:

 

SITUATIONS IN CHINLAND

 

 Arrested Campaigners Tortured

 Villagers Forced to Catch Fish from Conservation Area

 Corruption Causes Rapid Environmental Destruction

 Hunger Victims Taxed for Transporting Rice

 Forced Labour, Extortion Fuels Hunger

 Civilians Forced to Pay for Referendum Costs

 Over 30 Millions Kyats to be Collected from Chin Public

 School Teacher Raped by SPDC Cabinet Minister

 Villagers Forced to Feed Burmese Soldiers Amidst Looming Starvation

 Rice-mill Owners Unfairly Taxed

 People Faced Junta’s Post-Referendum Reprisals

 

REFUGEE SITUATIONS

 

 Teenaged Refugee Girl Abducted in New Delhi

 Tensions Rise As More Chin Refugees Arrested In Malaysia

 

CAMPAIGN & ADVOCACY

 

 Chin Delegation Visited UK

 Chin Delegates To Attend Conference At Liverpool Hope University

 Ethnic Women From Burma Met UK Prime Minister

 

STATEMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES

 

 BURMA: Allow Unhindered International Humanitarian Aid and Rescue Operations

 More Chin People Voted “No” Amidst Threats and Intimidation

 Update: Threat, Intimidation and Manipulation Shroud Burma’s Referendum

 

FACTS & ARGUMENTS

 

– R2P Concept and Burma

 

NEWS & EVENTS

 

– KNU Chairman Passed Away

 

BACK COVER POEM

 Cries From The Chin Jungle

 

Situations in Chinland

 

ARRESTED CAMPAIGNERS TORTURED

 

26 May 2008: Four persons arrested for distributing leaflets urging citizens to vote “No“ in the May 10 constitutional referendum were severely tortured, a relative of one of the arrested campaigners told Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

U Ko Htak (28), U Tui Ling (40), both from Lete village, U Aung Bih (29) from Taluwa village and U Lah Min Aung (27) from Kinwa village of Paletwa Township were arrested on May 2 and May 4, 2008 respectively for their pre-referendum political activities by Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (20), based at Shin Letwa village.

 

Their arrests followed a tip-off from two informants, U Tun Win (Arakanese) and U Racho (Mara), both former village council members.

 

“When we went to the detention center to give them food, they were hung upside down and their bodies were bruised and covered with blood. Their faces were so disfigured that it was difficult to even recognize them,“ the relative recounts.

 

In attempt to secure their releases, the relatives tried to bribe the army with 800, 000 Kyats but the offer was turned down. “As of this point, we don’t know for how long they will be detained or what kind of penalty they will receive,“ says the relative.

 

 

VILLAGERS FORCED TO CATCH FISH FROM CONSERVATION AREA

 

14 June 2008: Eight civilians from Cintuai Village of Kanpalet Township were forced to catch fish from a local conservation area by dynamiting a fishpond. On April 2, 2008, Burmese troops from Light Infantry Battalion (274) ordered Cintuai villagers to dynamite a fishpond that has been designated as a conservation area for the last 8 years.

 

The catches were meant to feed visiting SPDC Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Thura Aung Ko, who was in southern Chin State to campaign for the upcoming constitutional referendum on May 10. The eight villagers were also forced to carry and transport the catches, which weighed up to 400 kilograms for a distance of 10 miles from the pond to Cintuai village.

 

Catching fish in Mungchawng fishpond has been prohibited for the past eight consecutive years as. “After they dynamited it, there is no sight of moving fish in the pond anymore,“ said a local man.

 

The price of a raw fish at the local market per kilogram is Kyat-2000 and a dry fish is Kyat-4000 in the region. But in Mindat town and Kanpalet town, it is Kyat-2500 per Kg and Kyat-4500 Kg.

 

CORRUPTION CAUSES RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION

 

15 June 2008: Corruption of government officials is causing widespread environmental destruction and deforestation in southern Chin State.

 

Since 2000, U Sein Ke Naing, head of the Forestry Department for Kanpalet Township has been collecting 3 million Kyats annually from poachers and smugglers in exchange for a free pass to extract wild orchids, hunt wild animals and cut down trees on the famous Mount Victoria range, which has been designated as a national forest since 1995.

 

In addition to giving free pass to paochers and smugglers, U Sein Ke Niang has aslo allowed his relatives from nearby Mindat Town to clear the priced and bio-rich forests of Victoria range for slash and burn cultivation. The locals have been carefully preserving the forests for generations, by avoiding grazing their livestock in the area in order not to disturb the delicate ecology.

 

U Sein Ke Naing is also said to have a business partnership with the Chairman of Kanpalet Township Peace and Development Council. By order of the Chairman, tourists visiting Mount Victoria, the highest peak in Chin State, are only allowed to do so if they stay at a hotel run by U Sein Ke Niang in Kanpalet town.

 

Some villagers in the area who are angry with the conduct of U Sein Ke Naing have reportedly deliberately set the forest on the forests. According to one local villager in the area, the forests around the famous Mount Victoria are now almost completely destroyed due to the corruption.

 

HUNGER VICTIMS TAXED FOR TRANSPORTING RICE

 

26 June 2008: Villagers facing acute shortage of food due to the bamboo flowering and rat infestations, who tried to transport rice from elsewhere have been heavily taxed by the Burma Army, a local man reported.

 

The practice of taxing the transfort of food started in August 2007. Communities from Ye Chiantha, Shwe Hlying Puai, Du Ri Tawng, Puan Letwa, Pa Kawa and Pung Hyinwa Villages must pay 500 Kyats per one bag of rice to the army to carry them by ferry. The 500 Kyats tax is in addition to transportation costs they have to pay to ferry and boat operators.

 

Faced with severe food shortage in their areas, these communities must buy rice from elsewhere and carry them by boats along the Kaladan River. The journey takes up to one day by boat.The soldiers collecting the taxes are from Tuyah Ai camp in Paletwa Township.

 

FORCED LABOUR, EXTORTION FUELS HUNGER

 

17 June 2008: Amidst widespread shortages of food and lingering starvation caused by bamboo flowering and rat infestation, Burmese troops continued to impose forced labour order on communities in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township.

 

On May 11, 2008, commanding in charge of Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 20 stationed at Shin Oo Wa village forcibly ordered several villages to contribute unpaid labour to repair an army camp.

 

“We are already struggling for our very next meal. The army is well aware that we cannot afford to spend time repairing the camp,” says a Shin Oo Wa villager.

 

To avoid the forced labour, every household in the entire region had to pay Kyats 1,000 to LIB (20) on May 24, 2008. The affected communities were from Shin Oo Wa, Shwe Letwa and Pathian Tlang Village Tracts.

 

But soon after the money had been collected from these communities, troops stationed at the camp were replaced by another battalion, taking with them all the money they had collected. And on June 2, 2008, the new army battalion again ordered the villagers to contribute money for repairing the camp.

 

CIVILIANS FORCED TO PAY FOR REFERENDUM COSTS

 

20 June 2008: Over half a million Kyats were forcibly collected from the public by local authorities in Kalay Township to cover the cost of the May 10 constitutional referendum, according to a local resident.

 

U Myo Lwin, Chairman of the Village Peace and Development Council, forcibly ordered more than 600 households of Chawngkhuah village to contribute 1,000 Kyats per household to pay for the wages of poll workers and commissioners during the May 10 poll.

 

But residents later learned that poll commissioners were already paid under the government’s referendum budget. U Myo Lwin never accounted for how over 600, 000 Kyats were used.

 

The majority of Chawngkhuah residents are Chins.

 

OVER 30 MILLIONS KYATS TO BE COLLECTED FROM CHIN PUBLIC

 

21 June 2008: According to an official memo dated April 25, 2008 and signed by U Swe Khanh Thang, Chairman of Haka Township Peace and Development Council, more than 30 million Kyats will be collected from residents of Haka and 74 villages in the Township to finance the procurement of jatropha (bio-fuel plant) seeds.

 

The memo, an original Burmese copy of which was recently obtained by Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), outlines detailed plans for jatropha plantation project in Hakha Township for the 2008-2009. The total area of jatropha plantation for the township for 2008-2009 is projected as 60, 607 acres.

 

To implement the order, special committees were tasked to collect the money by the end of April 2008.

 

SCHOOL TEACHER RAPED BY SPDC CABINET MINISTER

 

23 June 2008: Brigadier General Thura Aung Ko, SPDC Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs was accused of raping a Chin school teacher during his official campaign tour in southern Chin State ahead of the May 10 constitutional referendum.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization has learned that on April 4, the high ranking SPDC official sexually assaulted a Chin woman at Cin Duai Village, Kanpalet Township. The assault took place after a day of campaigning and public speeches by the minister asking people to vote for the new constitution. After his public event, the minister was entertained with traditional rice wine by local officials. He later forced the Chin woman to sleep with him overnight.

 

According to a local villager who spoke to CHRO on condition of anonymity, on the next day of the assault, the rape victim who is a school teacher by profession was awarded Bachelor or Education (B.Ed.) degree by verbal decree of the Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs.

 

In preparation of the minister’s visit, on April 3, 2008 villagers from Hauhphongcin, Phongtuaicin, Cinduai, Tinpungcin, Hmawlawnglung and Khayiang Villages were forced to repair roads, construct tents and prepare meals and traditional rice wine for the visiting official.

 

 

VILLAGERS FORCED TO FEED BURMESE SOLDIERS AMIDST LOOMING STARVATION

 

24 June 2008: On June 14 2008, Captain Tin Aung Win, company commander of Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (140) stationed at Sabawngte camp and operating under Tactical Command II based out of Matupi, requisitioned ration supplies for his troop from 11 village tracts in Matupi Township.

 

Each village was ordered to supply 9 tins of rice (about 180 kilograms). As people in the area were already dealing with severe food shortages due to the bamboo flowering, the headmen of the affected villages pleaded with the Captain for exemption on June 16, 2008.

 

However, Captain Tin Aung Win insisted that the villages complete delivery of supplies to the army camp by the end of June.

 

The affected villages included; Kase, Lunghlaw, Ki Hlung, Tibaw villages from Kase Village Tract, and Tangku, Amlai, Rengkheng and Pakheng villages from Tangka Village Tract.

 

 

RICE-MILL OWNERS UNFAIRLY TAXED

 

25 June 2008: Rice mill owners in Thantlang Township were the latest targets of arbitrary tax collection by the authorities. According to one mill owner, U Mang Er, Secretary of Thantlang Township PDC has been collecting 3,500 Kyats annually from mill owners in the township.

 

A written order issued by U Mang Er, (original copy on file with CHRO) rice mill owners in the township must pay 1000 Kyats as a fee for an operating license, 2000 Kyats for municiple taxes and a late registration fee of 500 Kyats.

 

Village headmen in the township are to bring in the money they have collected from mill owners at the annual meeting of Township and Village Peace and Development Council.

 

PEOPLE FACED JUNTA’S POST-REFERENDUM REPRISALS

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian_

 

05 June, 2008: Burma’s ruling junta declared the country’s referendum as ‘approved and passed’ but the Chin people are still suffering the aftermath, resulting in forced labour and detention in Chin State, sources unveiled.

 

Villagers in Shinletwa, Paletwa Township in southern Chin State where the majority voted against the plebiscite, are forced to build military camps on the Indian-Burma border, according to Khonumtung News.

 

The military authorities allegedly arrested Aung Be, Hla Myint Aung, Tulin and Ko Htet from Paletwa Township in connection with ‘vote no’ campaigns as some other villagers who were reportedly known as voting against the referendum received ‘surprise visits’ as a sign of threat and warning. Also in Thantlang Township, villagers had been detained and interrogated for distributing campaign leaflets ahead of the May 10 referendum.

 

A statement made by Chin National Council (CNC) on SPDC’s referendum announcement results said that the SPDC, after blatantly rejecting the wills of the people, counted “No” votes cast on the referendum as “Yes” votes while counting the poll results.

 

“In some places, ‘No’ votes are not accepted and the people are forced to cast ‘Yes’ vote for the second time. In addition, people in the voting booths are intimidated by various forms and forced to cast a ‘Yes’ vote only. In some villages, villagers are forced to vote for ‘Yes’ with a threat to burn down their whole village if they fail to vote for ‘Yes’,” added the CNC’s statement released last month.

 

The local authorities issued an order that any villager who failed or did not want to participate in the construction of the military camps would be fined and have to pay large amount of money. The military authorities will continue in other villages hunting down those who rejected and voted against the military-controlled referendum, it is believed.

 

The Chin people, like other ethnic nationalities in Burma, have been for decades suffering from various human rights violations and harassment from the military regime.

 

Refugee Situations

 

TEENAGED REFUGEE GIRL ABDUCTED IN NEW DELHI

 

24 June 2008: A 17 year-old Chin refugee girl was the latest victim of crimes committed against Burmese refugees by local Indians.

 

On June 3, 2008, Ms Lalnunthari was reportedly dragged away from a local shop she has been working at since January 2008. She was taken into a waiting car by three Indian youths at around 4:00 p.m. local time. According to another worker, it was the owner of the shop who grabbed the girl and handed over to the three youths.

 

After informing the girl’s abduction, the parents filed a report at the local police station. The involvement of police apparently got the shop owner nervous, who was suspected of calling his friends to abduct his own employee, and the girl was dropped back at the shop at 11:30 unharmed. The motive for the abduction remains unclear but sexual assault was believed to be the prime reason.

 

Since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in New Delhi terminated financial assistance to Burmese refugees several years ago, refugees from Burma have been forced to seek employment with local Indian employers. Many of them are now working as shop keepers, domestic help and as daily labourers in the local factories, to struggle for their livelihood. Under these circumstances, they have been facing discriminations, assaults and sexual abuses at the hands of their employers and local people.

 

TENSIONS RISE AS MORE CHIN REFUGEES ARRESTED IN MALAYSIA

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

 

29 June, 2008: The number of Chin refugees being arrested in Malaysia has increased dramatically in recent months, raising fears among the Chin communities and leaders worldwide that their lives could be highly jeopardized if they are sent into the brokers’ hands at the Thai-Malaysian border or sent back to Burma.

 

More than 60 Chin refugees, sources revealed, were arrested in their rented houses in late-night raids last week by the government-formed corps called Volunteers of Malaysian People aka RELA which is accused of ‘abusing the laws and conniving in taking measures’ against immigrants.

 

Mothers with newly born babies and children under 14 were those among arrested even though Malaysia is a signatory to the Convention on Child Rights Convention (CRC) and on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), meaning Malaysia has an obligation to protect women and children. Instead, Malaysian authorities put even a newly born baby into jail, according to Chin Human Rights Organisation’s reports.

 

“The situation of Chin refugees in Malaysia is like a bad dream. Anything could happen at any time of period at any place. As far as we can, we try to stay within reach voluntarily so that we can act in time to help those in serious trouble. We are not dealing only with refugee issues. There are several other issues including visiting patients in critical condition and funeral services,” a member of CRC (Chin Refugee Committee) told Chinland Guardian.

 

A Chin refugee, Thang Khan Thawng, 62, died of depression in Kuala Lampur last week after learning his application had been rejected, according to Khonumtung News.

 

“They [Chin refugees] are hiding without food in the jungle in fear of being arrested. The situation gets really worse as the rainy season has come in. Some get really ill but dare not come to the camp as RELA can lie in wait for them nearby,” said a Falam Chin.

 

“Some people get seriously hurt while running through thorny bushes. Being aware that RELA can secretly follow them and know where the refugees are hiding in the jungle, Doctors who want to help, just try to get medicines to the refugees in any possible means,” added he.

 

It is estimated that at least 30,000 Chin refugees, both unregistered and registered with UNHCR, live in Malaysia and about 60,000 Chin refugees in India. In hope of finding safety and refuge, tens of thousands of the Chin people have fled their native place to escape the military junta’s brutal atrocities including torture, persecution and the threat of death.

 

Campaign & Advocacy

 

 

CHIN DELEGATION VISITED UK TO HIGHLIGHT ONGOING FAMINE IN CHIN STATE

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian_

 

22 June, 2008 – London, UK: In attempt to draw attention to the ‘unknown’ devastating famine in Chin State, a Chin delegation made a three-day visit to the UK, which ended last Friday. The trip was sponsored by the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) and hosted by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

 

The delegation comprising Victor Biak Lian of Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO), Cheery Zahau of Women League of Chinland (WLC) and a Mara-Chin medical student, Sasa met with Ministers and MPs including Foreign Office Minister Meg Munn MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague MP and joint chairman of the all party parliamentary group on Burma, John Bercow MP, and visited various offices including UK Departments for International Development (DFID), World Vision and Tearfund.

 

Baroness Cox, C.E.O of HART said: “We are delighted to have Cheery Zahau, Victor Biak Lian and Sasa here in the UK. Their activism on behalf of the Chin state and the people of Burma is invaluable and the vital meetings in the week are crucial to the international struggle to bring relief and justice to the people of Burma.”

 

The Chin trio highlighted how this disaster has brought extreme food shortage in the jungle-covered mountainous region in Southern part of Chin State and how it has been still largely unknown to the international community. They also stressed the fact that many Chin people from the famine-affected area have already started fleeing and migrating into the nearest Indian-Burma border.

 

Stuart Windsor, National Director of CSW said: “This is a unique opportunity to highlight at senior levels in British government and parliament the plight of both the Chin people and Burma as a whole. The Chin people in particular, have long been forgotten, and their suffering has been ignored: we hope that through this visit they will receive increased attention and action from the international community.”

 

The famine, locally known as mautam or mangtam, happens every fifty years when the bamboo trees produce flowers and seeds which are believed to make rats sexually active and proliferative. Infestation of rats has led to massive destruction of crops and even rice stocks stored by the villagers.

 

Benny Manser, 24, a photographer from Aylesbury, UK who visited affected villages in Chin State from Mizoram State last month, told The Telegraph about seeing stick-thin children and old women who hardly had the strength left to dig up roots to eat, and about villagers telling of vast packs of rats, thousands strong, which would turn up overnight out of the bamboo thickets and eat everything in sight.

 

Similar rat-infested famine happens in Mizoram State of India and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh but governments of both countries have prepared and responded effectively to ease the situation while Burma’s military dictatorship still denies the existence of famine in the country. Yet the SPDC’s soldiers have escalated the condition worse by blocking humanitarian aids and forcing the villagers as porters.

 

“People from inside Chin State have to travel on foot through the jungle for many days to fetch bags of rice for their families since the military authorities do not allow aids from outside,” reported the Chin delegation. Cheery Zahau said according to The Telegraph: “We don’t really know what is happening deep inside Chin State where there are no telephones or roads. We fear that thousands will die if no help is made available.”

 

During their UK visit, the delegation also spotlighted other issues concerning Chin refugees in neighbouring countries such as India, Thailand and Malaysia, SPDC’s rigged referendum, religious persecutions and human rights violations inflicted on the Chin people. They also called for British and international supports to find alternate ways of giving pressure on the regime and to convene a multi-party talk on Burma.

 

The delegation also met with the Chin and other ethnic friends from Burma living in the UK.

 

HART is a non-denominational aid and advocacy charity founded by Baroness Cox, which focuses primarily on people largely ignored by the media and not served by major aid organisations. CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

 

CHIN DELEGATES TO ATTEND CONFERENCE AT LIVERPOOL HOPE UNIVERSITY

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian_

 

04 June, 2008 – London, UK: A trio of Chin delegates are today to attend Global Youth Congress, The Big Hope, organised by Liverpool Hope University in Liverpool, UK. The group includes Victor Biak Lian of Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Cheery Zahau of Women’s League of Chinland and Sasa, a Chin medical student studying in Armenia.

 

The Big Hope which is expected to host more than a thousand attendants from across the world has got a line-up of various top speakers including Archbishop of Westminster, Cherie Booth QC, wife of Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Baroness Caroline Cox.

 

“This is a good opportunity for us to share with people from different corners of the world the ongoing plights of Burma. We will also like to draw their attention to famine-related problems in Chin State which is still untold and neglected,” Victor Biak Lian told Chinland Guardian.

 

One of the main issues the Chin delegates would like to address the Big Hope includes raising awareness and humanitarian aids for the Chin people who are facing extreme scarcity of food in Chin State.

 

“We will, of course, talk about Burma’s problems such as the devastating cyclone Nargis, SPDC’s rigged referendum and various human rights violations. And also, it is very important that the world now know clearly about the man-made humanitarian crisis that the Chin people has been quietly facing for decades. For that, we need to raise awareness,” said Cheery Zahau, co-ordinator of WLC when asked about the main purpose of attending this conference.

 

A Mara-Chin from Southern Chin State, Sasa, said that we, the Chin youths, should not be discouraged and disintegrated but remain united and focus on our future development mentally. His points at the conference will include how the youths in Burma have been brainwashed, intimidated and left just to listen to what is being told.

 

The Big Hope has got delegates from 45 countries in the world so far.

 

The Chin delegates are also set to meet with certain international organisations and the Chin people in the UK after the conference. It is estimated that there are about 100 Chin people living in the UK.

 

 

ETHNIC WOMEN FROM BURMA MET UK PRIME MINISTER

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian_

 

22 June, 2008 – London, UK: A delegation of five ethnic women from Burma on Aung San Suu Kyi’s 63rd birthday met UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, at 10 Downing Street last Thursday, signalling the international community has not forgotten Burma’s democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

The delegation asked the Prime Minister for putting more pressure on the ruling military regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Burma. The women team also called for stronger targeted sanctions from the EU governments, and an international arms embargo against Burma’s longstanding military dictatorship.

 

“It was amazing to see the Prime Minister. He has been supportive and has told us what he has done for Burma,” Cheery Zahau, co-ordinator of Women League of Chinland told Chinland Guardian. “This meeting really reveals that the Prime Minister does care for the peoples of Burma and we all are pleased to see his concerns and actions.”

 

The team also asked the British government to try to convince China, India and ASEAN nations to take more serious actions on Burma.

 

“We are very encouraged by this meeting,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator of Burma Campaign UK. “The Prime Minister has taken strong position on Burma, pushing it up the international political agenda. He said he would continue to push for more action on Burma.”

 

The Prime Minister told the delegation that the international community should do more to address the problems in Burma and that he would take these issues seriously to the British and EU governments.

 

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Office Minister Meg Munn MP along with Glenys Kinnock MEP, and Ann Clwyd MP.

 

The Nobel laureate and leader of National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for more than 12 years, spent her 63rd birthday in detention on 19 June after the military regime extended her detention another year in late May, 2008.

 

The delegation was made up of 5 of Burma’s ethnic nationalities, Cheery Zahau of Women League of Chinland, Nang Seng of Burma Campaign UK from the Kachin ethnic group, Zoya Phan from the Karen ethnic group, Moe Bue from the Karenni ethnic group, Wai Hnin Pwint Thon and Hlaing Sein from the Burman group.

 

This is the very first time a delegation of ethnic women from Burma has ever had a meeting with the British Prime Minister, demonstrating the unity of the peoples of Burma in their struggle against the brutal military dictatorship.

 

Statements and Press Releases

 

BURMA: ALLOW UNHINDERED INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AID AND RESCUE OPERATIONS

 

Immediate Release

6 May 2008

 

Ottawa, Canada: Chin Human Rights Organization is deeply saddened and horrified by the devastation and tragedy resulting from Cyclone Nargis that had swept some of the most populated areas of Burma over the weekend and claimed the lives of over 22, 000 with more than 41,000 people still unaccounted for. CHRO express its deepest and profound sympathy to the thousands of victims and families who have lost everything in the catastrophe.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization remains gravely concerned about the slow pace and virtual lack of meaningful relief and rescue efforts by the authorities. Regrettably, many of the restrictions in place for humanitarian agencies that have long prevented effective humanitarian efforts in the country still remain in effect despite the need for urgent relief effort and rescue operations in the affected areas.

 

At this tragic juncture, Burma’s ruling generals must put aside all of their suspicions and politically-motivated apprehensions about outside help and immediately allow unrestricted international aid and rescue operations inside Burma in order to avoid further miseries and loss of lives.

 

“Any delay in allowing unhindered international aid access to Burma would only add to the suffering of people and further undermine the regime’s own image and credibility with the Burmese citizens. This is not a time to play the usual political games because it is about the lives of hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

CHRO commends Canada, the United States and all of the countries and international organizations that have pledged assistance to Burma and would like to encourage more long term humanitarian commitments and assistance towards the recovery and reconstruction process.

 

For more information contact:

Salai Bawi Lian Mang (CHRO Executive Director)

Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +1-510-332-0983

 

Victor Biak Lian (CHRO Member of Board of Director)

Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +66-815300702

 

 

MORE CHIN PEOPLE VOTED “NO” AMIDST THREATS AND INTIMIDATION

 

Immediate Release

11 May 2008

 

Ottawa, Canada: Amidst widespread coercion and intimidation by military authorities, early poll results obtained by Chin Human Rights Organization from seven polling stations in two townships in Chin State indicates that more than 80 per cent of Chin people voted against the military-backed constitution. This is despite the fact that many votes were thrown off as ineligible or because they were marked “inappropriately.”

 

More than nine per cent of the total votes in these polling stations were not counted towards the final tally.

 

But results for government servants who voted early are still not known. In Thantlang town of northern Chin State, more than 300 government employees cast their votes in a specially arranged early poll.

 

In one particular polling station, 549 out of 673 people voted against the new constitution.

 

“Based on these early results and what we have seen across polling stations, all indications are that there would be a resounding “no” to the new constitution in Chin State,” says an observer on the ground.

 

There are also reports of several arrests in connection with the referendum on Saturday. Two youths were arrested in Thantlang over the weekend in suspicion of distributing leaflets urging citizens to vote “no” in the referendum, but they were released after two days of interrogation in detention. Four other people were also reportedly arrested in Paletwa townships of southern Chin State earlier in the week.

 

“No matter how the Burmese regime tries to manipulate the result of the votes, these early results suggest that Chin people are not convinced that things will be any better for them under this constitution. It would be of such enormous significance symbolically, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of Chin people rejected it, given that Chins are co-founding members of the Union of Burma,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

The following is the results from six polling stations in Chin State (The exact locations are withheld for security reasons)

 

Polling Station I

In Favor (114)

Against (410)

Discarded votes (111)

Toral Votes Cast (635)

 

Polling Station II

In favor (89)

Against (549)

Discarded (35)

Total Votes Cast (673)

 

Polling Station III

In Favor (101)

Against (368)

Discarded (64)

Total Votes Cast (533)

 

Polling Station IV

In Favor (65)

Against (512)

Discarded (41)

Total Votes Cast (618)

 

Polling Station V

In Favor (76)

Against (176)

Discarded (8)

Total vote casts (260)

 

Polling Station (VI)

In Favor (15)

Against (200)

Discarded (0)

Total Votes Cast (215)

 

Polling Station (VII)

In Favor (55)

Against (262)

Discarded (29)

Total Votes Cast (317)

 

For more information contact:

Salai Bawi Lian Mang (CHRO Executive Director)

Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +1-510-332-0983

 

Victor Biak Lian (CHRO member of board of Directors)

Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +66-81-530-0702

 

 

UPDATE: THREAT, INTIMIDATION AND MANIPULATION SHROUD BURMA’S REFERENDUM

 

For Immediate Release

15 May 2008

 

Ottawa, Canada: New reliable information received by Chin Human Rights Organization has revealed that voting in last weekend’s constitutional referendum was fraught with threat, intimidation and manipulations by the authorities. But early results from four Townships in Chin State and Sagaing Division indicate that despite the military regime’s campaign of threat and intimidation, an overwhelming majority of Chin voters rejected the military-backed constitution. The results were obtained through local observers and workers who counted the votes at polling stations, but who could not be named for security reasons.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization has received several reports of voting irregularities and tactics of manipulations by the authorities during and prior to May 10. All government employees were asked to vote in mandatory early polls or by mail-in voting before the actual voting date. These early voters are required to put in their names and national registration number on the ballot. There are reports of threats of employment termination and revocation of family registration for those found to have voted ‘No.’ In Kalay Township of Sagaing Division, where there is a significant Chin population, local officials were reported to have visited residences beforehand and asked people to fill in the ballot on-site along with their names and national registration number.

 

“Of course people are naturally intimidated when they had to vote right in front of the officials. Many people might have actually voted for it under that circumstance,” says an observer who cannot be named for his safety.

 

In some polling stations, poll workers are clothed in white T-Shirts that have “Let’s Vote Yes” written on them in Burmese with illustration of a checked box. Elderly voters and people who cannot read Burmese are greeted by these workers and explained to them what they should do by pointing to the writings on their T-Shirts.

 

One poll worker admitted to having to recount the votes and flipping the result after his superiors and local officials received harsh rebuke from higher authorities when the first count came out with a resounding “No.”

 

In another polling station, some members of local Peace and Development Council were seen trying to force people to vote “yes” inside the polling booth.

 

“These reports only show how flawed the whole voting process is and how far the SPDC is willing to go to skew and manipulate the results in its favor,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Executive Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

SPDC’s Pre-Referendum Campaign Efforts:

 

Since the beginning of April the military regime has launched an aggressive campaign to persuade voters in Chin State to approve its draft constitution. On April 4, Naypyidaw sent Major General Thura Aung Ko, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs to Chin State where he urged Chin voters to vote for the new constitution saying, “It took the army 14 years to complete the draft and unless you approve this constitution, it will take another 14 years of military rule to prepare another draft.”

 

On April 10, the State Peace and Development Council held a mock referendum in Chin State capital of Hakha in which 150 people were called in to vote. Over 80 percent of the people voted “No” in the mock poll, prompting Major General Hung Ngai, Chairman of Chin State Peace and Development Council to travel to several townships and distributing free rice to people in an effort to court Chin voters.

 

About two weeks prior to the referendum on May 10, 16 army patrol columns consisting of several hundred Burmese troops (No less than 300 soldiers) from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 226 (based in Hakha), LIB 268 (Based in Falam), LIB 228 (Based in Kalay Myo), LIB 89 (Based in Kalay), LIB 289 (Based in Teddim) and LIB 274 (Based in Mindat), were sent to remote areas along India-Burma border to campaign for the referendum. According to local villagers in these areas interviewed by Chin Human Rights Organization, Burmese troops threatened them with 3 years of imprisonment and 300, 000 Kyats in monetary fines for anyone found to have cast a “No” vote. “Your only way out of military rule is through voting “yes” in this referendum” was the army’s message to rural Chin public.

 

Seven arrests were reported in Thantlang and Paletwa Township in the days leading up to the referendum in connection with leaflets produced by opposition groups urging citizens to reject the constitution. Three were confirmed released after two days in interrogation. The fate and whereabouts of the remaining four remain unclear.

 

The following is updated voting results from 11 polling stations in Chin State and Sagaing Division. The exact locations of these stations are withheld for security reasons.

 

Polling Station 1

 

In Favor (36)

Against (334)

Discarded Votes (5)

Total Votes Cast (375)

 

Polling Station 2

 

In Favor (23)

Against (216)

Discarded (8)

Total Votes Cast (247)

 

Polling Station 3

 

In Favor (19)

Against (228)

Discarded (6)

Total Votes Cast (253)

 

Polling Station 4

 

In Favor (20)

Against (406)

Discarded (56)

Total Votes Cast (482)

 

Polling Station 5

 

In Favor (16)

Against (183)

Discarded (19)

Total Votes Cast (218)

 

Polling Station 6

In Favor (114)

Against (410)

Discarded votes (111)

Toral Votes Cast (635)

 

Polling Station 7

In favor (89)

Against (549)

Discarded (35)

Total Votes Cast (673)

 

Polling Station 8

In Favor (101)

Against (368)

Discarded (64)

Total Votes Cast (533)

 

Polling Station 9

 

In Favor (65)

Against (512)

Discarded (41)

Total Votes Cast (618)

 

Polling Station 10

 

In Favor (76)

Against (176)

Discarded (8)

 

Polling Station 11

In Favor (15)

Against (200)

Discarded (0)

Total Votes Cast (215)

 

 

For more information contact:

 

Salai Bawi Lian Mang (CHRO Executive Director)

 

Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +1-510-332-0983

 

Victor Biak Lian (CHRO member of board of Directors)

Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +66-81-530-0702

 

FACTS & ARGUMENTS:

 

R2P CONCEPT AND BURMA

 

by Lloyd Axworthy

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Once again the world is faced with the serious question of how far the international community should go in challenging the right of national sovereignty when a government denies its most basic responsibility to protect citizens faced with mass suffering and loss of life during a humanitarian catastrophe.

 

There has been a long litany of tragic cases where violence and killing have been directed against innocent people whose governments have stood by or were themselves the perpetrators. Think of the killing fields of Rwanda , the Balkans, more recently of Uganda , the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur . And now, another example of a national government committing a major travesty of justice, but with a different twist.

 

The cyclone that has recently ravaged Burma , resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, has rightfully prompted widespread global calls to relieve the plight of the survivors and for immediate international action to forestall the threat of further agony and death due to the spread of disease and starvation. Yet the governing dictatorship in Burma is bizarrely thwarting the kind of comprehensive humanitarian assistance needed to give relief and hope to its own people.

 

In response to this appalling performance of Burma ‘s military junta in impeding the timely arrival and distribution of life-saving aid, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner rightly called on the UN Security Council to use the principle of “responsibility to protect” (R2P) as the basis for a resolution to expedite relief efforts. Under this principle when a national government refuses to protect its own people the international community, under the auspices of the Security Council, must assume this role.

 

It is a principle that has been written into the basic framework of international standards. At the 2005 UN World Summit, world leaders declared that governments can no longer hide behind the narrow precepts of national sovereignty in the face of catastrophic human tragedy. This endorsement of R2P in a global declaration was ground-breaking because it recognized for the first time that there are limits to the UN Charter’s prohibition of international interference in the “domestic jurisdiction” of a member state.

 

The R2P concept was given life in 2000 when Canada established the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. The commission’s mandate evolved from the concept of human security, a touchstone of Canadian foreign policy in the 1990s, which put the protection of people at the top of the global agenda. Human security became the focus for Canadian diplomacy during our tenure in the Security Council in 2000-2001 and we took a leading role in having R2P enacted as a basic United Nations reform. While much of our efforts centered on the threat to innocent people because of war, there was no doubt in our minds that human security applies to natural disasters and pandemics just as much as it does to civil conflict and state-sanctioned violence.

 

R2P became a way of building a bridge between the sovereign state and the international community in meeting shared global human security threats. These threats which transcend national boundaries are proving difficult and intractable to address at present.

Some critics have expressed strong reservations about applying this important international standard in the present situation in Burma . They fear that it would result in military intervention or that it could raise the spectre of some form of new colonialism. They fail to understand that under R2P military intervention is considered to be an absolute last resort. The R2P toolbox contains a wide range of diplomatic, political and economic measures to pressure governments, and to build their own capacity to fully exercise their responsibility to protect the people within their borders.

 

Surely the fundamental message of R2P is that there is no moral difference between an innocent person being killed by machete or AK-47, and starving to death or dying in a cholera epidemic that could have been avoided by proper international response.

 

Burma is in need of more than just statements of indignation and lament from the international community over the scope and injustice of this tragedy. Governments such as Canada ‘s, which previously championed the R2P agenda must add their voices to the diplomatic effort to advance the concept and to provide urgently needed humanitarian relief for the cyclone victims.

 

There is a strong likelihood that using R2P as a call to action will put the onus on many countries — including key members of the Security Council such as China and Russia — to mobilize and focus the necessary political and economic pressures on the Burmese government to change its stance. It also can give the signal to humanitarian aid groups and governments alike to find creative ways of working together to alleviate the suffering by means such as military drops and the establishment of security zones for those displaced by the tragedy.

The failure of the international community to take effective action in places like Darfur and the Congo reminds us that the R2P concept is in need of those who will support and advance it. The application of R2P to the situation in Burma would be a strong demonstration, especially to Asian countries, of the importance and viability of this international norm.

 

As the British historian Sir Martin Gilbert has said: “Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, non-interference in the internal policies even of the most repressive governments was the golden rule of international diplomacy. The Canadian-sponsored concept of ‘responsibility to protect’ proposed the most significant adjustment to national sovereignty in 360 years. It declared that for a country’s sovereignty to be respected, it must demonstrate responsibility toward its own citizens.”

 

Lloyd Axworthy is president of the University of Winnipeg. He was Canada’s foreign affairs minister from 1996 to 2000. the article is taken from Ottawa Citizen Editorial Page

 

 

NEW & EVENTS

 

KNU CHAIRMAN PASSED AWAY

 

 

Chinland Guardian

May 22, 2008

 

Pado Ba Thin Sein the chairman of Karen National Union and chairman of Ethnic Nationalities Council of Union of Burma passed away at Thai-Burma border on May 22, 2008.

 

Pado Ba Thin Sein joined the Karen National Union (KNU) since the beginning of its founding in 1949 and played many important roles in the Karen people’s long struggle for democracy, equality and self-determination within the framework of federal arrangement. He served his people faithfully through the KNU as its General Secretary from 1983 to 1999, and as the Chairman from 2000 to 2008 until his last breath.

 

Under his leadership, all the non-Burman ethnic nationalities in Burma founded the Ethnic Nationalities Solidarity and Corporation Committee (ENSCC) in 2001, which was transformed into the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) in 2004. He served as the Chairman of both ENSCC (2001-2004) and ENC (2004-2008). The Ethnic Nationalities Council, under the leadership of Pado Ba Thin Sein, has undertaken pro-active and constructive action to bring about a peaceful resolution to the political conflict in Burma through a negotiated-settlement.

 

The Ethnic Nationalities Council in its condolence letter released today said that “He was not just a leader of the Karen people but a staunch supporter of the establishment of accountable democratic governance for all the peoples of Burma. He was not just a warrior but a consensus builder and peace maker, who always expressed his willingness to solve political crisis in Burma through a Tripartite Dialogue, that is., dialogue amongst the SPDC, democratic forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic nationalities”.

 

Karen National Union is the largest ethnic armed resistance group fighting against the Burmese military regime for greater autonomy of the Karen people and the Ethnic Nationalities Council is an umbrella political organization representing seven ethnic states from Union of Burma.

 

The body of Chairman Pado Saw Ba Thein Sein 82 is going to be buried in Kawthoolei, Pha-Ann district, the homeland of the Karen people under the control of Karen National Union.

 

CRIES FROM THE CHIN JUNGLE

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

24 June, 2008

 

A child cries in hunger and for her mother

Her face bathes in tears and cowers in fear

In a grimy bamboo shanty, cold and empty

Nowhere between mountains and valleys

Her whimpering voice vanishes but unheard

Just like a gagged prisoner with a long beard

 

A ‘mautam’ famine preys on the Chin people

– A nation oppressed, ignored and in peril

Besides, families shattered by the military regime

Women are raped and left as if in a bad dream

And men enslaved, coerced and beaten like a mule

In the ‘unknown’ jungle where rats and soldiers rule

 

Distraught and worried as comes the rainy season

Further will the Chin be blocked yet unknown

Landslides, forest leeches and soldiers on patrol

The people know not how long more to roll

With ‘untold’ pain which has begun to fester

In a famine-hit jungle where life’s in danger