CHRO

Rhododendron News

Volume X. No. I. January-February 2007

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Forced Labor & Porter

• SPDC Soldiers Target Chin Women For Porter

• Chin Christian Women Compel To Do Manual Works At Buddhist Monastery

• SPDC Used Child Labor In Road Construction

• Civilians Force To Work At Army Camp

• SPDC Summoned 7 Villages For Road Construction

• SPDC Forced 100 Villagers To Build Military Camp

• Villagers Forced To Work At Army Own Tea Plantation Farm

• SPDC Forced Civilian For Road Repair

• Villagers Compel To Fence Army Camp In Dar-Lin

• SPDC Soldiers Continue To Use Villagers As Porter

• Local Villagers Compel To Serve As Guide For Burma Army

• SPDC Solders Use Porter

Arbitrary Orders & Power Abuse

• Provide Ration Or Your Village Will Be Burnt

• Cultivate Jatropha Plant Or Leave The Village

• SPDC Soldiers Collect Ration From Villagers

• Matupi Town Residents Compel To Watch Football Match

• Dar-Lin Villagers Have To Pay For Entertaining The Army Officer

• Villagers Must Buy Jatropha Seeds

• The SPDC Fined 1,700,000/- Kyats From 5 Cattle Traders

• SPDC Soldiers Extort 400,000/- Kyats From Cattle Traders

• Village Headmen Bear The Burden Of Militia Training

• SPDC Soldiers Looted From A Farmer

• A Chin Girl Sent Home And Denied For Health Training For Wearing Longpant

• 2 SPDC Police Refused To Pay Their Bus Fare

• Internally Displaced In The National Capital

• SPDC Authority Extort Money From Travellers

• SPDC Police Looted From Female Trader

• Burmese Soldier Steal Chicken From Villager

Refugee

• Detained Refugees Face Poor Conditions and Possible Caning

• Chin Refugee Fell To His Death

• Malaysia Detains 176 Suspected Illegal Immigrants From Myanmar

Lobby & Advocacy

• Chin and Kachin Delegation Holds Milestone Meeting with UK Foreign Office Minister

• Activists Increase Pressure as EU Looks to Review Common Position on Burma

• Burma’s Persecuted Christians Plea Case In Highest U.S. Hearings

• A Chin Girl Speaks at UN about Gender Violence in Burma

 

Press Release

• CHRO Concerned by Remarks of Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister

• CHRO Welcomes the Publication of “Carrying the Cross”

 

Milestone News & Events

• ENC General Secretary Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong awarded the 2007 Martin Luther King Prize in Sweden

• A Struggle To Be An Authentic Human Being Again

 

SPDC SOLDIERS TARGET CHIN WOMEN FOR PORTER

 

February 8, 2007: It has been learnt that Burmese soldiers of LIB 50, positioned at Rezua town in southern part of Chin state, are using more women in porter to carry their ration since the beginning of the year, the local villager reported to CHRO. The Burmese army LIB 50 battalion headquarters is in Gankaw.

 

During the last week of Jaunary, 2007, 18 porters were summoned by the Burmese army to carry their ration from Sawti village to Zuamang village. Most of the porters were women. Each porter had to carry a heavy load of ration for the army for a full day journey on foot.

 

CHIN CHRISTIAN WOMEN COMPEL TO DO MANUAL WORKS AT BUDDHIST MONASTERY

 

January 24, 2007: Chairman of Thantlang townships Peace and Development Council in northern Chin state has summoned asked all female government servants in the town to do manual works such as cleaning and decorating a Buddhist monastery in Thantlang town on November 11, 2006. The incident was reported to CHRO by one of the local who witness and hear the complaint from the women.

 

The women, especially Chin Christians as most of them are, felt insult and humiliated by the authority by compelling them to do the job against their wills. However, they can not afford to refuse the order as the authority threatened them that any one who refuses to do the job will face a day worth salary cut.

 

The monastery is the only Buddhist building in Thantlang town with very few Buddhists. “I think calling to clean the monastery is just to humiliate us, because they can call men and the Buddhists can clean this temple by themselves. But we are afraid of being cutting our salary if we don’t go”, said a woman who was called to work.

 

SPDC USED CHILD LABOR IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION

 

 

January 29, 2007: 16 villages in Cikha township were forced to repair road connecting Cikha and Tonzang town. The order to call for road repair comes directly from SPDC Tactical 1 Commander Colonel Tin Hla based in Hakha, the capital of Chin state.

 

The order of forced labor on road repair was convey through U Aung Kyaw Than, chairperson of Cikha Township Peace and Development Council, the local villager who was also called as force labor said.

 

One person from each family from 16 villages has to go for the road construction with their food and tools. The working period was one week for each village to cover 12 miles long road.

The 16 villages have to take turn unceasingly working to repair the road from the end of November till today. Several under age girls and boys are among the forced laborers.

 

One person per family is compulsory without exception. U Kam Khan Lian, a new member of Khaicin village heads and a villager asked U Kyaw Than, chairman of Town ship Peace and Development Council to give leave as one of their close relative was died and they have to attend the funeral. But the chairman denied them, and instead slapped them for disobedience to the order, the local villager who witnessed reported.

 

The name of the villages who went for the road construction were Khuaivum, Tuivel-zaang, Tualkhaing, Haicin, Sekpi, Selbung, Tuimai, Lingthu, Vaivet, Tuimang, Mauvom, Kansau, Khuadam, Suangzaang and Khenman village.

 

CIVILIANS FORCE TO WORK AT ARMY CAMP

 

 

January 12, 2007: 2nd Battalion Commander Major Khin Maung Cho from LIB 274 based in Sabawng te village, Matupi township, southern Chin state has called 72 villagers from 3 villages to repair Sabawngte army camp for 5 days, starting from November 7, 2006, without payment, the local villager who was also forced to work in the camp reported to CHRO.

In addition, Sergeant Htay Win of Sabawngte army camp has commanded the Lungmang village’s chairman to send 18 workers to repair the camp bring their own foods tools to repair the fence of the army camp said U Cia Mu.

 

The villagers were forced to complete 100 meter long fence within 5 days. The villagers have to cut woods and bamboos and carry with their back for the camp at the place which is more than one mile from the camp. Like wise, in Lungcawi village, and Sabawng te village which were under the control of the battalion, 54 villagers were also forced to work without payment.

 

“While working as forced laborers for the Burmese army villagers were humiliated by the soldiers showing no respect at all as human being “ said U Cia Mu who was also participated in the forced labor.

 

SPDC SUMMONED 7 VILLAGES FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION

 

Jan 11, 2007: Colonel San Aung, the commander of tactical No. 2 based in Matupi, southern Chin state called civilians from 7 villages for road construction between Matupi town and Lailenpi military camp which is 70 miles long without paying any wages, the local villager reported to CHRO.

 

Colonel San Aung instructed the 7 village headmen to contribute 20 people per village from each 7 villages. The names of the 7 villages are Tangku, Rengkheng, Amlai, Pakheng, Sumseng (A), Sumseng (B), and Tinnam, the villager added.

 

In the previous years the road was built by the villagers with compulsory volunteer labor, and in November 2006, the villagers have to extend to be able to drive a car from Matupi town to LaiLenpi battalion which is 70 miles away. Construction of the road is part of border area development project.

 

In order to build the path as a vehicle road, 140 villagers from 7 villages have to go to the place which is 10 miles far, between Tangku village and Sumseng village by bringing their own equipments and without getting any payment, the villager who was among the forced laborers said.

 

SPDC FORCED 100 VILLAGERS TO BUILD MILITARY CAMP

February 26, 2007: Company commander from Burma army LIB 55 (Boo-Ti-Taung based battalion), presently posted in Shinletwah village, Paletwah town ship in southern Chin state, has forced 100 villagers from 10 villages under his military control on January 27, 2007, the local villager reported to CHRO.

 

Commander of the company (name unknown) has gave order to 10 villages which are under his military control to send 10 villagers from each village to report on the given date to Shinletwah battalion to build army camp, said the local villager.

 

According the order from the company commander, 10 villagers from Para village were sent to Shinletwah area to cut bamboo and wood. The other villagers also were order to cut bamboo and wood, the villager continued.

 

The villagers have to cut bamboos and woods from the place which is one mile far from the village, and brought to the camp. They were also commanded to build fence for the camp within 2 days. The working time was 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, and they have to bring their own foods and equipments for work during their work days in the camp.

 

VILLAGERS FORCED TO WORK AT ARMY OWN TEA PLANTATION FARM

 

February 22, 2007: Sergeant Nay Myo Aung of Burma army presently posted at Rezua army camp (LIB 50 Gan-Gaw based battalion), southern Chin state has called the local villagers to work at military owned tea plantation farm, the local villager reported to CHRO.

 

Nay Myo Aung has sent the order to chairman of Village Peace and Development Council to send 10 villagers from Zuamang village to Rezua army camp immediately on January 9, 2007. Unable to refuse the order, chairman of Zuamang Village Peace and Development Council has sent 8 villagers to work at the army own tea plantation farm, said the villager.

 

“when the villagers got to the army camp, sergeant Nay Myo Aung told us to work for 3 days. During their work the military did not provide any foods, so we have to bring our own foods and worked for free”, said the villager.

 

SPDC FORCED CIVILIAN FOR ROAD REPAIR

 

February 21, 2007: Company commander Ye Kyaw Soe, presently posted at Sabawngte army camp from LIB 50 Gan-Kaw based battalion, forced civilians from 3 villages to repair Sumsem – Lailenpi mortorable road starting from December 28, 2007. Villagers were ordered to finish the job within 10 days , the local villager said.

 

In the order letter from the company commander, it said that Hlungmang villagers have to reach to the project site to build mortorable road between Lailepi village and Sumsem village. The villagers have to dig a road which has at least 6 feet wide.

 

As soon as the villgers got the order 20 villagers have to go to Sabawngte village with their own rations and equipments to work on the road. No one can absent for the project.

The works lasted for 10 days without any compensation.

 

The number of the villagers who were engage in the road repair are 15 villagers from Hlungmang village, 25 villagers from Sabawngpi village, and 25 villagers from Sabawngte village. The villagers worked for 10 days for the project.

 

VILLAGERS COMPEL TO FENCE ARMY CAMP IN DAR-LIN

 

February 9, 2007: Major Zaw Myint Htat, 2nd battalion commander from Burma army Battalion LIB 50 (based in Gangh-Gaw town), stationed at Dar-Lin village of Matupi town ship, southern Chin state, had ordered the villagers in the region to fence their camp’s barricade by carrying their own rations, the local villager said.

 

In order to implement the order of Burma army, Pintia village chairman Pu Pai Hmo had assigned U Ngun Thot, U Khain Be, U Ta Lay Che, Myo Naw Khain and Mg Nyo Mo in the construction of fencing the army camp. They had carried bamboo in the jungle which is three miles away from Dar-Lin Army camp, according to one of the victims.

 

“Soldiers themselves should have done this work of fencing the camp as this is their duty, but they forced us to do the job” said one of the victims. Those individual who involved in the fencing construction were called to work from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm without rest for four days without payment” added by one of the victim.

 

Major Zaw Muint Htat, since his appointment as commander of Dar-Lin Army camp had started enforcing the villagers in fencing, carrying water, portering and cutting bamboo. Such enforcement has been practiced more often from this year and the villagers are known to have much suffering for years without getting payment of their labor.

 

SPDC SOLDIERS CONTINUE TO USE VILLAGERS AS PORTER

 

January 2, 2007: Captain Han Lin from Burmese army battalion LIB 550 based in Ponna-Kyun town of Arakan state), temporarily stationed at Shinletwah camp, Paletwah town ship in southern Chin state was patrolling the area along with his 13 soldiers. The captain and his troop was traveling village to village and they use villagers for porter on November 5, 2006 the local villager reported to CHRO.

 

Captain Han Lin and his troop along with 5 villagers from Hamarte village reached to Sha-Oo village. While they were in the village, all the villagers were in their farms. Taking advantage of the absents of the villagers they camped in U Pa Khaing’s house while the family was absent and they shot chicken and cook the food as their will.

In the next morning captain Han Lin and the troop used another 5 villagers from Sha-Oo village as potter as they continued to Para village.

 

LOCAL VILLAGERS COMPEL TO SERVE AS GUIDE FOR BURMA ARMY

 

February 17, 2007: On February 5, captain Win Zaw and his troop from Burma army LIB 268 based in Falam town, northern Chin state summoned several villagers from Indo-Burma border area to serve as guide and ensure the security of tactical commander Colonel Tin Hla and his column.

 

Villagers must take responsibility for the security of the Colonel and to serve guide during his travel to Tedim area during the second week of February. Colonel Tin Hla chairman of Chin State Peace and Development Council and his troop were planning to travel from Falam to Teddim.

 

Captain Win Zaw told the chairman of Tuisen-Phai village to arrange 4 villagers to serve as porter and guide for the Colonel. 4 villagers were taken from Tuisen-Phai village to Thing-Lei village to serve as porter and guide for the soldiers.

 

“We have to bring rations for them and have to carry their belongings up to their battalion. We spent 2 days, but got nothing for our wages”, the local villager continued. The other villager who was also taken as potter said that they were told to provide chicken and food during the 4 days journey to the area.

 

After reaching Tuisen-Phai village, other villages around the area namely; Bukphir village, Fartlang village, Dampi village, Zimpi village, Zimte village and Thing lei village have to take their turn to acompany the military officer and group till they reach Rihkhuadar battalion, the resource said.

 

SPDC SOLDERS USE PORTER

 

February 8, 2007: 2nd Lieutenant from Burma army LIB 140 (based in Matupi), stationed at Satu village of Matupi township along with five soldiers had summoned Aikah villagers up to Lailente village for porter a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

The said mistreatment was conducted by the Burmese soldiers on January 14, 2007, and the porters have to carry armaments and they were deployed up to Lailente village which was 20 miles away from Satu village which is a day journey from Lailente. An old man (about 60 years) was also included among the porters, said one of the victims.

 

ARBITRARY ORDERS & POWER ABUSE:

 

PROVIDE RATION OR YOUR VILLAGE WILL BE BURNT

 

February 21, 2007: Company commander Ye Kyaw Soe of Burma army and his troop from Battalion LIB 50 (Gangh-Gaw based battalion), presently posted in Sabawngte village army camp in Matupi township in southern Chin state came to Hlungmang village on January 4, 2007 from Sabawngte. The soldiers asked 3 chickens from U Nawl Hlaung, member of Village Peace and Development Council, and threatened him that they will burn his house if he refused to give, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

Corporal Win Maung asked 3 chickens from U Naw Hlaung, commanding him to cook one chicken immediately and told him to make curry for tomorrow when his commander comes. Therefore, the member of Village Peace and Development Council collected 2 chickens from the villagers and give it to the solders, the local villager continued.

 

“Whenever the Burmese troop come we have to give them whatever they want, and it is compulsory, because they threatened us that they’ll burn our house and farms if we don’t give, and we are afraid of that”, the villager said.

 

Apart from taking the ration food and chicken from the villagers without compensation, 3 villagers were forced to serve as their porter. The 3 villagers were taken as potters to Sabawngte village which is 8 miles away from Hlungmang village.

 

CULTIVATE JATROPHA PLANT OR LEAVE THE VILLAGE

 

January 9, 2007: Chairman of Tedim townships Peace and Development Council told all members of Block Peace and Development Council in a monthly meeting saying that villagers must cultivate Jatropha plant or they have to leave the village.

 

In November 2006 meeting the chairman gave order every village in the township to plant jatropha, a tree that will produce bio-diesel, before the end of December. Any one who do not cultivate accordance with the order must be driven out from the village, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

During the meeting, the chairman instructed villager to plant one acre per house household with fences. The order is compulsory for the villagers to comply and the villagers have to buy the seeds from Township Peace and Development Council office, at the rate of 3,000/- Kyats per kilogram, added the local villager.

 

In November, authority from townships Peace and Development Council from Zingpi village collected 1,800/- kyats per family to buy Jett-Suu seeds. The remaining sum will be collected again in the coming month.

 

According to the local man the villagers from the Tedim area are afraid that the authority will drive them out from the village as they can not grow Jatropha due to lack of money to buy the seeds and several other problems they are dealing with their daily lives.

 

SPDC SOLDIERS COLLECT RATION FROM VILLAGERS

 

February 7, 2007: The SPDC soldiers of LIB 140, based at Leisen village of Matupi township in southern Chin state collect ration from their provisional local villagers to rely their consumption, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

In doing such, a village chairman Mr. Robem of Koe-La village of the cantonment area was in January 2007 assigned to confiscate six chickens and two cup of ration from each family. The villagers were then further ordered them to deliver the collected ration to the Leisen army camp.

 

Such kinds of rice and chickens confiscation have been committed every month that the surrounding villagers of Leisen areas are badly affected their livelihood as they never get the cost of their property from the military reported by the local villager.

 

MATUPI TOWN RESIDENTS COMPEL TO WATCH FOOTBALL MATCH

 

February 7, 2007: Lt. Colonel San Aung, Commander of tactical command 2, based in Matupi, southern Chin state, issued an order to the local town people to watch the football match organized by the SPDC authority. As the numbers of public supporter in the Army annual football match have been declined, and warned all the absentees to be punished with force labor according to the resource person to CHRO.

 

The football match was preformed in first week of January 2007 at a new constructed ground field near the Burmese army Camp. For fear of the soldiers and unforeseen dangers, only few people could attend to watch the match.

 

As such happening, Colonel San Aung was angry and released an order that every resident of Matupi town to watch the football match. But as most the resident could not watch the match, all absentees were punished sending them to work as force laborer at the Bungtla Hydro electric project and threatening students to make them fail their examination if they are absent.

 

There was a brawl between the solders and the local residents in the past as the Burmese soldiers were enraged for losing the game to the local youth. Several civilians were arrested and hospitalize at that time. In last year there was shooting between the Burmese soldiers and the CNF during the football match where two young boys were killed.

 

DAR-LIN VILLAGERS HAVE TO PAY FOR ENTERTAINING THE ARMY OFFICER

 

February 5, 2007: 2nd Lieutenant Moe Htit Kyaw from Burma army LIB 50 (Gangh-Gaw based battalion), presently posted in Dar-Ling village, Matupi township in southern Chin state gave order to the village elders to buy a goat by 15,000/- kyats on December 28, 2006 for the visiting battalion commander.

 

2nd Lt. Moe Htit Kyaw invited the leaders of the village through U Bi Ceu, chairman of Village Peace and Development Council, and gave order to buy a goat with 15,000/- kyats to celebrate the visit of battalion commander Major Zaw Myint Htit. But the battalion commander never showed up.

 

Since the battalion commander did not come, 2nd Lt. Moe Htit Kyaw and his troop invited chairman of Dar-Ling Village Peace and Development Council, members of Village Peace and Development Council and the leaders of village to consume the goat. Villager chairman and elders were told then that they have to bear the cost of the goat which was meant to entertain the visiting battalion commander.

 

VILLAGERS MUST BUY JATROPHA SEEDS

February 26, 2007: Chairman of Tedim township Peace and Development Council has called a meeting to all the chairmen of Village Peace and Development Council in the township in the first week of January, 2007. The meeting was for discussion of jetropha plantation project in the area. In the meeting all village chairmen were instructed to pay their due for Jetropha seed to be planted accordance with their quota.

 

“During the year of 2006, while I was chairman of Village Peace and Development Council, we have started planting jetropha, but it was not successes. According to my experience I know that it won’t be successes, but since it is the government’s order we have to comply with the order.

 

Tuisenphai village and Thinglei village have submitted 35,000/- kyats to the township PDC accordance with their quota. They have to complete planting the seed by the month of March, and in the month of April, the chairman of Township Peace and Development Council himself will come and check, said the villager.

 

The result of the compulsory government’s plan will be just wasting money, energy and just a waste for the civilians” said one of the village headmen who prefer to remain anonymous.

 

THE SPDC FINED 1,700,000/- KYATS FROM 5 CATTLE TRADERS

February 7, 2007: Lt. Colonel San Aung, Commander of tactical command 2 for southern Chin state has accused 5 cattle merchants as illegal smuggler and fined them 1,700,000/- kyats from them. Beside, he also sentenced them for long term prison, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

The 5 cattle merchants were from Hakha, led by Mr. Pakham, and they came to Paletwah township to buy cattles in the month of November. In the end of November, Shin-let-wah battalion has arrested along with 8 cows and 8 buffalos, and were sent to Lei sin battalion, and lastly reached to tactical office in Matupi.

 

As the cattle merchants were handed to Matupi tactical office, 3 cows were left at Lei sen battalion for ration, and 2 buffalos were left at chairman of Valangpi Village Peace and Development Council. The other died on the way, and only 6 cattle were brought to Matupi, but were left for Tactical camp’s ration, the local villager said.

 

While the merchants were lock out at Matupi tactical camp, Colonel San Aung has fined them 1,700,000/- kyats and sentenced them for long year prison and sent them to Pa-khoke-ku prison in the midst of January, 2007, the resource said.

 

SPDC SOLDIERS EXTORT 400,000/- KYATS FROM CATTLE TRADERS

 

February 8, 2007: An unknown sergeant section commander from Burma army LIB 266 (based in Hakha town), stationed at Vuangtu village, Thantlang township in northern Chin state, along with three soldiers threatened the 2 cattle traders and asked 400,000/- kyats, a cattle trader who came to the border area reported to CHRO.

 

The incident took place at Lung-Cawipi village, Thantlang township, in the evening of February 5, 2007. The said sergeant and his men when meeting the cattle traders had asked 500,000/- kyats for 8 cows and threatened them with gun point that they pay the full demanded amount. Then, the traders were taken to Matupi army camp. The soldiers left 3 cows at Lei-sin army camp for the Burmese solders. The other two small cows were left at Valangpi village chairman for breeding.

 

When they arrived to Matupi, only 6 cows remain. All of them were seized by the soldiers for their own. In Matupi, the cattle traders were fined 1,700,000/- kyats each by Colonel San Aung. Besides, the traders were sentence to serve prison term in Pakokko, Magwe division.

 

VILLAGE HEADMEN BEAR THE BURDEN OF MILITIA TRAINING

 

January 11, 2007: Colonel San Aung, commander of tactical No.2 based in Matupi town, southern Chin state called 30 villagers from 9 village tracks on October 10 to attend the militias training. The local villager reported to CHRO that this training is the second batch for the local villagers to attend militia training in this year.

 

On August 20, 2006, 250 villagers from 9 village tracks to attend militias training as the first batch. As the second batch the SPDC demanded 30 people from Cawngthia village tracks of Matupi township. The trainee must arrive on October 10 according to the order.

 

Colonel San Aung demanded explanation from village headmen from Cawngthia village tracks because there were less than 30 people who could report to the SPDC on the deadline. If the explanation of the village headmen does not satisfy the Colonel, they will face severe punishment from the SPDC.

 

One of the participants from militias training said that most of the trainees from the first batch fled to India as they were afraid to be conscripted for the second batch.

 

One of the escapees said, “I was only 16 years old when they persuaded me to join the militias training. They said that when I join the training I’ll be traveling to all the places and will see more things. So I joined the training, but things did not happen as they said. My family thought that I was dead. So as soon as I completed the training I fled.”

 

SPDC SOLDIERS LOOTED FROM A FARMER

 

January 12, 2006: A sergeant from Burma army LIB 269 based in Tedim township, Tuisenphai village, of northern Chin state accused Mr. Suan Thawn from Tuidil village as illegal Mithun smuggler, and asked 150,000/- kyats on November 7, 2006, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

Mr. Suan Tawn a farmer from Tuidil village took his own 2 Mithuns to sell in Mizoram. When he reached near Thinglei, beyond Zimte village a sergeant from Burma army (name unknown) and his troop met with him and demanded Kyat 150000/- from the villager accusing him of illegal cattle smuggler.

 

Mr. Suan Thawn explained the soldiers that he was not the cattle trader as they accused. He was just trying to sell his own cattle to feed his family with 5 children. However, the sergeant insist that he is an illegal smuggler and he has to meet with the company commander at Zimte village.

 

Mr. Suan Thawn was then led to Zimte village. Before they reached to Zimte village he borrowed 150,000/- kyats from the church and gave the money to the sergeant. He was released after taking the money.

 

Mr. Suan Thawn reported the incident to CHRO saying that this kind of looting and is a common practice by the Burmese soldiers. Whenever the soldiers come to the village they demanded chicken, rice and whatever they want. It does not matter whether we give them or not, they just took it anyway.

 

A CHIN GIRL SENT HOME AND DENIED FOR HEALTH TRAINING FOR WEARING LONGPANT

 

January 3, 2007: A young Chin girl was denied to attend midwife training for not wearing Burmese traditional sarong. 20 women were selected by the SPDC authority in Haka to attend health training under the supervision of National Working Committee for Women’s Affairs (NWCWA) the state sponsor women organization. Chairperson of NWCWA Chin state chapter is the wife of colonel Tin Hla, chairman of Chin State Peace and Development Council.

 

On the day of the departure for the training, officials of the NWCWA comes to the bus station to send off the trainee as a courtesy. One of the trainees, a Chin girl happen to be wearing a long pant instead of traditional Burmese sarong which reportedly is said to be a requirement for the women in the government service.

 

When the NWCWA chair person finds out that the girl was wearing a long pant instead of traditional Burmese sarong, she was enraged and sent the girl home immediately. She used abusive and degrading words to the girl” that’s what I said Chin girl looks loathe, go back immediately to your home.”

 

The girl was denied for the entire training in spite of the fact that the girl apologized for not wearing the traditional Burmese sarong, and begs her to attend the training.

 

2 SPDC POLICE REFUSED TO PAY THEIR BUS FARE

 

January 4, 2007: U Tun Lin, a police officer who currently moves from Hakha to Rih and his group went to Rih from Kalaymyo on December 29, 2006. They occupied the whole front row seats but denied to pay the transportation fare, one of the travelers reported to CHRO.

 

In the same vehicle, women and children were given the front seats, but the 2 policemen told the driver to send them at the back side. Beside denying to pay for the bus fare, U Tun Lin also threatened the driver that the driver have to pay for their transportation fare and foods. Therefore, the driver has to give privilege at front side of the vehicle, the other traveler added.

 

INTERNALLY DISPLACED IN RANGOON

 

January 4, 2007: Due to excessive militarization and several hardship brought by the civil wars between the SPDC and the CNF, several Chin families have been migrating to other parts of Burma becoming internally displaced persons.

 

20 households of Chin families who moved from Chin state to Yangon, old city of Burma, during the first week of December, 2006, and live in Saw Bwa Gyi Kone, Inn Sein townships were not allowed to include their family registration in those townships and they have to live with guests’ registration, a local dweller reported to CHRO.

 

The Chin families who moved to Yangon have already brought their family registration from their respected towns, but the Block’s authorities have accepted them only as guests. That means they have to report the authority every day that they come from Chin state as a guest.

 

SPDC AUTHORITY EXTORT MONEY FROM TRAVELLERS

 

January 25, 2007: During the first week of December, SPDC police force who are on duty at Thantlang gate in northern Chin state asked 1,000/- kyats from each traveler who doesn’t have recommendation letter from Village Peace and Development Council for going to Hakha, the local villager reported to CHRO.

 

For the villagers who do not have recommendation letter from Village Peace and development Council have to pay 1,000/- kyats even if they bring their national identity card. For the people who do not have national identity card were arrested at the police station which is near the Thantlang bus gate, and they have to make the identity card or get recommendation letter and were fined up to 20,000/- kyats for their carelessness.

 

“I have to give the fine even if I bring my identity card for going to Yangon. Some people still could not go where they want even if they pay the fine,” said the local man.

 

“We know that this is not right, but what can we do?” complains the local man.

 

SPDC POLICE LOOTED FROM FEMALE TRADER

 

January 30, 2007: Two unknown policemen from Hmawngtlang police station in Thantlang township, northern Chin state have threatened and asked 22,000/- kyats from two women cross border traders. The incident occurred at 6:00 pm on January 5, 2007 one the witness reported to CHRO.

 

The incident was taking place near Cawngthia village. The policemen asked 40,000/- kyats for 17 horses and threatened them that they will take all their goods along with them to the police station if they don’t want to give money, and they will take action.

 

The 2 women beg their mercy and requested them to take 22,000/- kyats. The 2 policemen accepted the money and threatened them that they will arrest if they see next time. The source said that those 2 women are from Caungthia village, Thantlang town ship.

 

BURMESE SOLDIER STEAL CHICKEN FROM VILLAGER

 

February 19, 2007: A villager from Matupi area complain to the CHRO that the Burmese soldiers are in the lose to steal food and domestic cattle from the villagers. Whenever the villager complain the case to higher commanding offer at the army, they never take action on the solder who steal and take goods from the villagers at wills.

 

On one particular incident, private Bo Hlaing of Burma army from LIB 50 Gangh-Gaw based battalion , at Lailenpi army camp has stolen 3 chickens from U Ki Sang, a local villager, on January 31, 2007 at 8:00 pm. U Ki Sang reported the case to the officer at the army camp.

 

However, the officer did not take any action, in stead 2 chickens were used as the section’s ration, and one chicken was sold to at 2,000/- kyats, half the price of the current rate.

 

This kind of stealing from the Burmese soldiers is rampant whenever there are Burmese soldiers.

 

REFUGEE:

 

DETAINED REFUGEES FACE POOR CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE CANING

 

3 Jan 2006 – Kuala Lumpur: Chin refugee detainees who have been placed in Pakan Nanas facility in southern Malaysia are facing poor detention conditions and are vulnerable to sickness and diseases, according to reports from relatives who visited the site yesterday.

Two weeks ago, Malaysian authorities detained 43 Chin refugees along with Rohingyas and other nationals following an immigration raid in a construction worksite in Jahor State near Singaporean border. They have since been placed in Pakan Nanas detention center where conditions are reported to be poor and overcrowded.

According to detainees who spoke to visitors yesterday, more than fifty inmates are housed in small cells with no adequate water supply and proper nutritional food. The center is reportedly infested with bedbugs and mosquitoes.

 

“It’s been raining in Jahor the last two weeks and inmates find it very cold during the night because they have to sleep on cement floors with a single sheet of blanket,” reports Kawl Lian Thang whose brother in-law is among the detainees. Detainees are provided only two meals a day and are allowed to bathe only once a day. He says that at least five inmates are sick without proper care and medical attention.

 

Pekan Nanas facility is located more than six hours away from Kuala Lumpur, making it difficult for relatives to visit detainees. So far, the Malaysian government has not granted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees access to the detention center, despite the fact that more than 30 detainees are recognized refugees under UNHCR. Most former detainees who spent time in Pakan Nanas facility have reportedly all been whipped after Malaysian court found them guilty of illegal entering and working in the country.

 

“The fear among the detainees is that they will also face caning and deportation,” Thang says. “It’s only a couple of weeks since their detention, but they all look very pale and weak.”

 

Refugees Right to Work

 

 

Refugees recognized under UNHCR are not legally entitled to work in Malaysia. However, most refugees find employment in ‘informal sector.’ Under Malaysian law, employers who employ “illegal workers” are liable to monetary fine of up to ten thousand Ringits for each person employed.

 

The employer for whom detained refugees worked now face possible fine of more than 200,000 Ringits in fine for harboring and employing illegal workers. Despite shortage of domestic workforce, Malaysia continues to arrest and deport “illegal workers,” asylum seekers while importing documented workers from across the region. Malaysian government has not responded to calls by rights groups to grant work permits to refugees and asylum seekers already in the country.

 

CHIN REFUGEE FELL TO HIS DEATH

 

10 January 2007 – Kuala Lumpur: A Chin youth working as a construction worker earlier today fell to his death from a high rise building under construction. The victim has been identified as Hram Uk, a UNHCR-recognized refugee in his early 20s. He died instantly along with a Chinese worker, while eight other workers from India and Bangladesh escaped with minor injuries.

 

The bodies are now being taken to hospital for post-mortem. According to the Chin Refugee Committee, the victim was recently interviewed for resettlement in a third country, pending a final decision for relocation to the United States. The victim has an elder brother in Malaysia but is currently under detention in Semenyih camp after being arrested by Malaysian immigration authorities more than three months ago.

 

Hram Uk is a third Chin to die in Kuala Lumpur in less than two weeks. On New Year’s eve, two Chin youths were brutally stabbed to death by attackers believed to be Burmans near a crowded area where thousands of Malaysians gathered for New Year celebrations. Malaysian police are yet to apprehend the killer.

 

MALAYSIA DETAINS 176 SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM MYANMAR

 

 

[CHRO Note: All these immigrants are Chin asylum seeker from Burma]

AP: January 28, 2007-KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian authorities detained 176 suspected illegal immigrants from Myanmar who set up their own village and passed themselves off as U.N.-recognized refugees, an official said Monday.

 

District enforcement workers and civilian volunteers on Sunday raided the immigrants’ settlement, which comprised scores of tents, bathrooms and a volleyball court on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, said Suhaimi Ghazali, a state legislator for the central district of Dengkil.

 

Many of those detained had documents that they claimed were given to them by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, but preliminary checks with immigration authorities showed the papers were false, Suhaimi said.

 

The raid followed complaints by residents in surrounding areas who believed the immigrants were in Malaysia illegally, Suhaimi said. The detainees were sent to an immigration center and were expected to be deported once their illegal status is confirmed.

 

Malaysia has long attracted migrants, including those fleeing poverty, from Southeast Asia. Though the country relies heavily on foreign laborers for menial work, authorities regularly deport illegal immigrants, who are widely blamed for crime and social problems.

 

Activists have estimated that Malaysia has at least 150,000 refugees and asylum seekers – including many with no valid immigration documents – who fled violence or persecution from places such as Myanmar, Indonesia’s Aceh province and the southern Philippines.

 

LOBBY & ADVOCACY

 

BURMA DELEGATION HOLDS MILESTONE MEETING WITH UK FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER

by Jennifer Gold

Christian Today

Friday, January 26, 2007: Representatives from the Chin and Kachin ethnic groups in Burma met earlier in the week with the UK Minister of Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney MP.

It was the first time that Chin and Kachin representatives have met with a UK Foreign Office minister, and the meeting lasted approximately an hour.

 

The delegation raised concerns about religious freedom violations in Burma, and called on the British Government to urge the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief to conduct a thorough investigation into the situation in Burma.

 

The delegation encouraged the British Government to call on the European Union to send a strong signal to the regime in Burma that the current human rights violations in the country are not acceptable, and that China and Russia’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution on Burma does not give the regime a green light to commit these violations. They also called for the EU to strengthen its common position on Burma, including meaningful targeted economic sanctions, when this is reviewed in April.

 

The delegation urged the British Government to put pressure on China, India and ASEAN to use their influence on the regime to progress towards a peaceful solution for the country.

 

Sexual violence in Chin State, forced labour and the situation in Kachin State were also discussed.

 

Victor Biak Lian, from the National Reconciliation Programme of the Union of Burma, says: “The overwhelming message from our delegation was the need for meaningful tripartite dialogue between the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the National League for Democracy and the ethnic nationalities, but we need the international community to put pressure on the SPDC if we are to achieve this.

 

“We are therefore privileged to be given this time with the Minister and we thank him for his efforts in helping to bring Burma to the UN Security Council’s agenda. We hope the UK Government takes forward our proposals to help secure a peaceful future for Burma.”

Benedict Rogers, CSW’s Advocacy Officer for South Asia and author of the recent report Carrying the Cross, said: “The military regime’s campaign of restriction, discrimination and persecution against Christians in Burma, says: “Today’s meeting was very positive and we found the Minister engaging and sympathetic. The UK supported the proposed UN Security Council resolution on Burma. We therefore call on the UK to use its diplomatic influence to continue to build international efforts for change in Burma.”

 

ACTIVISTS INCREASE PRESSURE AS EU LOOKS TO REVIEW COMMON POSITION ON BURMA

 

By Salai Za Uk Ling

www.chinlandguardian.com

5 February 2007 – Berlin: Activists from Burma have stepped up effort to shore up support from Europe as the most powerful regional bloc prepares to review its common position on Burma. A delegation of Chin and Kachin and representatives from the National Council of the Union of Burma and the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma met with German Foreign Ministry in Berlin to persuade the German government to increase pressures on Burma ’s military regime. A separate meeting was held in the Parliament with a group of German legislators.

 

Germany currently occupies the European Union presidency and Burma ’s pro-democracy activists see it as an important opportunity to influence the European regional policy on Burma . The joint delegation updated current political situations in Burma and pressed Germany to lead effort to strengthen EU common policy on the Southeast Asian country. According to EU officials, the common position is composed of three major focuses: Sanction, critical dialogue and assistance.

 

Earlier in the week, the Chin and Kachin delegation met with EU officials and lawmakers in the European Parliament and raised several concerns including issue of religious freedom in Burma and the need to strengthen the regional common position. “A strong message from the EU is essential to signal to the military regime the world doesn’t accept its behavior,” the delegation told the German Foreign Ministry. They said that the military regime should not be allowed to receive the wrong message after two of the world’s super power vetoed a proposed UN Security Council resolution on Burma last month.

 

The activists proposed changes to the current language in the EU common position to reflect formal recognition of the role of the ethnic nationalities in the political process in Burma . They also asked the European Union to increase humanitarian assistance and funding for the democracy and human right movement as part of its commitment towards democratic change in Burma .

 

The Chin and Kachin delegation, which has traveled to London , Brussels and Berlin , is heading to Washington D.C for advocacy in the United States where they will meet with senior Congressional and Senate members and representatives from the State Department and the Commission of International Religious Freedom.

 

The delegation is represented by members from the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Women’s League of Chinland (WLC) and Kachin Women’s Association, Thailand (KWAT) and sponsored by UK-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

 

BURMA’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS PLEA CASE IN HIGHEST U.S. HEARINGS

By Michelle Vu

Christian Post Reporter

Mon, Feb. 12 2007 -WASHINGTON – A delegation of Chin and Kachin activists from Burma was the first of its kind to meet with top U.S. officials to testify against “gross” human rights violations by Burma’s military regime against the country’s Christian minority, indicated a report.

 

“This has been the first time the Chin and Kachin people have been able to raise a voice at very high levels politically in the United States and the European Union,” reflected Salai Bawi Lian Mang, director of the Chin Human Rights Organization, in a statement.

 

“We believe our cry has been heard and now the world must act.”

 

Members of the delegation, organized by U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide, finished a week-long visit to Washington, D.C. on Monday.

 

The delegation met with John Hanford, ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom; senior policy advisors to the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; representatives of the National Security Council at the White House; and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

 

The activists also met with Congressional and Senate members and staffs, including Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) and the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

 

Burma is designated as a “Country of Particular Concern,” by the U.S. State Department for its severe religious freedom violations.

 

Washington was the delegation’s last stop on a tour to brief world leaders on the discrimination and persecution of the military’s regime against Christians in Burma. Other stops on the tour included London, Brussels and Berlin.

 

“This has been a truly historic opportunity to raise international awareness about the plight of the Chin and Kachin peoples in Burma, and to urge the international community to take action to bring an end to the suffering of all the people of Burma,” said CSW’s advocacy officer for South Asia, Benedict Rogers, who traveled with the delegation, in a statement.

 

The Chin and Kachin ethnic groups, in which 90 percent of the population is Christian, are severely persecuted by Burma’s pro-Buddhist military regime.

 

Reports have exposed that Christians are forced by the regime to tear down crosses and churches and replace them with Buddhist pagodas and statues. Christian Chin and Kachin women are raped, and children from Christian families are taken from their parents and placed into monasteries to become novice monks under the false pretense of sending the children to receive a good education. The parents are not told that their children are being sent to a monastery and in some cases the parents never see their child again.

 

Christians are also forced to contribute financially to Buddhist projects.

 

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, recalls in a recent column that “for many years, crosses dotted the mountaintops and villages of the Chin’s homeland.” However, now there are no crosses left on the mountaintops. Instead, the Chin and other Burmese Christian have become the “preferred targets of one of the world’s most brutal regimes.”

 

Last month, a British newspaper reported on a secret document authored by the Burmese military regime ordering a wipeout of Christians in the country. The document, which the regime denies responsibility, gave step-by-step instructions on how to eliminate Christians, capitalizing on the fact that “the Christian religion is very gentle,” claims the Telegragh.

 

In addition to religious freedom, Chin and Kachin activists informed government officials about Burma’s problems with human trafficking, sexual violence and forced labor.

 

“We will continue to do all we can to highlight the gross violations of human rights perpetrated by Burma’s brutal military regime, including the violations of religious freedom, the use of rape as a weapon of war and other crimes against humanity,” concluded Rogers.

 

Delegation members included representatives of the Chin Human Rights Organization, the Women’s League of Chinland and the Kachin Women’s Association – Thailand.

 

A CHIN GIRL SPEAKS AT UN ABOUT GENDER VIOLENCE IN BURMA

 

By Salai Elaisa Vahnie

Chinland Guardian

February 27, 2007-New York: Cheery Zahau of Women League of Chinland ( WLC) spoke today at the United Nations held the panel discussion at its 51st Session of Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters building in New York. The panel discussion focused on discrimination and violence against women in Burma and Sudan. The panelists presented about rape and sexual violence in both countries where Mass Rape have been practiced as a State Sanctioned Weapon.

 

In her panel presentation, Cheery, coordinator of WLC, figured the total number of victims documented in several different sources of reports prepared by Women organizations in Burma to be as many as 1,859 girls and women.

 

“Often the rapes have been carried out with extreme brutality and in some cases resulting in the death of the victim. In one case, a woman was stripped naked and hung on a cross, in a deliberate act of mockery against her Christian religion. This indicates that sexual violence is being deliberately used as a weapon to torture and terrorize local ethnic populations into submission.

 

Almost half of the rapes were gang-rapes, showing that there is a collective understanding among the troops that they can rape with impunity. And about third of the rapes were committed by officers, sometimes in their own army camps. Again, this is a clear example to the troops that rape is acceptable under their command.”

 

“It is very sad and unacceptable that none of these criminals are prosecuted”, she told Chinland Guardian.

 

These crimes are committed by the SPDC officers and her troops who took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi. It continued to refuse to hand over power when Suu Kyi let National League for Democracy party won a landslide election victory in 1990 fair and free election.

 

Cheery also expresses her sympathy with women inside Burma and wanted to send a message to them that their suffering is heard by the World.

 

She repeats the need for the United Nations Security Council immediate intervention in Burma crisis while calling China and Russia to reconsider their position on Burma issue. “By opposing the UNSC resolution on Burma in January 2007, China and Russia gave the wrong signal to the Burmese military regime to continue killing its own people and to rape more women and girls” she said.

 

Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees, U.S. Department of Sate’ Special Representative for Social issues, who also is a lead panelist at “Rape and Burma” criticized UN for failing to fully cooperate with the initiative.

 

A one and half hours long panel discussion on “State-Sanctioned Mass Rape in Burma and Sudan” was organized by the US-UN Office and moderated by the Ambassador Patricia Brister, US Representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

 

PRESS RELEASE

CHRO CONCERNED BY REMARKS OF MALAYSIA’S HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER

 

Ottawa-8 February 2007: CHRO is deeply concerned and dismayed by the recent statements made by Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, regarding United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia. CHRO urges the Minister to consider the implications of his statements in conjunction with the realities of the refugee situation in Malaysia.

 

On 1 February 2007, the Minister reportedly criticized UNHCR for getting in the way of the operations of agencies such as RELA and the Immigration Department. The Minister further indicated that Malaysia “accepts UNHCR’s presence, but not their powers.”

 

The statements by Minister Radzi reflect a failure to understand the importance of UNHCR’s functions in Malaysia. Currently there are over 25,000 Chin people living in Malaysia who have been forced to leave their homes, friends, families, and livelihoods in Chin State, Burma. The Chin have come to Malaysia in the hopes of finding a safe refuge from the brutal military rulers that have controlled Burma through unspeakable violence and oppression for decades. The Chins in Malaysia are survivors of torture, rape, forced labor, religious persecution, and other severe violations of basic human rights. These communities rely on the effective functioning of UNHCR to protect their right to seek asylum and find refuge from their persecutors.

 

In addition to protecting the rights and well-being of refugees, UNHCR also exists to help governments deal with refugee populations. Under its mandate, UNHCR facilitates the resettlement of refugees to third countries as well as the voluntary repatriation of refugees back to secure homelands. During the past several years, hundreds of Chin refugees have been resettled from Malaysia to start new, productive lives in third countries. It is, therefore, in Malaysia’s best interest to encourage UNHCR’s operation rather than oppose it.

 

The Minister’s statements also ignore Malaysia’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. Although Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, there are certain basic customary rights and principles that all nations must respect and uphold. Under customary human rights law, Malaysia is required to provide certain basic protections to all individuals within its borders, including refugees and asylum seekers. The principle of non-refoulement also prevents governments from forcibly expelling individuals who are at risk of trafficking or persecution.

 

Malaysia has consistently and blatantly ignored desperate pleas for protection from refugees and flouted its obligations under international law. Refugees and asylum seekers live in constant fear of RELA and immigration raids that target neighborhoods where large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers live. Abuse during the raids is rampant, particularly by the untrained RELA forces which has been the subject of frequent complaints to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). The raids result in the unwarranted arrest, detention, and deportation of hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees each year. Moreovr , Chin refugees in Malaysia are unable to work, attend school, access health or social services, or obtain adequate living accommodations.

 

CHRO urges Malaysia to uphold its commitment and responsibilities to promote and protect basic human rights of all persons within its borders. CHRO commends Malaysia for allowing UNHCR to carry out its mandate in Malaysia since 1975 and urges Malaysia to continue to promote and encourage the operations of UNHCR. CHRO also asks Malaysia to focus efforts on opposing the root causes of refugee flow, such as the illegitimate and brutal military regime of Burma, rather than exerting effort and expense against refugees themselves.

Contact: Salai Bawi Lian

 

CHRO WELCOMES THE PUBLICATION OF “CARRYING THE CROSS

9 February, 2007

Ottawa, CANADA: Chin Human Rights Organization welcomes the publication of a new report “Carrying the Cross: the Military Regime’s Campaign of Restriction, Discrimination and Persecution of Christians in Burma” by London-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which provides a comprehensive analysis of issues of religious freedom under Burma’s military regime.

 

The CSW report complements and adds yet more evidence to existing reports of systematic denial of religious freedom and persecution of minority Christians by Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council. Burma remains one of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom in the United States State Department’s list.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization has long been concerned by the systematic discrimination, denial and persecution of Christians in Burma. In 2004, CHRO published its first comprehensive report on persecution of Chin Christians, “Religious Persecution: A Campaign of Ethnocide against Chin Christians in Burma” which provided evidences of destruction of churches, crosses, torture and humiliation of pastors, abduction and forced conversion of Chins to Buddhism who constitute more than 90 per cent of the population of Chin State.

 

“The CSW report clearly demonstrates that persecution of Christians and other religious minorities is a nationwide phenomenon, which Burma’s military regime uses as part of its ‘Burmanization’ campaign,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Director of Chin Human Rights Organization. “Persecution and discrimination of Christians are no isolated incidents but systematic. They are all manifestation of a conformist ideology of the military junta which tries to make Burma a country based on ‘One race, one language, one religion’ or Burman, Burmese and Buddhist,” he adds.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization also welcomes a motion that has been recently initiated in the British Parliament calling for an immediate end to persecution of Christians and other religious groups in Burma. CHRO calls on the United Nations Special Rapportuer on Religious Freedom and Belief to conduct an investigation into the issue of religious freedom in Burma.

 

For more information please contact:

CHRO Director Salai Bawi Lian Mang at 510 981 1417, Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Salai Za Uk Ling co-author of Religious Persecution: A Campaign of Ethnocide Against Chin Christian in Burma at 60 1737 45546 Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

MILESTONE NEWS & EVENTS

 

ENC GENERAL SECRETARY DR. LIAN HMUNG SAKHONG AWARDED THE 2007 MARTIN LUTHER KING PRIZE IN SWEDEN

 

 

 

By Salai Za Ceu Lian

Chinland Guardian

January 8, 2007: Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, the current General Secretary of Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), the largest ethnic based political coalition consistently advocating for the emergence of Tripartite Dialogue as a mean to solve the existing political impasse of the Union of Burma, is honored with the Martin Luther King Prize for 2007 in Sweden.

 

This Award, Martin Luther King Prize, is established in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his historic calling and contribution for peace and harmony among human race regardless of race by the Swedish based global peace groups including the Baptist Union of Sweden, Christian Initiative for Peace (Peace Initiative), Christian Association for Combat to Racism, and Afro-Swedish Association in 2003. The prize giving ceremony is scheduled to be held in the Swedish parliament on coming January 15, which is the birthday of Martin Luther King.

 

The value of the prize is US $ 25,000 and a certificate of Honour made by the committee. As a recipient, Dr. Sakhong will give a peace lecture entitled “A STRUGGLE TO BE AN AUTHENTIC HUMAN BEING AGAIN” in the official ceremony. According to the Awards giving committee, Dr. Sakhong is the third recipient of this Martin Luther King-Prize ever since the first King Prize was handed out on 15th January 2005 in the Swedish Parliament. Notably, the fact that the prize giving ceremony takes place at the Swedish Parliament is an indication of the full recognition of the prize by the Swedish government.

 

In the official website of the Awards committee, it reads, “Martin Luther King’s strong conviction was that peace, freedom and justice is possible for all. Not only for the oppressed black in the USA, but for all people in all countries in the world. Segregation, poverty and war are humanity’s greatest problems according to King. It was true in the 1960s and it is still true today. With inspiration and knowledge from the life of Martin Luther King and his work, we can see that even the most difficult situations and problems can be solved. If we do it together, if we do one piece at a time and if we have a vision…then the dream can turn into reality.”

 

This Martin Luther King-Prize, as qouted above, was set up with a global vision to relentlessly strive for peace around the world by encouraging and acknowledging the noble works of those frontline actors like Dr. Sakhong who are unwaveringly working for peace, national reconciliation, and democratization internationally.

 

Because of his active involvements in the pro-democracy movement following the students led uprising in 1988, Martin Luther King Prize laureate Dr. Lian Sakhong was arrested, interrogated and even tortured by the military junta on three separate occasions between 1988 and 1990. Knowing that the Burmese Regime has made numerous attempts to re-arrest him, he fled from his country in 1990 and resettled in Sweden since 1991.

 

During his stay in Burma, Dr. Lian Sakhong was a General secretary of United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD), a coalition of political parties formed by the Ethnic nationalities of Burma that legitimately formed, together with its ally Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), a parliamentary bloc of 67 elected representatives of the peoples, and a also served as a General Secretary of Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD), a party winning three parliamentary seats in the 1990 election.

 

For Dr. Lian Sakhong, his passion for a federal system based democratic reforms and national reconciliation in the Union of Burma never wanes even in his exile political life since 1991. Besides his ongoing political leadership as a General Secretary of Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC, www.encburma. org), he also serves as a General Secretary of United Nationalities League for Democracy liberated Area (UNLD-LA), and also as General Secretary of Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD-exile) .

 

Fully understanding the need for every constituent State to have their own State Constitution in anticipation of the future Federal Union of Burma, he, a long with the late Dr. Chao Tzang Yawnghwe started the initiative of State Constitution Drafting Process in the year 2001. Currently, he is working as a General Secretary of Federal Constitution Drafting Committee in which he is one of the main drafters of the State Constitution, which was first published in April 2006. In addition, with aims of bringing about the national reconciliation and peaceful coexistence among the diverse nationalities of the Union of Burma, Dr. Lian Sakhong, along with the two ethnic Shan political leaders, the late Dr. Chao Tzang Yawnghwe and Harn Yawnghwe, current Euro-Burma Office director, founded the National Reconciliation Program (NRP), in which he was serving as the Research Director till 2004, and now sits as a Senior Advisor of the National Reconciliation Program.

 

With a full conviction of the needs to have basic principles on which the historic initiative of drafting the state Constitution should be based upon, Dr. Lian Sakhong wrote a concept paper enumerating the Basic Principles for Future Federal Union, which was adopted by 104 delegates at the historic gathering in the jungle of Thai-Burma border in 2005, representing 64 political parties and various political organizations.

 

Fully convinced that the restoration of a mere democracy will not solve the political conflicts confronting a country as ethnically diverse as Burma for decades, Martin Luther King Prize laureate Dr. Lian Sakhong has been vehemently calling for the establishment of a genuine Federal Union based on the principles of the Panglong Agreement, which was signed on February 12, 1947, by General Aung San, Chief Minister of the Interim Government of Burma (British colony); and the leaders of the Federated Shan States and the Frontier Areas – the Chin and Kachin Hills.

 

Besides his political activisms, he is also internationally acclaimed author. He has published numerous articles on Chin history, traditions and politics in Burma, including his Ph.D. dissertation: Religion and Politics among the Chin People in Burma (Uppsala University, 2000) and his book, In Search of Chin Identity: A Study in Religion, Politics and Ethnic Identity in Burma (Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2003). He also edited a series of ten books under the title of Peaceful-coexistenc e: Towards Federal Union of Burma (Chiang Mai: UNLD Press, between 1999 and 2006).

 

A STRUGGLE TO BE AN AUTHENTIC HUMAN BEING AGAIN

 

The Martin Luther King Prize Acceptance Speech

By Lian H. Sakhong

The Bååthska Hall, Stockholm, Sweden

15 January 2007

[Editor Note: Dr. Lian H. Sakhong, one of CHRO advisory board members and General Secretary of Ethnic Nationalities Council of Union of Burma was awarded 2007 Martin Luther King price in Sweden. This is his acceptance speech]

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Dear Friends:

I am standing before you to accept a prize bearing the name of one of the persons I most admire, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This indeed is a great honor for me, and at the same time, I do realize that this prize is awarded not only to me but also to the peoples of Burma as the recognition of our struggle for democracy, political equality, and self-determination. Even as I speak, thousands of my compatriots are sacrificing their freedom and their well-being, and our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as you all know, is still under house arrest. My dear friend Khun Htun Oo, a Shan leader, is still serving his sentence of 90 years imprisonment in the most notorious jail in Burma. Many more had sacrificed their lives already; on the battlefields of the on-going fifty years of civil war, on the streets of our capital and other cities when they demonstrated for democracy and freedom, in the notorious prisons in Burma when they were imprisoned without proper trials, in the jungles after they escaped from tortures and imprisonment but lost their lives to jungle diseases and enemy bullets, and in the foreign countries where they were in exile. They sacrificed their lives, their freedom and their well-being so that Burma may have the future with freedom. Now here in Sweden, a very peaceful country, you have recognized our struggle because you know that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, as Martin Luther King said.

 

In this struggle, we are fighting for democracy, human rights, freedom, peace and justice. We want “freedom from fear” because we live our lives under this military regime inconstant fear. We want “freedom of expression” because freedom of expression is a huge crime under military dictatorship. We have over one thousand political prisoners in Burma, who committed no crime but daring to express their free will. We want “freedom from want” because the peoples of Burma are destitute living under extreme conditions of impoverishment, hunger and disease without remedy in the land that used to be known as the “rice bowl of Asia”.

 

We want “peace” because the regime in Burma has been at war with its own people for more than five long decades. Yes, we want peace but the peace that we want is not just in terms of the absence of conflict but in terms of the presence of justice.

 

We want “justice” because there is no such thing as the rule of law under a military dictatorship. “Martial Law”, according to General Saw Maung, “is no law at all but the use of force”. In today’s Burma, law and order exist not for protecting its people but for sustaining dictators in power. We want basic “human rights” because human rights abuses have become part of the political system in the so-called “law and order restoration”, as the military junta in Burma used to call itself the “State Law and Order Restoration Council”.

 

Finally, what we want is we want to live with human dignity because when all kinds of rights are abused people lose their dignity, integrity and identity. And, what we want is to live just like a human being who is the image of God. So, our struggle is a struggle to be an authentic human being again.

 

Our struggle is not just for changing the government in Rangoon, or in Naypidaw, but for building a democratic open society and restructuring the country into a genuine Federal Union as it was agreed by General Aung San and ethnic national leaders in 1947 at the Panglong Conference, when the Union of Burma was founded at the first place. The root cause of political crisis in Burma is not just ideological confrontation between military dictatorship and democracy; it also involves constitutional problems rooted in the denial of the rights of self-determination for ethnic nationalities who joined the Union as equal partners according to the Panglong Agreement. The only solution for political crisis in Burma, therefore, is to establish a genuine Federal Union of Burma, which will guarantee the fundamental rights for all citizens of the Union, political equality for all ethnic nationalities, and the right of self-determination for all member states of the Union within the framework of federal arrangement.

 

In this struggle, we are opting for the “tripartite dialogue” as a means to achieve our goal. The “tripartite dialogue” means dialogue amongst the military regime, the 1990 election winning party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic nationalities ─ who are the founding members of the Union, as called for by the United Nations General Assembly since 1994. The “tripartite dialogue” strategy for us is the core essence of non-violent movement, and finding the common ground between current conflict parties in Burma. Instead of fighting each other and killing each other, we want to solve our political problems through political means on a dialogue table not on the battlefields. So, what we are saying is “stop fighting”, “stop killing”; killing innocent lives will not solve the problem, denying human rights will not make the country free, and destroying human and natural resources will not make any benefit for the future of Burma. However, by finding the common ground through dialogue, negotiation and compromise, we can solve all of our problems together.

 

Unfortunately, the military government in Burma is still opting for violent confrontation instead of peaceful negotiation, killing and taking innocent life instead of negotiated settlement, destroying ethnic identity and abusing minority rights instead of building a peaceful country. When they implemented their policy of ethnic assimilation by force, the present military junta applied various methods: killing people and destroying the livelihood of ethnic minorities in the on-going civil war, using rape as a weapon of war against ethnic minorities, and religious persecution as a means of destroying ethnic identity, especially of the Chin, Kachin and Karen Christians. So, it seems that the current political situation in Burma looks not only unpromising but the political storm is blowing violently into undesired end.

 

Despite all these negative images of the country, we are confident that we will be able to turn current political situation, and change the political storm into a freedom breeze. We are quite sure that we will be able to turn the current political situation in Burma with the help of international community, including the UN, EU, USA, ASEAN, Japan, China and India, and we are hoping that we will overcome all the obstacles and we will achieve our goal of building a free Burma. The inner strength of democracy movement in Burma, of course, is the peoples of Burma. And we know that the solution of Burma’s problem will not come from outside but from inside through the unity and collective efforts of the peoples of Burma. The inner strength of this unity is what you are recognizing today, here in Stockholm.

 

I therefore receive this prestigious award as the recognition of our struggle for human rights, justice, peace, democracy, political equality and self-determination in Burma. I thank you for your recognition of our struggle! With all your help, and with the unity and strength of the people of Burma, “We shall over come some day”.

 

In conclusion, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Martin Luther King Prize Committee for your recognition of our struggle, the people of Sweden for your support and solidarity that you have shown to the people of Burma time to time, and all of you ─my dear friends in Sweden. I would like to acknowledge also to my colleagues at the Ethnic Nationalities Council, Chin National Council, United Nationalities League for Democracy, Chin National League for Democracy, Federal Constitution Drafting and Coordinating Committee, and National Reconciliation Program; and individually I would like to thank Harn Yawnghwe, Jack Sterken and Sai Mawn ─ although they are not here today, I must say that without you guys I would not be able to survive in the jungle of Thai-Burma border. And I would like to express my love and gratitude to my wife, Aapen, and my children ─ David Van Lian and Laura Thachin. Without your support, understanding and love; I would not be able to stand here, and would not be able to work for what I believe and for the oppressed people of Burma.

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhododendron News

Volume X. No. II. March-April 2007

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARBITRARY ARREST & KILLING

 

9 Village Headmen Arrested For Failing To Report CNF Activities

Three Bodies Found After Weeks Of Arrest By Military

FORCED LABOR:

 

 

Seven Villages Forced to Construct Buddhist Monastery

SPDC Forces Villagers to Construct Army Camp

Long Forced Labor Project Compels Villagers to Alternate Work Shifts

Villagers Forced to Work on Hydro-Electric Power Plant Construction

Villagers Construct Road After Government Fails to Provide Proper Transportation System

Conscription, Arbitrary Order & Power Abuse

 

Class Ten Students Arrested for Forcible Conscription into the Burma Army

Matupi Town Golden Jubilee Stone Pillar Destroyed

Tea-Field Seized by SPDC for Camp Construction

Two Child Soldiers Flee SPDC Cruelty

Local Villagers Forced to Buy Rice-Seed by SPDC

SPDC Soldiers Demand Chicken from Villagers

Insecticide Usage on Rice Causes Public Health Problems

70,000 Kyats Seized from Cow Trader by Burma Army

Burma Army Demand Chickens and Forced Porters

Government Threats to Private Bank Causes Great Public Loss

Photos of Naked Women Discovered in a Residence of Hakha Tactic Commander’s Close Acquaintance

Refugee:

 

Murdered Refugee Girl Laid to Rest

Chin Community Mourns the Tragic Death of Dally Sui

Malaysia Deports over 40 Chin Asylum Seekers

RELA Raids Continue in Malaysia

Malaysia Arrests More Refugee Babies

Human Rights Group Denounces Detention of Babies and Vulnerable Refugees in Malaysia

Malaysian Lawyers Call for an End to RELA Amidst Increasing Abuses

Advocacy & Campaign

 

CHRO Presentation at UK Parliament

Chin Activists Met Malaysian Cabinet Minister

Press Release

 

CHRO Commends Malaysia for its Stance on Burma

CHRO Condemns Summary Executions of Three Chin Village Headmen

Chin Community And Students Around The World Joined CHRO In Condemning SPDC For

Summary Executions Of Three Chin Village Headmen

Back Cover Poem

 

An Elegy For Dally

 

Arbitrary Arrest & Killing

 

9 VILLAGE HEADMEN ARRESTED FOR FAILING TO REPORT CNF ACTIVITIES

March 10, 2007

Lt. Colonel San Aung, commander of tactical command 2 for Chin state, based in Matupi town, southern Chin state has ordered the arrest of village headmen from from 9 villages in southern Chin state. Accordance with the order 9 village headmen were arrested on March 21, 2007 by SPDC troops for failing to report CNF activities, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

There were clashed between Chin National Army an armed wing of the opposition Chin National Front and SPDC troops in Cun-nam village, all village headmen in the surrounding area were immediately arrested by the SPDC and brought to Matupi town, the headquarters of Burma army tactical 2, command in Chin state.

 

The clashed between CNA and SPDC troops occured on February 19, 2007 at 1:30 pm. The chairman of Si-Wa-Nu village from Mindat district reported about CNA troop’s patrolling to the tactical command office in Matupi. Then, the Burmese army battalion LIB 304 and 104 from tactical command marched to Cun-Nam village where they met with CNA with CNA troops and the fight brook out.

 

One army officer and two other soldiers from Burmese troops were killed in the clashed according to the report. Enrage with the casualty, the SPDC troops immediately arrested Pu Thawng Ki, chairman of Cun-Nam Village Peace and Development Council. He was tied with rope to his legs and hands and tortured. The chairmen of Village Peace and Development Council from nearby villages; San Pyah village, Way Laung village, Si Wa Nu village, Lin Song village, Khaw boi village, Dar Chung village, Tingsi village were also taken to the tactical command office in Matupi town.

 

THREE BODIES FOUND AFTER WEEKS OF ARREST BY MILITARY

 

April 9, 2007: Relatives found the bodies of their loved ones two weeks after the Burmese Army arrested them on the accusation that they were paying tax to Chin rebels.

 

Troops of the Light Infantry battalion 140 arrested seven people in Matupi Township in Chin State in the last week of February but later they informed the relatives that three had fled from their custody. However, the bodies of Mum Hte, Khun Ling and Tin Cung were later found by villagers from nearby areas.

 

The rest were sentenced to three years in prison and sent to Pakkoku jail.

 

A list of tax payers which was left behind by the CNF troops after fighting broke out with government troops of LIB 140 led to the arrest.

 

“Three soldiers including one junior officer were killed in the clash and one CNF soldier was injured. Angry military personnel arrested the local headmen for not reporting (about CNF) and cracked down on the people on the basis of the list found in the CNF book,” said a resident on condition of anonymity.

 

A Matupi resident told Mizzima that CNF has been collecting Kyat 3,000 (US$ 2.5) per a family for the past year.

 

“No one dares talk about the killing in public. Everyone is scared. It is impossible to appeal for the imprisoned people. It is too dangerous. We just talk about it in our private conversation though we want justice and law to be enforced,” he said.

(Source: Mizzima News)

 

Forced Labor:

SEVEN VILLAGES FORCED TO CONSTRUCT BUDDHIST MONASTERY

 

March 1, 2007

Lieutenant Colonel San Aung, commander of tactical command 2 stationed at Matupi Town in Southern Chin State, ordered villagers from seven villages to construct a Buddhist monastery during the second week of January 2007, according to a report by a member of Village Peace and Development Council.

 

The Buddhist monastery was designed to be built on a hill-track situated to the west-south side of Matupi Town. Lt. Col. San Aung, in January, ordered the surrounding seven villages to send two people from each village in order to construct the monastery with their own supplies and labor. The villages, which were forced into the construction project, are Valangte Village, Valangpi Village, Koe-La Village, Vapung Village, Leisin Village, Thi Boei Village, Vangkai Village. The 14 forced laborers continue to work on the construction of the monastery without rest. Although they are all Christians, they are not given a day off, even on Sunday, to practice their faith.

 

SPDC FORCES VILLAGERS TO CONSTRUCT ARMY CAMP

 

March 03, 2007

On January 28, 2007, Colonel Win Hlaing of LIB- 50, based at Kanhkaw, Magwe Division positioned in Lailenpi Village, Matupi Town in Southern Chin State, forcibly conscripted 25 villagers to construct an army camp, according to a report by the Village Peace and Development Council chairman. The 25 forced laborers are from five villages in the areas surrounding the army camp.

 

They were forced to start construction on January 28, 2007 and told to complete the construction of a large male boarding house within two days. Maj. Ye Myint added that if the camp was not completed in two days, the villagers would be forced to continue the construction until completion. The work time is rigidly set from 7:00 am in the morning to 6:00 pm in the evening without breaks for rest. Breakfast is set at 12:00 noon.

 

During the construction process, Major Ye Myint asked five people from Mala Village to cut 100 pieces of bamboo and 50 pieces of wood in a day, reported one of the forced laborers. They were asked to cut and carry bamboo and wood to a forest two miles away from the village. In addition, the villagers had to arrange for themselves all the necessary tools for the construction project as well as their own food rations. They never received any fees for their labor, according to the report by the local village chairman.

 

 

LONG FORCED LABOR PROJECT COMPELS VILLAGERS TO ALTERNATE WORK SHIFTS

 

April 4, 2007

Darling villagers in Matupi Township, Southern Chin State are being compelled to alternate forced labor shifts, as they have no time to work for their farms due to the long communal work order, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

The location of the work-field is in the west-northern side of Matupi Town, where a car-road is under construction between Matupi and Lailenpi. The work started at the beginning of 2007 and the construction project is still going on.

 

“We, the Darling villagers are assigned to work between Sumsen Village and Tangku Village. As a result of long communal work, we have no time to work left for our livelihoods. That is the reason why we have come to adopt an alternating system for work,” said a local villager.

 

Darling Village is made up of 140 houses. 30 men are currently alternating work on the road project every three weeks. Those absent families are punished with a fine of 1,000 to 1,500 Kyats for every day absent. The money received from the fine is used to pay for the worker’s meal and curry. It is reported that all these things are undertaken on the order of Lieutenant Colonel San Aung, who is a commander of tactical II based in Matupi.

 

VILLAGERS FORCED TO WORK ON HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT CONSTRUCTION

 

March 2, 2007

A member of the Thantlang Township Solidarity and Development Team responsible for the Hydro-Electric Power Plant planning in Northern Chin State issued an order to Mualkai villagers to provide forced laborers between December 2006 to February 10, 2007, according to an anonymous member of Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC).

 

For the construction of the Hydro-Electric Power Plant, Mualkai villagers have been ordered to carry a five-megawatt electric motor and construct a tank for storing water, beginning in December 2006 and continuing until the completion of the work. Mualkai power plant project reportedly spent 25 lakhs, which is three times more than the amount authorized by the State Solidarity and Peace Team.

 

VILLAGERS CONSTRUCT ROAD AFTER GOVERNMENT FAILS TO PROVIDE PROPER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

 

April 7, 2007

 

Hnaring Village in Thantlang Township, Northern Chin State, have begun efforts to construct a car-road after experiencing many problems due to difficult road conditions, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

The construction of the car-road started on March 8, 2007 and a group of 200 villagers have been working alternately for one week. The plan is to construct a direct car road from Hnaring to Thantllang Town and Hnaring to Kanhkaw Town. The car-road is being constructed with a 12 foot wide jeep road. The motive and expected outcome of the villager’s effort in constructing the car-road is to foster better commercial relations, provide easier access to health facilities, and to resolve the lack of a government transportation system.

 

CONSCRIPTION, ARBITRARY ORDER & POWER ABUSE:

 

CLASS TEN STUDENTS ARRESTED FOR FORCIBLE CONSCRIPTION INTO THE BURMA ARMY

 

April 1, 2007

Lieutenant Colonel Aung San, tactical commander for Chin State tactic II based in Matupi Town in Southern Chin State, started arresting and conscripting class ten students who had just finished their examination on 22 March 2007, according to class ten students who fled to India to avoid conscription.

 

The Burma Army on March 22, 2007 around 10:00 pm at night at Sanband Road Point arrested about 20 class ten students who had just finished their examination. On the same night, 15 students of the 20 class ten students of Tui Moe Boarding School were arrested during a celebratory farewell party.

 

“That night, not only class ten students, but all young men outside of their homes were being arrested and some were put in the police lockup, but I am very lucky. I did not go outside that night. As the situation is very insecure for me, my father gave me money and I at once fled from town,” said one student who fled to the Indo-Burma border area.

 

The process of arresting students is still taking place. Some students have fled to Mizoram. Other some students who can not afford to leave Burma have run to neighboring states, according a reliable source.

 

 

MATUPI TOWN GOLDEN JUBILEE STONE PILLAR DESTROYED

 

March 29, 2007

The Matupi Town Golden Jubilee stone pillar was destroyed during the second week of February by the order of Lieutenant Colonel San Aung, commander of tactical command 2 based in Matupi Township, Southern Chin State, according to a local villager. The order was based on the prohibition of any stone pillar in Burma other than the Independence stone pillar.

 

The Golden Jubilee memorial pillar was built by Matupi Town elders on 22 March at the junction of Sanbung block. On February 16, 2007, Lt. Col. San Aung ordered the Matupi Township Sanbong block Village Peace and Development Council members to destroy the pillar.

 

“The order said that Matupi Town itself is in Burma, and in Burma no stone pillar is allowed to be built except the Independence stone pillar. So this stone pillar is illegal and must be destroyed at once. So we destroyed it according to the order,” said a local villager who is also a member of the Village Peace and Development Council.

 

The source said that Matupi Town was established as a town in 1949, and the elders of Matupi Town celebrated the Golden Jubilee on March 22, 1999. They built the stone pillar in commemoration.

 

TEA-FIELD SEIZED BY SPDC FOR CAMP CONSTRUCTION

 

March 5, 2007

In January 2007, a Burma Army officer in the rank of major of Kanhkaw LIB- 50, positioned in PaSaing Village, Matupi Town in Southern Chin State, decided to shift the location of the army camp after seizing a tea-field owned by a Satu villager, a local person reported to CHRO.

 

Before shifting the army camp, soldiers from LIB-50 came to Satu Village. After scrutinizing the grounds, they finally chose a 3-acre tea-field that was legally owned by U Lehe, which is situated above the village. Upon the illegal seizure of his property, U Lehe went to the army officer claiming legal possession of his tea-field under official registration, and adding the viability of other spaces for an army camp. However the major refused to consider other locations indicating that his tea-field was the most appropriate for an army camp because of a water pipe passing under the ground of the tea-field. When U Lehe insisted on his complaint, the major said angrily that the military could do whatever it pleases because in Myanmar everything is under military control. After that, in the first week of January, five villagers from Lungsen, Pasaing (A), Pasaing (B), Lailente and Satu Village were forced to construct the army camp on the tea-field land.

 

The owner of a tea-field is a village-block government clerk with 20 years of service. He started cultivating his tea-field in 1974 and started planting in 1982. By an order of the Major, the Land Magistrate Office erased his name from the official registry and distributed his land to villagers in Matupi Town without giving him planting costs worth 12,000 Rs. Again in 2004, the chairman of Matupi Peace and Development Council during the first week of November issued an order to take 75 boxes of seeds worth 3,000 Kyats per box from his farm. Although he should have received 228,000 Kyats in total, he did not receive a single penny. He was greatly upset by the annexation of his 3-acre wide tea-field, according to the local person.

 

TWO CHILD SOLDIERS FLEE SPDC CRUELTY

March 27, 2007

Two child soldiers fled to Indo-Burma border after attending an informational training in Shwe-Kyin Town, Pe-gu Division in the first week of March with ten other child soldiers, who are all about 15 years old and were recruited in early 2007 by Colonel Lwin Oo and Battalion Commander Soe Tin from LIB 349, Military head of Shew-Bo recruitment, Sagaing Division.

 

The escaped child soldier, Zaw Zin Oo, said he voluntarily joined the army in 2004 without the knowledge of his parents. In the beginning, he only attended military training because he was 15 years old, but later he was sent to the frontline. When they reached villages, they drag villagers for porters, collected money, and collected taxes from civilians. The money was given to the soldiers as salary.

 

“I thought that I’d be serving the country by joining the army, but when I saw the regime torturing civilians with my own eyes, I vouched that I’d run away from the regime, and I fled here,” said Zaw Zin Oo.

 

The battalion commander, Soe Tin, forced the child soldiers to perform 24-hour duty in turns. They also had to attend military training. Although the standard government soldier’s salary is 25,000 Kyats, they received only 15,000 Kyats. If they fell asleep, they were beaten and tortured and told that soldiers have a duty to watch the nation 24 hours a day.

 

LOCAL VILLAGERS FORCED TO BUY RICE-SEED BY SPDC

 

April 7, 2007

The Chairman of Falam Township Peace and Development Council, U Zaw Win Htay, in January 2007 issued an order to all Village Blocks in Falam Township to buy Shweyinaye rice-seed for plantations throughout the region, a local villager reported to CHRO.

 

According to an order from the mainland authorities, the township authorities are forced to buy rice-seed from mainland Burma. The rice-seed is then stored at Falam Town and all Village Blocks must then purchase 21 tins each of the rice-seed for their plantations.

 

The market price of the rice-seed for one tin is 7,500 Kyats. This forced order of planting rice-seed, which is not at all suitable within the geographical climate of Falam Township, has left local villagers in great despair.

 

SPDC SOLDIERS DEMAND CHICKEN FROM VILLAGERS

 

March 01, 2007

On January 03, 2007, Captain Nyun Hlaing of LIB-50, stationed at Lailenpi Village, Matupi Town in Southern Chin State, forcibly ordered the chairman of Lailenpi Village, Pu Kharku, to bring five chickens immediately to the army camp, according to a report by a local person.

 

Capt. Nyun Hlaing forced Pu Kharku to bring five chickens to the army camp at 6:00 pm at night. According to the order, Pu Kharku collected the chickens from his villagers and went himself to hand over the chickens to Capt. Nyun Hlaing on January 03, 2007.

 

The cost of a chicken at the current rate is 2,000 Kyats. The total cost for five chickens is about 10,000 Kyats. The villagers get nothing for their chicken.

 

 

INSECTICIDE USAGE ON RICE CAUSES PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS

 

March 6, 2007

In January 2007, storage rice in Minhlah Village, Kaylay Township of Sagaing Division was contaminated by an insecticide sprayed on it by the Government. The villagers had to stop consuming the rice from the storage due to stomach problems caused by the rice, according to a report by a local person. Because the insecticide-contaminated rice threatened villager’s health, the villagers are forced to buy rice from Kalay Myo.

 

In 2006 and in previous years, the Minhlah villagers could sufficiently sustain themselves on the rice produced by their village, and they could even sell surplus rice to Kalay Myo. However this year, villagers are now facing a rice shortage due to the lack of relief and intervention from the government, according to a village chairman.

 

Minhlah Village has about 80 families and their livelihood is dependent on farming and rice cultivation. Because of the insecticide, they need to wash the rice five to seven times before cooking. If they do not wash it several times, it could affect their stomach.

 

70,000 KYATS SEIZED FROM COW TRADER BY BURMA ARMY

 

April 4, 2007

Four soldiers from LIB-269 based in Tidim Town, Northern Chin State, seized 70,000 Kyats from a cow trader on the border area between Chin State and Mizoram, India, a trader reported to CHRO.

 

The incident took place on December 3, 2006 between Hnahthial Village and Tihu stream in Falam Township. According to the trader himself, the soldiers demanded 70,000 Kyats as a tax and he was threatened with arrest if he did not pay the demanded amount of money.

 

The cow owner is Pu Ral Dum of Zamual Village in Falam Township. He bought his flock of five cows for 2,000 to 30,000 Kyats each.

 

BURMA ARMY DEMAND CHICKENS AND FORCED PORTERS

 

April 6, 2007

The Burma Army of LIB-269, based in Tiddim Town, Northern Chin State, demand chickens from villagers whenever the military operations are lunching in the cantonment area. They also demand porters, according to a local villager.

 

On February 14, 2007, two army officers and seven of their men demanded porters to carry supplies between Zawngte Village and Singai Village, which is a day’s journey. The number of villagers being used as porters is five and they are forced to carry military armaments and rations. Moreover, the villagers are required to provide two chickens for the army captain and one chicken for the sergeant. However, the villagers are never paid for their labor, a local person reported to CHRO.

 

GOVERNMENT THREATS TO PRIVATE BANK CAUSES GREAT PUBLIC LOSS

 

March 3, 2007

Of private banks opened in Kalay Myo Town of Sagaing Division, a private bank called Taungzalat Bank owned by Pu En Kap fell into bankruptcy due to threats by the military government, according to a report from an anonymous correspondent trader. Only Chins have been depositing money into Taungzalat Bank.

 

A woman who put her money into the bank said, “I deposited two lakhs and my father’s twelve lakhs in that bank, which had an interest rate of 5% in 2000. But I received the interest only up to October 2003. After that, I could not get anymore, I could not withdraw the capital or the interest.” A Christian clergyman also known to deposit money worth thousands of lakhs into Taungzalat Bank could not get back his money.

 

Billions of kyats are estimated to be held in savings in the bank. Most of the staff and employees are Chin. It is believed that the bank owner, Pu Eng Kap, received threats and harassment from the government.

PHOTOS OF NAKED WOMEN DISCOVERED IN A RESIDENCE OF HAKHA TACTIC COMMANDER’S CLOSE ACQUAINTANCE

 

March 5, 2007

Naked photos of Hakha women were discovered by police at the house of Tu Yah, who is a trusted acquaintance of Colonel Tin Hla, tactic commander of Hakha military tactic 1 of Northern Chin State, a local person reported to CHRO.

 

Although the exact investigation date is unknown, the attempted arrest of Tu Yah at his house occurred in 2006 during the rainy season. Tu Yah was serving in GE military service. He was able to avoid arrest at the time because the police only discovered naked pictures of women while searching his house.

 

Tu Yah is very familiar with Col. Tin Hlah and he often used to drive for him. Taking advantage of his relationship with Col. Tin Hlah, Tu Yah behaved disrespectfully towards other government authorities and would “spend money like water”, according to an inside source.

 

According to the local person, the police officer said it was an unbelievable and shameful thing to see so many naked photos of well-known Hakha women. SPDC is reportedly notorious of exploiting ethnic women and the local suspect the SPDC authority in Haka of funding a great deal of money to exploit local Chin women.

 

REFUGEE:

 

MURDERED REFUGEE GIRL LAID TO REST

 

By Salai Za Uk Ling

11 April 2007 – Kuala Lumpur: Dally Sui Hlei Par, a 7 year-old refugee girl who was found murdered and mutilated a week after she went missing on March 20 was finally laid to rest in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

 

More than 500 Chins and local sympathizers attended the emotional funeral and burial service at Cheras Christian cemetery. Funeral goers braved the drizzling rain to pay their last respect to Dally whose decomposing body was discovered under the bushes near the family’s home with both her hands severed at the wrists.

 

Dally’s peers and classmates sang an emotional farewell song dedicated to her memory.

 

Like other refugee and undocumented children, Dally didn’t have access to formal primary education in Malaysia. Chin refugee children receive informal education in community schools run by groups such as Chin Students Organization and Chin Women’s Organization.

 

Dally is the fourth person to die of a violent dead in the Chin community in Malaysia in less than three months. On New Year’s Eve, two Chin youths were brutally stabbed to death by assailants. No suspect has been apprehended in the case. On 20 January 2007, another Chin youth was dead after falling off a high rise building under construction in downtown Kuala Lumpur. More than 87 Chins have died in Malaysia since 2004, according to Kuala Lumpur-based Chin Christian Fellowship.

 

CHIN COMMUNITY MOURNS THE TRAGIC DEATH OF DALLY SUI

 

By Amy Alexander

6 April 2007- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Dally Sui was a young seven-year-old Chin girl who loved to sing and dance, watch cartoons, and eat traditional Burmese food. As her family prepared to be resettled to the United States, she was excited to begin a new life in America.

 

But all these hopes of a new life for Dally Sui ended after she went missing from her family’s home in Cheras around 7:00 pm on 20 March, just hours before the family’s scheduled departure from Malaysia. In the midst of a farewell prayer service and cel milies. Most of her days were spent indoors playing with her only friend, her 10 year old sister Iang Hlei Sung. After surviving five years in Malaysia, Dally’s family was finally scheduled to be resettled to Indianapolis, Indiana on 21 March 2007.

 

Now the family struggles to find a way to pay for the funeral of their youngest member. Her body is still kept in HUKM hospital in Cheras. Meanwhile her death has heightened concerns in the Chin community about the safety of their children in Malaysia. Dally’s death came amidst an increasing lack of protection for refugee children by the Malaysian government. Within this past month, at least six children have been rounded up and detained by Malaysian immigration authorities. Two children are reportedly sick inside Semenyih detention center. Twelve years old Ngun Za Tial and her brother Bawi Lian Thang (Age 10) were arrested from their bed during a midnight raid by immigration in Jinjang. There has also been an increase in the number of violent crimes against refugees and undocumented migrants. These crimes often go unreported due to fear of the authorities, uninvestigated, and unpunished.

 

Despite the tragedy, Dally’s family will proceed with their plans to resettle to the U.S, bringing along with them the undying memory of Dally Sui.ebrations, the family realized Dally Sui was absent from the festivities and a search began. They filed a missing person’s report with the Cheras police around 2 am on 21 March. The search did not end until 27 March when her body was found.

 

The devastating discovery occurred around noon last Wednesday when 57-year-old Mohd Din Awang found the body of a small girl later identified as Dally Sui lying in some undergrowth. She was wearing a green tee shirt, shorts, and earrings. Her shoes were carefully placed next to her lifeless body. It was just four kilometers from her parent’s flat in Taman Maluri, Cheras.

 

Evidencing a brutal end to a beautiful young life, both of Dally’s hands were severed at the wrist. Despite police efforts, her hands remain unaccounted for. There were no other wounds on the body, leaving police to believe that she may have died from blood loss. Meanwhile, the search for Dally’s killer continues.

 

Dally Sui leaves behind her father, Uk Thang, her mother, Tuan Thlaui Chin, and two siblings, her brother Za Lian Ceu, age 13, and her sister, Iang Hlei Sung, age 10. The Chin community in Malaysia remains in mourning over the loss of such a young life. After finding Dally’s body, the community came together with Dally’s family and prayed.

 

Dally barely had a chance to begin living life before it was all stolen away. Life in Malaysia for seven-year-old Dally is far from ideal. Dally Sui and her family made the difficult journey to Malaysia in 2002 after fleeing from the oppressive Burma military regime. They came to Malaysia in the hopes of finding safety and peace. Life in Malaysia, however, has been is difficult for Dally’s family. Unrecognized and unwelcome by the Malaysian government, refugees are unable to work, receive an education, access healthcare services, or find acceptable living accommodations. Dally’s father had to support his family through odd jobs. Unprotected and vulnerable to harassment, detention, and potential deportation by the Malaysian authorities, Dally and her sister were rarely allowed to leave their house, which was shared with three other families. Most of her days were spent indoors playing with her only friend, her 10 year old sister Iang Hlei Sung. After surviving five years in Malaysia, Dally’s family was finally scheduled to be resettled to Indianapolis, Indiana on 21 March 2007.

 

Now the family struggles to find a way to pay for the funeral of their youngest member. Her body is still kept in HUKM hospital in Cheras. Meanwhile her death has heightened concerns in the Chin community about the safety of their children in Malaysia. Dally’s death came amidst an increasing lack of protection for refugee children by the Malaysian government. Within this past month, at least six children have been rounded up and detained by Malaysian immigration authorities. Two children are reportedly sick inside Semenyih detention center. Twelve years old Ngun Za Tial and her brother Bawi Lian Thang (Age 10) were arrested from their bed during a midnight raid by immigration in Jinjang. There has also been an increase in the number of violent crimes against refugees and undocumented migrants. These crimes often go unreported due to fear of the authorities, uninvestigated, and unpunished.

 

Despite the tragedy, Dally’s family will proceed with their plans to resettle to the U.S, bringing along with them the undying memory of Dally Sui.

 

MALAYSIA DEPORTS OVER 40 CHIN ASYLUM SEEKERS

 

By Salai Za Uk Ling

6 April 2007 – Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia on Tuesday deported over 40 Chins along with many more refugees from Burma to the border of Thailand. Two deportees, both under 18, who managed to sneak back in on Wednesday said there were two loads of bus containing about 90 people deported from Semenyih camp. They said the majority of those deported to the Thai-Malaysia border consisted of Chins. Four Kachins were among the deportees. The rest are Burmans and Rohingyas as welll as other ethnic nationalities whom they couldn’t identify.

 

“The majority of people being detained at Semenyih camp are Chins and more people may be deported soon as the center is extremely overcrowded” said Kip Hlei Thang, one of the two deportees interviewed by Chinland Guardian this morning. Semenyih detention camp, located about one hour from Kuala Lumpur, is one of the most overcrowded detention facilities in Malaysia where conditions are reported to be harsh.

 

“Around 300 to 400 inmates are housed in a room of about 50 by 25 feet. We had to literally sleep right next to each other on the floor without any blankets or bedding,” said another deportee Than Bil.

 

The two deportees said that there are around 20 Chins who were recently whipped after being convicted of illegal entry to Malaysia. “We saw about 20 fellow Chins in our cell who were freshly whipped. They were in so much pain and unable to sleep on their backs and literally crying from pain,” they said. The two were arrested at Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya on March 4 while returning from their worksite.

 

In a separate incident, Chan Nawn (23) recently arrived back in Kuala Lumpur after having served as a slave laborer on a fishing boat for more than three years in Thailand. He was arrested in 2004 in Malaysia and deported to the Thai border where he was sold to Thai fishermen. “I tried working as a construction worker here in Malaysia for a week after I came back, but I couldn’t tolerate the itchiness of my skins when I sweat. I developed a skin rash from being splashed by sea waters while being on the fishing boat,” Chan Nawn explained.

 

According to Kuala Lumpur-based Chin Refugee Committee, there may be as many more than 800 Chin refugees being detained at various detention centers across Malaysia. The Committee has report the arrest of over 400 Chin refugees since the beginning of 2007.

 

 

RELA RAIDS CONTINUE IN MALAYSIA

 

By Amy Alexander

12 March 2007- Once again, the Jalan Imbi neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur falls prey to yet another immigration raid conducted by the highly controversial People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) early this morning. This is the second raid to take place at Jalan Imbi in a six-month period as Malaysian authorities continue to target asylum seekers and refugees in immigration crackdowns. Jalan Imbi is largely inhabited by refugees and asylum seekers from Burma’s Chinland and hosts the Chin Refugee Center run by the Chin Refugee Committee, which received a Malaysian human rights award last year.

 

The raid began around 1:00 am and continued for several hours. Forty-eight Chin asylum seekers from Burma, including ten women, have been taken to Seminyah detention camp, where they will await deportation.

 

 

Among those arrested and detained is, Salai Ni Kio, a resettled refugee visiting from Denmark on valid travel documents. According to our sources, the Malaysian authorities have confiscated his travel documents and are refusing to release him. The Danish Embassy has been notified about the situation.

 

This latest raid comes amidst mounting concern over the security of refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia following recent statements by high-level government officials indicating that the government does not recognize the powers of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and it will not recognize refugees.

 

On 1 February 2007, Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad reportedly criticized the UNHCR for getting in the way of the operations of agencies such as RELA and the Immigration Department. The Minister further indicated that Malaysia “accepts UNHCR’s presence, but not their powers.” At the beginning of this month, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid further reiterated that Malaysia will not recognize refugees.

 

The Malaysian government has come under criticism by several human rights groups for their actions against refugees and asylum seekers. Just three days ago, the Malaysia-based human rights group, SUARAM, issued a press statement denouncing the recent arrests of newborn refugee babies and their families by the Malaysian authorities. SUARAM also filed complaints on 31 October 2006 with SUHAKAM, the Malaysia Human Rights Commission, against RELA for misconduct and abuse against refugees and asylum seekers.

 

Hundreds of thousands of Chins have fled from Chin State to escape severe ethnic and religious persecution committed by the military regime. Currently, there are over 20 thousand Chin asylum seekers and refugees living in Malaysia. Although the Chin people come to Malaysia in search of security, the Malaysian government refuses to recognize or provide any protection to the Chin population. Instead, the Chin people are at constant risk of harassment by the authorities, arrest, detention, and deportation. In addition, they are unable to work, receive an education, access healthcare services, or find acceptable living accommodations.

 

MALAYSIA ARRESTS MORE REFUGEE BABIES

 

By Salai Za Uk Ling

7 March 2007 – Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian immigration today placed in custody a new-born refugee baby and mother in what is a third of such arrest in two weeks.

 

The detention came amidst mounting concerns over security for refugees and asylum seekers in the country following public remarks by Malaysian Home Minister Radzi Sheik Ahmad saying that his government doesn’t recognize the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and accused the international agency of interfering in arrests by law enforcement of “illegal immigrants.”

 

Yesterday, another new born child and her parents were arrested only a few hours after they were discharged from a hospital in Kuala Lumpur where hospital staff had advised them to register the child with the immigration office. According to a brother of the detained father, the child was born only a night before when they were detained. “The baby was born at midnight in Chowkit Hospital just the night before they were placed in custody,” he told Chinland Guardian.

 

Last week, another new born refugee baby was arrested with her parents when they attempted to register the birth with the immigration office in Damansara in Kuala Lumpur. The mother who delivered the child by operation was reportedly bleeding at the time of detention. The father was also just discharged from hospital earlier in the day where he was treated for temporary paralysis of the limbs.

 

In all incidents, at least one of the parents have been recognized by UNHCR or registered with the office as Persons of Concerns (PoC).

 

According to Chin Refugees Committee, an organization that won a human rights awards in Malaysia last year, the number of arrests of refugees and asylum seekers have significantly increased in the last few months in Malaysia. The CRC records reveal more than 300 arrests only since the beginning of 2007.

 

Rights group in Malaysia have regularly protested against arrest of children and vulnerable women and accused the government of breaching its obligations under the UN treaties protecting asylum seeking children and women.

 

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP DENOUNCES DETENTION OF BABIES AND VULNERABLE REFUGEES IN MALAYSIA

 

 

By Amy Alexander

12 March 2007- In response to the recent arrests and detentions of newborn babies and their refugee parents by the Malaysian authorities, Malaysia-based human rights group, SUARAM, issued a statement criticizing the government’s action and urging the government to recognize the rights of refugees.

 

In the 9 March press statement entitled, “Broken Promises: Respect Rights of Vulnerable, Release Baby Detainees, SUARAM called on the Malaysian government to respect their international obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and to “immediately and unconditionally release all children and parents.”

 

SUARAM issued the statement after three new-born babies and their families within a three week period were arrested when they attempted to register the births with the immigration office in Malaysia. The arrests occurred despite the fact that in each instance at least one parent has been recognized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or registered with the office as Persons of Concerns (PoC).

 

These particularly callous arrests came on the heels of recent statements by high-level government officials indicating that the Malaysian government will not recognize refugees or the powers of the Office of the UNHCR in Malaysia. SUARAM highlighted such statements as a reflection of “Malaysia’s total disregard for fundamental human rights…” and urged the government to “cooperate and work together with the Office of the UNHCR in protecting refugees.”

To the press release issued by SUARAM, please visit www.suaram.net.

 

MALAYSIAN LAWYERS CALL FOR AN END TO RELA AMIDST INCREASING ABUSES

 

By Amy Alexander

21 March 2007- Around noon local time today RELA raided construction site in Bukit Bintang and rounded up about 1000 workers including nearly 300 Chins. Those caught in the midday round-up included many UNHCR recognized refugees. As of this evening, it remains unclear just how many persons were arrested.

 

In a separate incident yesterday, a team of immigration officers raided the home of Uk Nawl and Biak Thluai, two UNHCR recognized Chin refugees living in Jinjang Utara, taking away their two children, Ngun Za Tial (age 12) and Bawi Lian Thang (age 10). These types of abuses by enforcement personnel occur on a regular basis in Malaysia . However, RELA and its controversial tactics are receiving more and more criticism by influential members of Malaysian society.

 

On 17 March 2007 , the Malaysian Bar called for RELA to cease its operations citing allegations of torture and other human rights violations perpetrated against undocumented migrants by RELA’s untrained civilian force. The Malaysian lawyers called for a repeal of the legislation that enabled the creation and maintenance of non-professional law enforcement groups, such as RELA.

 

Although RELA is composed of untrained civilian volunteers, RELA forces have been given extensive enforcement powers that have translated into increased abuses against undocumented migrants. Not only is RELA able to bear and use firearms, they are also empowered to conduct search and seizures, arrests, and enter premises all without a warrant. Further increasingly the likelihood of abuses, RELA officers receive monetary incentives of 80 RM for each undocumented migrant they arrest.

 

The Malaysian Bar in their Annual General Meeting unanimously called for the revocation of all four existing Proclamations of Emergency in Malaysia . In addition, they demanded that Malaysia respect its obligations under the April 1999 Bangkok Declaration on Irregular Migration, which entails humane and equal treatment of all persons in Malaysia , including migrants and refugees. Finally, the Bar urged the Malaysian government to ratify certain international instruments, such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families and also the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

 

ADVOCACY & CAMPAIGN

 

Presentation by Salai Za Uk Ling

of

Chin Human Rights Organization

 

at the Launching of Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Report “Carrying the Cross: Burma’s military regime’s restriction, discrimination and persecution of Christians in Burma”

 

Wilson Room , UK Parliament

 

Westminster , London

January 23, 2007

 

Distinguished Members of Parliament, friends and ladies and gentlemen,

 

Good evening!

I am here before you today as a Chin national and as a member of an organization that has been monitoring human rights situations in Chin State for the last twelve years to beseech your support and solidarity, and to draw your attention to the plight of our people. Chin Human Rights Organization is a non-profit and non-governmental organization committed to protecting and promoting the rights of Chin people and to restoring democracy and respect for human rights in Burma .

 

Before I go onto talking about the status of religious freedom in Chin State , I would first like to commend Ben Rogers and the Christian Solidarity Worldwide for the very excellent report and for having been good friends of the persecuted Christians in Burma . You truly are the voice for the voiceless – the most forgotten people in Burma .

 

Many of you, I gather, have been familiar with the situations in Burma and the atrocities and the various forms of human rights violations in that country. We often heard or read in the news about atrocities in Burma ‘s eastern frontiers such as Karen, Karenni and Shan States and the imprisonment of the country’s democratic icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Aside from the Annual International Religious Freedom Report by the United States government and the 2004 CHRO report, there has been virtually no international publicity or highlights of the violations, discriminations and persecutions suffered by Burma’s religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims at the hands of one of the most paranoid and brutal regimes.

 

Chin State is perhaps the one area in Burma in which the junta’s policy of persecution against Christian is expressed in the most obvious and violent ways. Over the past decade, the regime has destroyed several churches and deliberately removed crosses placed on hilltops, disrupted worship services, and physically assaulted and tortured pastors and Church leaders. The regime also imposed strict discriminatory and restrictive rules on the activities of Christian churches, while it openly promotes Buddhism through various means.

 

As the CSW report attests, the persecution of Christians in Burma is systematic, as can be seen in Chin, Kachin, Karen and Karenni States where there’s a significant Christian population. And this represents part of a larger policy of the regime to create a uniform national identity in which Burmese is the only language and Buddhism the only accepted religion. This is the mentality of the regime and its approach to making Burma “a modern and developed nation”. No one should need more convincing of the fact that Burma ‘s military junta is intent on destroying the culture, religion and ethnic identities of non-Burman ethnic groups. And there should be no doubt that Burma ‘s military regime is guilty of religious persecution against Christians and cultural genocide against the various ethnic groups in the country.

 

Responding to international criticisms, the State Peace and Development Council often refers to the fact that “Buddhism, being a peaceful religion, is against force-promoting its faith.” There is no illusion about this statement being true. It is NOT the Buddhist faith or the larger Buddhist community in Burma , but the military regime that manipulates religion as a tool to achieve political ends at the expense of other religions.

 

Friends, imagine living under a government that burns down your church, desecrate your religious symbols, humiliate your pastors and punishes you for no other reason than because you have a different faith and distinct identity. These are all ongoing as we speak. Just the other day, I spoke to a prominent pastor in Chin State who told me that in one village populated by Chin Christians, a Buddhist monk backed by the military burned down a local church and ordered Christians out of the village.

 

We need strong international condemnation of the regime, to tell the Generals in Naypyidaw their actions are unacceptable. Burma must be persuaded to accede to all relevant international human rights treaties including the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Convention on the Elimination of all kinds of Racial Discrimination. More importantly, we ask the British government to call for the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom to investigate persecution of Christians in Burma.

 

CHIN ACTIVISTS MET MALAYSIAN CABINET MINISTER

 

By Salai Elaisa Vahnie

Chinland Guardian

31 March 2007: A team of Chin activists on Wednesday met with Tan Sri Bernard, a senior cabinet Minister at his office in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya. The advocacy team held a historic meeting with the Minister of Prime Minister’s Office as they try to highlight the plight of Chin refugees in Malaysia and to update on political situations in Burma .

 

Representatives of Chin Human Rights Organization accompanied by Malaysia-based Chin Refugee Committee made appeals, on behalf of Chin and other ethnic refugee communities, to show sympathy to those coming to escape political turmoil in Burma .

 

“The Minister was receptive and was convinced that those from Burma are here due to intolerable conditions and political repression at home,” says Victor Biak Lian. “He assured us he will bring the issue to the Cabinet meeting on Thursday,” he says.

 

The team members included Victor Biak Lian (CHRO), Salai Za Uk Ling (CHRO) and Philemon Sang of Chin Refugee Committee. The historic meeting took place as Chins and other Burmese refugees in Malaysia brace for worsening security problems as the Malaysian government launches a full-scale crackdown on “illegal immigrants” in the country.

 

“The meeting couldn’t have come at a better timing because security condition for refugees is probably at its worst now,” says Salai Za Uk Ling of CHRO who is also serving as Refugee Desk Coordinator for Malaysian human rights organization SUARAM.

 

In an unrelated incident, a dead body of a 7 old Chin refugee girl Delly who went missing from her parent’s home on 20th March was found by police. Her decomposed body was found under a bush with both hands severed from the wrists. The girl went missing one day before she and her family were to depart for the United States on a resettlement program.

 

“This tragedy underlies the kind of security problems being encountered by the Chin communities in Malaysia on daily basis. Just in the last couple of weeks, several members of the Chin community have been assaulted and robbed by local thugs,” says Salai Za Uk Ling.

 

Press Release

 

CHRO COMMENDS MALAYSIA FOR ITS STANCE ON BURMA; URGES COMPASSION TOWARDS BURMESE REFUGEES

 

20 April 2007: CHRO welcomes Malaysia’s recent statements indicating a refusal to defend Burma in future engagements on the international stage. To further this objective, CHRO calls on Malaysia to protect and respect the rights of the thousands of Burmese refugees living within its borders.

 

On 19 April 2007, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry Parliamentary Secretary, Ahmad Shabery Cheek, told reporters that Malaysia along with other ASEAN members agreed not to shield Burma from attacks “if it was bombarded at any international forum.” Justifying this position, Shabery recognized the continued illegitimacy of Burma’s military rulers indicating that Burma failed to show any progress towards reform.

 

Despite Malaysia’s hard foreign policy stance on Burma’s military regime, Malaysia’s domestic policy fails to recognize or provide any sort of protection to the very people who have suffered under Burma’s rule- the Burmese refugee community. Tens of thousands of Burmese refugees and asylum seekers, including some 23,000 from Burma’s Chinland, have found themselves in Malaysia after being forced from their homes at the hands of Burma’s military regime.

 

Although a signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and a sitting member of the UN Human Rights Council, the Malaysia government has consistently refused to protect refugees and asylum seekers living within their borders. Rather, the Burmese communities in Malaysia have been the regular target of security abuses, immigration raids and round-ups, increasing violent crimes committed in impunity, and abuses against the most vulnerable members of their community, including women and children.

 

Immigration raids targeting Burmese communities occur on an almost weekly basis in Malaysia, typically conducted by the highly controversial, untrained and often abusive Peoples’ Volunteer Corp., also known as RELA. Malaysian immigration detention facilities currently hold about 2,000 Burmese asylum seekers and refugees, about half of which are Chins. Of particular concern to CHRO are the continuing arrests of pregnant women and minors. At this time, CHRO is aware of five pregnant Chin women who were recently arrested, two of whom were forced to give birth in detention. All five are remain in detention despite their vulnerable states. According to CHRO’s sources, there are also about 20 Chin children, some as young as less than a month old, detained in Malaysian detention facilities.

 

For Malaysia to make good on its foreign policy initiatives towards Burma, Malaysia should first look at domestically and make good on its promise to respect the basic human rights of refugees and asylum seekers who are the victims of Burma’s military regime.

 

For more information, please contact:

Salai Za Uk Ling, CHRO’s Advocacy Officer for Malaysia at 60-1737455 46

And CHRO’s legal consultant Ms. Amy Alexander in Thailand at 66-852-302609

 

ASEAN WILL NOT DEFEND MYANMAR AT INT’L FORA – AHMAD SHABERY

 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 (Bernama) — Asean will not defend Myanmar at any international forum following the military ruler’s adamant not to restore democracy in that country, the Dewan Rakyat was told Thursday.

 

Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek said Malaysia and other Asean members had made a stand not to defend Myanmar if the country’s issue was raised at any international conference.

 

“Now Myanmar has to defend itself if it was bombarded at any international forum,” he said when winding up the debate on the Supplementary Supply Bill (2006) 2007 at committee stage for the Foreign Ministry.

 

He was replying to queries from Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) on the next course of action to be taken by Malaysia and Asean on the stubborn Myanmar military junta who had refused to cooperate with the emissaries sent by the United Nations and Asean to bring back democracy in that country.

 

Lim had said Malaysia must play a proactive role in pursuing regional initiatives to bring about a change in Myanmar and support efforts to bring the situation in Myanmar to the UN Security Council’s attention.

 

Shabery said Myanmar, after embracing Asean for nine years and widely expected to change its stand, did not show any inkling to change.

 

He said Malaysia would nevertheless continue to pursue efforts to convey its stand on restoring democracy in Myanmar to the military ruler though previous initiatives had been futile.

 

CHRO CONDEMNS SUMMARY EXECUTIONS OF THREE CHIN VILLAGE HEADMEN

 

12 April 2007

Ottawa, Canada

Chin Human Rights Organization condemns the extrajudicial execution of three village headmen in Southern Chin State by troops from Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 104 and LIB 304 under Tactical Operation Command II based in Matupi headed by Colonel San Aung.

 

The murdered victims were Hung Ling (25) Chairman of Village Peace and Development Council for Mindat Township’s Cun Nam Village, Maung Khe (32) VPDC Chairman of Rezua Township’s Lung Phunu Village and Ting Co, Chairman of Rezua Township’s Sangseh Village.

 

The village headmen were summarily executed after being accused of failing to report troop movement of Chin National Army/Chin National Front, an armed group opposed to the ruling military junta. They were also accused of sympathizing and providing financial assistance to the armed opposition group. The order to summarily execute anyone suspected of sympathizing or providing help to armed opposition group was issued by Chin State’s Tactical Operation II Commander Colonel San Aung in 2004. Two other villagers Khin Maung Oo and Tin Ceu from Sangseh village were disappeared.

 

The arbitrary execution of the three village headmen is a violation of the right to life and a person’s right to due process of the law under article 3 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Moreover, the disappearance of Khin Maung Oo and Tin Ceu is a state-enforced disappearance in contravention of the UN Convention against Enforced Disappearance.

 

“It is a norm rather than exceptional practice within the Burma Army to summarily execute anyone suspected of being anti-regime. Too many cases of summary executions have been carried out with impunity against ethnic communities across Burma. This kind of arbitrary killing is meant to teach a lesson to the public that the price of dissent is death” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization urges Burma’s State Peace and Development Council to immediately cease execution of civilians without judicial trial and to investigate the summary killing of the three headmen.CHRO also calls for the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions to conduct an independent investigation into extrajudicial and summary killings of civilians in Burma.

 

For more information please contact:

Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Director of Chin Human Rights Organization at

Tel : +1-510-981-1417, Email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Date: 30 April 2007

 

CHIN COMMUNITY AND STUDENTS AROUND THE WORLD JOINED CHRO IN CONDEMNING SPDC FOR SUMMARY EXECUTIONS OF THREE CHIN VILLAGE HEADMEN

Van Biak Thang

Date: 30 April 2007

Chinland Guardian (www.chinlandguardian.com)

Chin communities and Chin student organizations around the world seriously condemned the arbitrary executions of three Chin village headmen on 07 March 2007 and expressed a grave concern for the sudden disappearance of the other two villagers.

 

According to reports from The village headmen, Maung Khe (32) of Lung Phunu village, Hung Ling (25) of Cum Nam village, Ting Co of Sangseh village in sourthern Chin State, were summarily executed by the junta’s troops from Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 104 and LIB, No. 304 under Tactical Operation Command II based in Matupi Township headed by Colonel San Aung after being accused of failing to report the movement of Chin National Front/Chin National Army in respective villages.

 

Chin Community in Norway, Victoria and Melbourne Chin Community Australia, Chin National Community – Japan, Chin Students’ Union – India, and Chin Students Organization-Malaysia also sent their sympathy messages to the bereft families and raised a serious concern and worry for the disappearance of the two villagers, Khin Maung Oo and Tin Ceu of Sangseh village. As of today, it is not yet known their whereabouts.

 

The military junta has accused of and persecuted many innocent Chin civilians for housing and giving aids to the armed group. “It is a norm rather than exceptional practice within the Burma Army to summarily execute anyone suspected of being anti-regime. Too many cases of summary executions have been carried out with impunity against ethnic communities across Burma. This kind of arbitrarily killing is meant to teach a lesson to the public that the price of dissent is death,” says Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Director of Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).

 

The Chin communities and student organizations urged Burma’s military regime to immediately cease this kind of executions of civilians without judicial trials and endorsed CHRO’s call for the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions to conduct an independent investigation into extrajudicial and summary killings of civilians in Burma.

 

 

Back Cover Poem

 

AN ELEGY FOR DALLY

Van Biak Thang

 

A distant knell echoed ‘long the horizon

Like a whisper that blows a hollow horn;

Tears dropped and hearts ached in silent pain

Over a tragic brutal loss of a seven-year old girl,

So sweet and lovely, Dally Sui Hlei Par.

 

She loved to play, pray and her stories share:

How she wanted to be free and live to care

When the family’s to the States fly in hours

All her dreams but turned into a nighmare

Vanishing like a puff of smoke into breezy air

 

Her delicate hands severed and body decayed

But a pair of her slippers, safe and sound, aside lay

Why a life, so innocent and hopeful, deserve this

whilst even squirrels ran around in the twilight?

O what an act, so cruel, vicious and delibrate!

 

Her parents had then to flee the regime’s country

In desperate search of peace, freedom and safety

Away from the junta’s heartless oppression,

Torture, forced labor and religious persecution,

And at last to Malaysia as an unwelcome refugee.

 

A nation worldwide sung a mournful dirge, untimely,

To a breathless daughter in grief and agony

Lying helplessly between a land of fear and cheer.

Though no tombstone yet be found in a foreign’s hand

Her name has well been written in her dreamland.

 

[This verse is dedicated to a seven-year old girl, Dally Sui Hlei Par, who was found dead in the bushes after a week long search in Malaysia. For more information about her, please visit www.chinlandguardian.com]

 

 

 

Rhododendron New

Volume X. No. III. May-June 2007

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CHINLAND

 

• SPDC Support Construction Of More Pagodas In Chin State

• SPDC Conscript Villagers In Militia Training

• SPDC Seized And Demolishes Houses For Training Ground

• Tahan Market Reconstruction Controversy Reach Naypyidaw

• Member Of Village Council Arrested For Carelessness

• Villagers Detained For Writing Complaint Letter To Sr. Gen Than Shwe

• SPDC Collected Money From Chin Farmers

• SPDC Soldiers Collect Money From Chin Villagers To Build Army Camp

• Burmese Soldiers Forced Villagers To Mend Their Camp

• 25 Villagers Including Women Forced As Porter And To Repair Army Camp

• Local Villagers Forced To Entertain Visiting Tactical Commander And His Troops

• Villagers Got 80,000 Kyats Fined From Township Authority

• SPDC Order To Sell Alcohol During Christian Youth Meeting

• Villagers Forced To Buy And Grow Rice And Castor Seeds

• SPDC Forced 6 Villages For Porter

• Village Self Support Middle School Order To Stop

 

REFUGEE ISSUE

 

• More Chin Refugees Arrested By Malaysia Authority

• CRC Urged UNHCR To Speed Up Registration

 

 

NEWS & EVENTS

• First Chin Military Official To Head Chin State

• Chin University Students’ Seminar In Matupi

• CNA Soldier Under Investigation For Molesting A Woman

• Six UNDP Workers Suspended For Corruption

• ENC General Secretary Invited To The White House

• A Chin Medical Student To Observe The Health Care System In The Uk

 

 

 

 

SPDC SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION OF MORE PAGODAS IN CHIN STATE

May 18, 2007

With no let up in religious persecution by the Burmese military junta in Chin state, restrictions have been imposed on construction of churches but building of pagodas is being encouraged.

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) authorities were said to have just finished constructing a new pagoda in Falam Township, Northern Chin State with funds from the state’s budget in the first week of May, a local from Falam town said.

Last year, SPDC authorities donated Kyat 54 hundred thousand (around US $ 2400) from the state budget for the construction of pagodas. Construction of the pagoda just completed, was started in Pathankhan in Falam in 2006.

“It is grossly unfair to allow construction of pagodas where they don’t allow Christians to build churches”, a local from Falam said, pointing to the religious bias of the SPDC.

After the SPDC grabbed power in 1988, the ban on the right to construct churches came into effect and they destroyed churches and several crosses erected in Chin state where 90 percent of the population are Christians.

Construction of pagodas are on in the very places where crosses where destroyed and adjacent to army posts in Chin state.

 

SPDC CONSCRIPT VILLAGERS IN MILITIA TRAINING

May 17, 2007

 

A member of each family from several villages in Matupi town in Chin state, Myanmar has been forced to undergo militia training. Attendance at the training session has been made mandatory by Colonel San Aung, a tactical commander of tactical (2) stationed in Matupi.

 

Locals from Lui Vang, An Thaw, Lei Sin, Dai Hnan, and La Lui village tract were selected and forcibly made to participate in militia training that commenced last April.

Colonel San Aung issued a directive to five village tracts that 10 locals from the earmarked villages must join the militia training that is being serially launched once a month.

“It is terrible to attend the training when we are struggling to support our families. Since the training takes the whole month, we get no time for cultivation,” said a local.

The training by military authorities does not provide for food and other necessities for trainees. The locals are told to manage rations during the training.

Though militia trainees have to be over 18 years of age, the authorities are said to have involved under age locals of around 16 years old in the recently held training.

“We attended the training because of the order, though we were bored stiff. We were forced to work in tea plantations in the army camp before the training,” said a local who joined the militia training in April.

It was also learnt that a transfer order for Colonel San Aung from the new capital of Myanmar in Naypidaw was issued in the first week of April. The Colonel is being shifted to Monywe town in Sagaing division.

The Myanmar military regime in Chin state holds militia training for civilians every year where locals from different villages are forcibly made to attend.

 

SPDC SEIZED AND DEMOLISHES HOUSES FOR TRAINING GROUND

May 19, 2007

 

Four houses belonging to four families were confiscated and demolished for preparing a training ground for the Myanmarese Army in Kalay Town in Sagaing Division, Myanmar.

The seizure and demolition orders came from Captain Thain Phe, a commander of the Light Infantry Battalion (299) stationed in Kalay Town.

The houses belonging to Mr. Vum Ling, Mr. Hriang Kep, Mr. Zakam, and Mr. Than Cung in a new block in Kalay were demolished by the LIB (299) for preparing a training ground on April 12. The total area on which the houses stood is 400 x 60 sq ft.

“Initially, they (military authorities) promised us new land, but no arrangement has been made,” said a local close to a victim’s family in Kalay.

Till the time of writing this report the owners of the demolished houses have been staying with relatives.

The land and property confiscated for the army training ground is worth about Kyat 140 million. Bulldozers were used for the demolition.

Colonel Tin Hla, chairman of State Peace and Development Council of Chin state, allegedly demolished a school for orphans, which was constructed with the permission of the Township Development Committee and Taxation Department Hakha, capital of Chin state on April 2006. Another school for orphans run by Mr. Hawi ChunTum was also demolished in October 2006.

Under the SPDC regime, Chin people have been deprived of their homes through demolition and are subject to extortion. They have been pushed into forced labour, porter duty, recruitment of children in the army, slaughtering of domestic animals, made to work in construction of army camps and roads and tea and Jatropha plantations.

 

TAHAN MARKET RECONSTRUCTION CONTROVERSY REACH NAYPYIDAW

May 8, 2007

 

Officials of the Burmese military regime have summoned six members of the construction committee of Tahan market in Kale Myo, Sagain Division to Naypidaw the new capital of Myanmar. The committee is having problems with the local authorities regarding the reconstruction of the burnt out market.

“We don’t know whether the reconstruction will continue or be stopped. At the moment the work has stopped. Now the committee members have gone to Naypidaw and we have to see what happens,” said a local in Tahan.

Although the head administrator of Tahan, U Soe Win had allowed the reconstruction of the building with two floors, local people wanted to construct three floors and put in a request with Major General Ta Aye, Northwest commander. But he demanded Kyat 70 lakhs from the market construction committee for the additional floor.

When U Soe Win got wind of this, he got angry and cancelled the permission for even two floors. Then he ordered construction of a building with only one floor.

Shop owners those who had already given money for two floors took back their money from the committee. But when the central government heard about it they immediately called the market construction committee in the third week of April. Discussions are on about the construction of the Tahan market.

“Customers are increasing by the day. The people will face problems if the building has only one floor. The people also want to know the result of the discussions. A building with three floors is better. It is not being constructed with government funds and therefore not really related to the authorities,” said a dissatisfied local.

The construction committee was set up with the permission of the authorities after Tahan market was gutted. Though people in Tahan tried to construct their own market some problems among the authorities crept in stalling construction work.

The market caught fire in August 2006 and was reduced to ashes. Shop owners have been selling their wares from the road side near the market.

 

MEMBER OF VILLAGE COUNCIL ARRESTED FOR CARELESSNESS

May 16, 2007

A member of the Lailenpi Village Council was sentenced to four months in jail by military authorities for lack of awareness in preventing a forest fire which destroyed stocks of paddy in Chin state, Myanmar.

A recent forest fire destroyed around 3,000 tins of paddy stored in a paddy hut near Lailenpi village.

Captain Myo Than Thaih of the Light Infantry Battalion (304), stationed in Matupi town announced that members of the Village Council (VC) have to take the responsibility for the forest fire, and arrested U Hlaing Maung, a member of the council of Lailenpi village, Matupi township in Chin state in the second week of April.

The head of Lailenpi village was not present when Captain Myo Than Thaih and his soldiers on patrol duty arrived in Lailenpi. Therefore, the army, arrested and took Hlaing Maung to Matupi town where he was sentenced to four months in jail in place of the village head, said a local from Lailenpi village.

“The soldiers arrested him for being careless. Nobody could do anything as they were all scared. Hlaing Maung lost his paddy stocks too. We are unhappy about the whole thing,” said a local.

In April, another forest fire broke out in Paisin village in Matupi Township which razed the whole village to the ground. But no responsible persons were arrested for the loss of public property.

Military authorities in Chin state had issued a notification to village heads that in case of a forest fire, the village head would have to take full responsibility and may face trial.

“Paddy is crucial for us. We are facing a problem since we have lost a lot of paddy. There is no assistance or any attempt by the military authorities to solve our problem,” a local said.

Mara tribals of the Chin ethnic groups, from abroad were said to be planning to collect funds for victims of the fire in Lailenpi. Maras from Singapore had donated Kyat 500,000 (US $ 408. 16) to the Mara Church in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar.

 

VILLAGERS DETAINED FOR WRITING COMPLAINT LETTER TO SR. GEN THAN SHWE

June 30, 2007:

 

A letter of complaint on the killing of a villager by army personnel in Chin state, written to Burmese military supreme Senior General Than Shwe, has invited the wrath of local military authorities. The six complainants from Matupi Township in southern Chin state were arrested by the authorities.

On June 25, Burmese Army authorities of the Light Infantry Battalion (274) detained and interrogated the six locals from Sanset village in Matupi Township.

In February this year, accusing villagers of maintaining contact with the Chin National Army (CNA), Colonel San Aung, second tactical commander, ordered the arrest of 17 villagers from Sanset village. Army men arrested and took the villagers to Matupi. But on the way, U Tin Ceu was killed by the soldiers.

On May 30, U Pa Tung Lian wrote a letter of complaint to Senior General Than Shwe detailing the killing of U Tin Ceu. Instead of redressal, the authorities arrested six complainants for reporting the murder to the army brass.

The copies of the complaint letter on the murder were also addressed to the members of State Peace and Development Council such as Lieutenant General Ye Myint, North Western commander Major General Ta Aye and Brigadier Hueng Ngai, said a local in Matupi.

The complaint letter was stated to have mentioned that military personnel led by Major Ye Myint Oo of LIB (140) arrested 17 villagers including U Tin Cue (33) for suspected links with the Chin rebel group and took them to Matupi on February 24. When they arrived in Lotaw village on February 26, soldiers took U Tin Ceu to another place and killed him, a villager in Matupi said.

“There were lot of injures on the body of U Tin Ceu. Though it has been quite a few months since the killing, we haven’t heard of any action being taken for the murder which was committed without any reason”, said a relative of U Tin Ceu.

 

SPDC COLLECTED MONEY FROM CHIN FARMERS

 

June 06, 2007

 

According to a local person who reported the incident to CHRO, the chairman of Rihkhuadar Sub-township Peace and Development Council, Northern Chin State, collected Kyat 3500/- per house hold for plantation of castrol bio nut on June 2, 2007 in the area.

 

In order to implement the authority plan to grow castrol nut tree a long the two miles distance road connecting Rihkhuadar to Khuadar village, Pu Khua Bill Thang, the village head of Khua Thlir was asked to collect Kyat-3500 from the villagers. And he handed the money he collected from the villagers to Township Peace and Development Council TPDC office on June 02, 2007. He also reported the lists of those who unable to pay the money among the villagers to the office that they are liable to call for military service at any time.

 

Moreover, the villagers were required to give India currency of Rs.150 per house. Khua Thlir village is situated in Indo-Burma border area, consisting of (80) houses. And they have been repeatedly harassed by Burmese army. As collection of money becomes a burden in their lives, many villagers those who could not pay the money had to go to Mizoram to work on collie for their due payment to the Burmese army. “I also came to Aizawl, Mizoram to wage a collie to get my due payment to the Burmese army” an anonymous woman said.

 

 

SPDC SOLDIERS COLLECT MONEY FROM CHIN VILLAGERS TO BUILD ARMY CAMP

June 6, 2007

According to the local source, Captain Aung Soe Win of Burmese army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 34 from Kyaut-Phyu, presently based at Shininletwa village of Paletwa Township, Southern Chin State ordered the local villagers to pay 50000 Kyats per village on April 24 ,2007.

 

In Para village, the village head man collected Kyats 1000 per household accordance with Captain Aung Soe Win. As Para village is consist of 50 household, the village headman collected 50000 Kyats from the village and handed the money to Shinletwa army camp on April 28, 2007. Every household in the village have to contribute with no exception.

 

 

BURMESE SOLDIERS FORCED VILLAGERS TO MEND THEIR CAMP

 

June 6, 2007

 

Lieutenant Than Aung of Burmese army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 304 from Matupi presently stationed at Darlin village of Matupi Township, Southern Chin State summoned 15 persons from Pintiya village to work at the camp for two days from April 5-7, 2007. the villagers have to clean the camp surrounding areas including clearing bushes, mending the fences and repairing ditches and bunger.

 

15 men including the village headman have to work down to dark for two days without any payment clearing and repairing the army camp. The villagers were summoned to repair the army camp because the Burmese army Tactical one commander is about to visit the area. The villagers have to bring their own food and tools to work at the army camp.

 

 

25 VILLAGERS INCLUDING WOMEN FORCED AS PORTER AND TO REPAIR ARMY CAMP

 

June 6. 2007

 

On April 29, 2007 Captain Min Htat Nyin, of Burmese army (LIB) 304 from Matupi stationed at Sabawngpi village of Matupi Township, Southern Chin State forced 25 local villagers including women to carry army rations and to repair army camp a local person reported to CHRO.

 

Captain Min Htat Nyin summoned 25 persons from Hlungmang village, including seven women. The army officer not only applied them to work in the camp in fencing up the army camp, they were also used as porter in carrying army rations between Sabawngpi village to Sabawngte Army Camp which is 9 miles away on April 30, 2007.

 

The villagers were forced to carry heavy load of army ration such as rice, milk, peas, cooking oil. Arriving at Sabawngte Army Camp, they were further forced to work one more day in repairing the fence of the Army Camp without paying any thing.

 

 

LOCAL VILLAGERS FORCED TO ENTERTAIN VISITING TACTICAL COMMANDER AND HIS TROOPS

 

June 06, 2007

 

Lt. Zaw Myint Oo of Burmese army tactical 2 commander of Chin state from Matupi Township, Southern Chin State in his patrolling tour arrived at Sabawngte village with his troops 45 men on May 6, 2007. Lt. Colonel Zaw Mying Oo replaced the outgoing Tactical 2 Commander colonel Sang Aung who was known as notorious in persecuting the villagers in southern Chin state.

 

As soon as the commander has arrived at the village, villagers were compel to provided enough food and accommodation for the troops a local person reported to CHRO. Besides, in order to appease the visiting Lt. Colonel Zaw Myint Oo, his deputy Battalion Commander Major Win Zaw asked the Village Council to make the best arrangement of showing traditional dance and to prepare the best food for his boss.

 

The villagers have to bear all the expense of entertaining and for food which is very costly for the poor farmers. The village has spent Kyat- 90000 for one pig 3 tins of rice, 6 chickens.

 

After spending two days, Lt. Colonel Zaw Myint Oo and his troops on May 8, 2007 left for Sabawngpi village taking 30 villagers as porters to carry their loads a local person reported.

 

 

 

VILLAGERS GOT 80,000 KYATS FINED FROM TOWNSHIP AUTHORITY

 

May 20, 2007

 

A Chairman of Thantlang Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) on April 25, 2007, fined Kyat-5000 per family to those villagers cultivating farm along the side of the car road for failing to reserve a 200 feet long space from the car road, reported to CHRO by a local resources.

 

Township chairman had sent forest officer Siang Ling on investigation to villages of Van Zang village track such as Vanzang village, Farawn village, Sihmuh village, Sopum. These villagers got fined because they did not reserve 200 feet space between their farm and the road.

 

“If we reserve 200 ft. long space from the road we have left only very little spot for farming. Therefore, we plead to the village head, but get reject our request,” said a local person.

 

Sopum village on 25 May had given Kyat- 5000 to TPDC chairman but it was not accepted as the amount did not meet the demand. The order to reserve 200 ft. long space along the road side was already issued 5 years ago, but township chairman started exercising his power this year.

 

SPDC ORDER TO SELL ALCOHOL DURING CHRISTIAN YOUTH MEETING

 

May 22, 2007

 

Major Win Htut of Burmese army company commander from LIB-268, based in Lungler village of Thantlang township told Christian youth from Zahnak village track that unless they sell 120 bottles of alcohol during annual Village track Christian youth conference, the army will not grant permit for annual Christian youth meeting reported the local villager to CHRO.

 

Major Win Htut told Pu Ral Thang, chairman of Zangtlang to sell 120 bottles of alcohol as the rate of 600 Kyat per bottle during the Christian youth meeting during April 4-5, 2007. He further warned them that the meeting will not be allowed to convene, if they refuse to sell the alcohol.

 

The villager who reported to the CHRO said that this year Christian Youth meeting was not very productive as many of the boys were drunk and the meeting was greatly disturbed. It is the military’s trap to disturb our faith and an attempt to destroy Christianity said a local person.

 

In the said Christian youth meeting of Zahnak Village’strack, 200 total delegations from villages such as Dawn, Bungkhua, Fungkah, Ralpel and Zaangtlang villages had attended. But many of the rest villages did not come to attend the meeting as they know that the Army had ordered to sell alcohol to the meeting attendants. Besides, Major Win Htut was also known to force Tlangpi village and Tlanglo village to sell 240 bottles of alcohol according to the local resources.

 

 

VILLAGERS FORCED TO BUY AND GROW RICE AND CASTOR SEEDS

 

 

May 28, 2007

 

The chairman of Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), U Sue Win from Tonzang Town, Northern Chin State, on April 28, 2007 ordered Dar Khai villagers to grow Sweyin-aye rice and castor tree, a local person reported to CHRO.

 

On February 18 U Sue Win had called all villages’ council meeting of Tonzang Township, and he said “all the villagers in Tonzang Township must hold regular meeting every month from this time to get instruction from the township authority. Every village should send one delegate to the meeting without fail said the chairman.

 

He further explained all the attendants about the purpose of the meeting by explicating the importance of the implementation of Sweyin-aye rice and Ship-castor tree plantation plan in the whole regions. He informed them that they could get 12 tins of Sweyin-aye rice seed from Darkhai village at the rate of Kyat- 4500 per tin. Every village have to clear 3 acre of land to plant castrol seeds.

 

As order, the village council members of Dar Khai had collected money from the villagers. Then they received the seeds only after giving Kyat-54000 to township agriculture office. For getting Ship-castor seeds, every house in the villager is assigned to get (5) cup of seed. However, plantation of Sweyin-aye rice and Ship-castor tree has not been successful until now instead of assisting on implementing as the agriculture plan in Chin State. “The village’s council meeting is scheduled to call soon for further works, as plantation of Sewyin-aye rice and Ship-castor is a government plan, it will affect the whole regions in Chin State” a village man said.

 

SPDC FORCED 6 VILLAGES FOR PORTER

 

28 May 2007

Major Tun Tun Oo from Burma army LIB 226 presently based at Darkhai village of Tonzang township in Northern Chin state forced surrounding 6 villages as porter to carry army ration on April 28, 2007 according to the local who reported the incident to CHRO.

 

The villages those who engage in forced porter were Darkhai (a), Darkhai (b), Tuithang, Talik, Zampi, and Lung El village. The porters have to carry heavy load of army ration from Rih army camp to Darkhai village army camp. According to the report from the local villager, the Burmese soldiers forced not only the villagers but also their horse to carry their ration as there is no enough villagers to carry all the load.

 

 

Major Tun Tun Oo and his troops come to camp at Darkhai village starting from 2006 December. Soon after the Major and his troops stationed in the village, surrounding villages are regularly forced to carry army ration every month.

 

VILLAGE SELF SUPPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL ORDER TO STOP

21 May 2007

Authority from Rezua township ordered to stop self support middle school run by Soti villagers according to reliable report received by CHRO from the villagers.

 

The school was run by the villagers themselves as there is no middle school in the village. The school has 16 students from class 5 to 7 and run by 2 teachers. The teachers pay were covered by the villagers themselves so that their children can get education in the village.

 

As the villagers does not dare to refuse the order the school was closed that half the students those who could not afford to go to the town school have to abandon their studies.

 

REFUGEE ISSUE:

 

MORE CHIN REFUGEES ARRESTED BY MALAYSIA AUTHORITY

May 5, 2007

In yet another crackdown on undocumented illegal workers, Malaysian authorities arrested 27 Chins yesterday.

During a series of operations against illegal workers in different construction sites, 11 Chins haling from Myanmar were arrested from a construction site in Jahor Baru at around 1 a.m. (Malaysia Standard Time) and 14 Chins were picked up from Putrajaya Limaun Manis at around 7 a.m.

Malaysian immigration authorities and the police locked up 14 Chins from the Putrajaya Limau Manis site in Lenggeng Camp. The location of the camp where the other 13 have been kept is yet unknown, said Salai San of the Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia.

The Malaysian government has officially enforced a penalty which involves caning or a jail term for those who work in Malaysia illegally. The caning depends on how long the detainees have stayed and worked in Malaysia. The current detainees are likely to be caned or deported to the Thailand border.

It is not yet known how many Chins among the detainees hold UN recognized refugee cards. If there are card holders among the detainees, the authorities will have confiscated it. Though UN refugee cardholders are released from custody, the authorities are unlikely to return the cards to the holders, according to Salai San.

The UNHCR office in Malaysia is said to be silent and has taken no responsibility for detainees who hold UN cards and have been seeking asylum.

In the raids on undocumented workers that started early this year Malaysian immigration and police have rounded up around 736 Chins.

The Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia is said to have alerted documented refugees to avoid being rounded up in the operation by the Malaysian Immigration and the police.

 

CRC URGED UNHCR TO SPEED UP REGISTRATION

June 20, 2007: On World Refugee Day today, the Chin Refugee Committee (CRC) in New Delhi has urged the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to expedite recognition of Burmese refugees. The Committee also wants it to expand implementation of health and education related programmes for Burmese refugees in India.

“It takes about three months, starting from filling up application forms, sitting for interviews and getting to know the results. Some even do not get results even after such a long period and they have to wait for more than a year”, said Mr. Jeremia, secretary of CRC.

“Subsistence Allowance or privileges related to health for refugees provided by UNHCR is insufficient. After paying room rent, nothing is left for medical care when they (refugees) are sick. They take loans from others to avail treatment from nearby clinics. There is also no reimbursement from UNHCR for medical treatment. Therefore, we would like to call on the UNHCR today to reimburse treatments costs to refugees,” he added.

Since 2006, the YMCA, working partner of UNHCR in New Delhi cut off assistance for medical care for refugees except for Tuberculosis (TB) patients. As a result, refugees from Myanmar are facing a lot of problems on a daily basis, the CRC said.

YMCA provides refugee students from Myanmar studying at the primary level from nursery to class V about Rs. 2500 a year and Rs. 3,100 to students between Class VI to Class XII in three installments a year.

There are several children who are unable to continue studies as the UNHCR has phased out Subsistence Allowance (SA) of some refugees from Myanmar. Their parents are also struggling for survival, CRC added.

There are around 1,500 refugees from Myanmar recognized by the UNHCR office in New Delhi and about 600 refugees who are still unrecognized.

NEWS & EVENTS

FIRST CHIN MILITARY OFFICIAL TO HEAD CHIN STATE

May 7, 2007: For the first time a Chin army official has been promoted to the post of tactical commander and head of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Chin state since the present military regime SPDC come to power after bloody coup in 1988. He is the first Chin ethnic military official to hold this rank and position. The decision was taken by the military regime In Naypidaw, the new capital of Myanmar in February.

Major General Hueng Ngai, a Chin national from Mindat Township, Chin state, took over from Colonel Tin Hla, the former tactical commander and head of State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Chin state, said a local in Hakha, a capital of Chin state.

The promotion of Major General Hueng Ngai seems to have a link with Naypidaw’s future nominee for Chin Affairs Minister. The SPDC is also preparing to hold a general election after its national convention in keeping with the military junta’s seven-step road map to democracy in Myanmar.

“It won’t be any different for us because of his being a Chin general. We will have to carry out our duties as ordered from above. The surprise is a Chin being asked to head Chin state,” a local said.

Hueng Ngai is the second army official from Chin ethnicity to be promoted to the rank of Major General after Major General Taung Za Khai in the era of Burma Socialist Programme party (BSPP) led by U Newin, a former ruler of Myanmar.

Being a Buddhist is another reason for Major General Hueng Ngai, to be promoted in the military hierarchy, according to sources in Chin state.

Military personnel from among Christian minorities are hardly promoted to higher ranks in Myanmar where the majority is Buddhist. – KNG.

CHIN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SEMINAR IN MATUPI

2 May 2007: Chin University students successfully concluded the historic seminar called “Human Resource Development” held from April 13 to 18 in Matupi Township, Chin state, Myanmar.

The HRD seminar was held at the Matupi Civil hospital hall in which around 73 Chin University students and other local guests participated. It was organized by the Chin Literature and Culture Committee (CLCC) from Universities in Myanmar.

The seminar aimed to strive for peace, unity and solidarity among Chin people.

Prof. Dr. C. Thang Za Tuan, a member of advisory board of CLCC, in a report regarding the HRD seminar said that the seminar had strengthened the mood of togetherness, closeness and oneness among Chin students. It was a part of achieving the CLCC’s motto: ‘We are one in Chin.’

“Widening an individual’s outlook and experience is the first and major achievement of the seminar,” said Dr. C. Thang Za Tuan.

Moreover, the HRD seminar also promotes the spirit of cooperation, coordination, obedience, docility and diligence among Chin Youths building leadership qualities and fostering optimistic vision, according to a report on the HRD seminar.

During the seminar, students could also interact with locals in various activities. They played soccer with local teams, went fishing along the ‘Lemro’ river with locals, worshipped at three local churches and provided voluntary labour to the ‘Pyikhaingphyo’ Tea Plantation.

There were no complaints of interference by local military authorities.

The next HRD seminar is scheduled to be held in Falam Township in Chin state on April 2008.

CNA SOLDIER UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR MOLESTING A WOMAN

 

 

Chinland Guardian

 

June 18, 2007-Aizawl: A soldier from Chin National Army (CNA), the armed wing of Chin National Front (CNF), is under investigation by his own party and army officials for molesting a woman. Corporal Maung Thein, a section commander from battalion 3 of the Chin National Army was accused of molesting a young married woman during the week of May 18-22 near Para village at India-Burma border.

 

According to sources from the villagers, Ms. Deli San and her husband from Leiring village of Matupi townships, Southern Chin State was stopped by a group of CNA soldiers on their way to Mizoram on May 18. The couple along with four other villagers spent the night with the CNA soldiers at Para village. The next day the soldiers relocated and camped to another place outside of the village where Corporal Maung Thein was accused of molesting and inappropriately treating the couple.

 

When the couple were contacted at Lawngtlai where they are now staying, the woman Ms. Deli San said that “I did not know how they treated me during the night as I was injected diazepam and I just fall asleep that I did not know any thing”.

 

However, the husband of the woman protested that “even though I did not witnessed it, it is highly possible that the CNA corporal Maung Thein molested my wife the fact that I was ordered to sleep at another tent while he kept my wife in his tent for the night. I am not satisfy with the treatment of CNA soldiers”.

 

According to CNF spoke person “as soon as we heard the case, we take it seriously. We immediately formed a committee to investigate the case in search of justice accordance with the CNF and CNA rule and regulations and the existing law”.

 

“The accused culprit corporal Maung Thein had been arrested by CNA soldiers and he is under investigation. We are also seeking witness statement from both the woman Ms. Dali San and her husband” said the CNF source.

 

When asked did they receive complaint from the couple, CNF spoke person responded that “we the CNF did not receive any formal complaint from the couple nor any body. But we heard it from the villagers that the CNA soldiers inappropriately treating the people, especially the couple”.

 

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) field in charge and member of the organization board of directors Mr. Terah Thantluang said that “We heard about the case and we are closely following it. We also informed the CNF leadership about the case that we are very much concern about this and we take it seriously. If the accused culprit is proven guilty, justice is needed to be done from CNF/A side”.

 

The Chin National Front (CNF) was formed in 1988 to fight against the Burmese military regime for self determination of the Chin people and restoration of democracy in Burma . The Chin National Army (CNA) is the armed wing of the CNF, which is now under the process of ceasefire talk with the Burmese military regime State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

 

SIX UNDP WORKERS SUSPENDED FOR CORRUPTION

May 26, 2007: Six staff members of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Chin state, Myanmar were suspended in March for being involved in corruption.

Mr. Stevan Van Bik, director of UNDP project in Chin state, was said to have dismissed six UNDP staff in Hakha, Thantlang and Falam Township as they were allegedly into corrupt practices.

“We have only heard that they were suspended for corruption. I don’t know what kind of corruption they were involved in,” said a local in Thantlang.

The suspended UNDP staff members include Pu Ai Van, Pu Pho Cing, Pi Sui Rem, Pi Parvang. The names of two more could not be ascertained.

UNDP workers in Chin state get between US $ 150 to 200 per month as basic salary. They also receive traveling allowance.

Health, education, water supply, poultry farm and agricultural farm projects are being run under UNDP programmes in some villages of Chin state.

Recently, the UNDP selected around 15 villages for the project. Locals from each village are said to have approached UNDP for some projects to be conducted in their villages by paying money or giving domestic animals to UNDP staff.

The volume of UNDP projects are allotted to villages in keeping with the amount of money or domestic animals they give as bribe.

“The underdeveloped villages are put on top priority for the UNDP projects. But some villagers bribe to win the project. It doesn’t mean that all those who give money are given the projects. It depends on how much they can bribe,” a local from Chin state said.

Therefore, UNDP employees take advantage from such competition among the people. It has led to more corruption among workers and the project fails due to misuse of money.

From 1990 onwards some of the UNDP projects such as water supply, health care and education began to be conducted in Chin state.

This is the first time UNDP staff members in Chin state have been dismissed for corruption. – KNG.

 

ENC GENERAL SECRETARY INVITED TO THE WHITE HOUSE

By Elaisa Vahnie

June 12, 2007−Washington DC: Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, General Secretary of the Ethnic Nationalities Council-Union of Burma (ENC) today met with the first lady of the United States Mrs. Bush at the White House.

The White House opens its door and invited ENC leader to discuss about current situation in Burma as the ENC delegation led by Dr. Sakhong, winner of 2007 Martin Luther King Jr. Prize, is in its lobby trip to the United States.

“I and the people of Burma are grateful for the White House strong supports for the movements towards democracy and human rights in Burma . I am thankful to the first lady for inviting us to discuss current situation in Burma ” said Dr. Sakhong.

When asked what was the main point of discussion Dr. Sakhong said that “we have covered a wide range of issues during an hour long meeting with the first lady. We discussed about political and human rights situation, humanitarian assistance and refugee situation in India-Thailand and Malaysia ”.

First lady Laura Bush joined five female senators last month to launch a new Women’s Caucus on Burma , focusing on the human-rights and political crisis in Burma.

“One important issue I and the delegation have press is to organize international conference on Burma where China , India and ASEAN countries can join the US in democratization of the country” said Dr. Sakhong.

This historic lobby and advocacy mission from Burma ’s ethnic nationalities along with the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is arranged by Congressman Joseph Pitt office and Congressman Pitt himself accompanied the ENC delegation today to the White House.

Last week Dr. Sakhong and ENC delegation met with seven Congressmen and five senators. They also met with Mr. Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of US Department of State.

The top issue they discussed was seeking the US help in bringing China , India , and ASEAN countries under the United Nations mechanism to push for positive change in Burma . They also made a request to the US continue support for humanitarian assistance to Burmese people both inside and outside of the country, and to increase help in assisting capacity building for Burmese people.

The ENC delegation also held Congressional staff hearing and Diplomatic hearing. The later was attended by representatives from 26 embassies based in Washington DC including three ambassadors.

The ENC delegation also had met with high ranking officials from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

This is the third time that Burma ’s ethnic nationalities group has brought their political agenda to the White House. A Shan woman Nang Charm Tong was invited by the White House in 2006 where she spent an hour talking with the President. And in February 2007, Chin and Kachin delegation brought their political agenda to the White House meeting with senior officials from National Security Council.

A CHIN MEDICAL STUDENT TO OBSERVE THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE UK

 

24 June 2007

 

London, UK: – A Chin medical student, Sasa, is to observe the health care system in the UK including the clinical attachment at the general Hospital of Newcastle, Good Hope Hospital of Birmingham, Royal County Hospital of Brighton and the Hospital of Dawn International Network. This two-month practical observation will include study and speech tour, student elective course and participating at auspicious occasion of the Adventure Plus.

 

A fifth year student currently studying at Armenian Medical University in Armenia said, “This is a huge blessing for me to observe the modern health care system of this great nation. I hope and pray for the day when our motherland will have a privilege to this kind of modern high-medical technology and health care system. As the future of our people is relying on the youths of our generation, this is critically important for us, the youths, to have the best and highest possible dreams toward the future of our people and country. This is the era when the whole world is running after better health and brighter future”.

 

As an outstanding student, Sasa is well known to his fellow medical students and professors, his village and the areas nearby. He passed his matriculation from Yangon , Burma in 1997. Due to the unconditional closures of universities in Burma , Sasa went to India and got accepted at a college in Shillong in 1999 after passing higher secondary examination with good marks, which gave him a chance for medical study in India or abroad. Three rural villages including his native village made a kind contribution for his medical study and Sasa chose to further his study in Armenia in 2002.

 

“The health care situation in Burma has been terribly worsening. As a result, there is an increasing number of disabled population as well as mortality and morbidity rate. And, the population of orphans reach beyond the limit and poverty has already crossed the red line,” continued Sasa.

 

“Truly speaking, the country’s health situation is heading to unimaginable- scale, which is damaging the people’s future. It is heart-bleeding when you think of our beloved family members’ lives in Chin State , which are still being threatened by mosquitoes and simple water-born disease. This is simply unacceptable and these sufferings the people have been going through for decades are the greatest challenges of our generation. The time has come for the Chins both inside and outside the country to do everything we can to meet with this crisis before it’s too late,” said Sasa, who is from a small village in Southern Chin State.

 

This is the third time that Sasa has made this type of tour to the United Kingdom , the first time in December, 2005 and the second time in June, 2006.

 

 

 

Rhododendron News

Volume X. No. III. July-August 2007

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Human Rights Situations in Chin State

 

• New Family Registration Drive Poses Burdens for Chin Families

• Burmese Soldiers Living off Chin Villagers

• SPDC Soldiers Looted Money from Pig-trader

• SPDC Army Killed 50 Pigs for Food without Compensation

• Exemption for Religious Pastor Repealed

• SPDC Army Extorted 20,000 Kyats From Trader

• Army Officer Confiscates 7.6 Million Kyats from Trader

• New Tax Imposed on Fruit Merchants in Southern Chin State

• New Restrictions on Farmers and Travelers Southern Chin State

• Unlawful Seizure of Goods and Money

• More Extortion by Burmese Army

 

 

Refugee Situations

 

• Hundreds Arrested in Malaysia Immigration Raids

• More Chin Refugees Rounded Up in Malaysia Immigration Raids

• URGENT ACTION APPEAL: Refugee Women and Children Detained in Continuing Raids in Malaysia

• Chins held the intra-ethnic Constitution Consultative meeting

News & Events

• Chin Christian Fellowship In Denmark Held Its 4th Annual Conference Successfully

• Chins held the intra-ethnic Constitution Consultative meeting

• The 6th Seminar on the State Constitutions Kicks off

 

 

 

Human Rights Situations in Chinland

 

NEW FAMILY REGISTRATION DRIVE POSES BURDENS FOR CHIN FAMILIES

 

July16, 2007: Each household in Thantlang Township is to pay 10, 000 Kyats to local authorities as a fee for making a family registration book, according to an order issued during the second week of July by Pu Lai Tu, Chairman of the township Peace and Development Council.

 

The head of each local administrative body has been instructed to levy 10,000 per family in their jurisdiction. Households who have one or more of their family member absent during the registration drive are to pay twice the amount as a penalty.

 

All households in the township are to enter each family member in the new registration book at the latest by July 24, 2007. “This is just a ploy to squeeze more money out of the public. There should have been advance notice since some family members many not be home in time for the registration deadline,” one local villager complained.

 

 

BURMESE SOLDIERS LIVING OFF CHIN VILLAGERS

 

July 18,2007: A company commander from LIB-140, (Matupi based battalion) positioned at Pasin village of Matupi Township, Southern Chin state, in the first week of July, sent a letter requsitioning ration supplies. All villages in the area must supply rations for the Burmese soldiers according to the order, which was sent to villagers together with a bullet, local person reported to CHRO.

 

The said company commander had started collection of rice and chickens from villages in his jurisdiction. Each family in the area must supply 3 cups of rice and one chicken every month. In July, he sent to the villagers bullets wrapped in a letter as a warning for punishment for anyone who failed to meet his demands.

 

Many Chin villagers are now are living in fear as they are being compelled to supply food and curry for the Burmese soldier under threat and intimidation.

 

 

SPDC SOLDIERS LOOTED MONEY FROM PIG-TRADER

 

July 20, 20007: A Burmese Soldiers led by a sergeant from LIB-266, (Hakha based battalion) stationed at Than Tlang town, Northern Chin state, looted 15000 Kyats from a pig trader at the India-Burma border area, CHRO has learned.

 

The victims, Mr. Ceu Cung and his two mates were herding five pigs for sale in Mizoram, India. On June 05, 2007, they met with a group of Burmese soldiers on patrol between Sialam and Hmunhalh village.

 

frontline activist Burmese soldiers, between Sia Lam village and Hmun Halh village. The amry Segeant said, “You people are doing illegal trading, and for punishment you have to pay15000 Kyats. You can not pass on the journey without this”.

 

Mr. Ceu Cung had bought five pigs from the nearby villages to sell them across the border in Mizoram to support his family. “The presence of Burmese soldiers in Chin State is nothing more than hardship for the people. They are just living off the local people by looting and confiscating what little possessions we have,” said a cross-border trader.

 

 

SPDC ARMY KILLED 50 PIGS FOR FOOD WITHOUT COMPENSATION

 

July22, 2007: A Burmese army company commander from LIB-304 (Matupi based battalion) posted at Matupi town, Southern Chin state, had shot dead (50) pigs that were let loose from their sties, a villager reported to CHRO.

 

Since the establishment of the army camp in Maadu village in 2005, Lt. Captain Than Aung had issued an order to keep pigs in the sty and not to let them loose in the village. However, some pigs jump off their enclosures. Taking advantage of this situation, the soldiers had shot and killed at least 50 pigs belonging to the villagers and taken to their camp for food.

 

The last incident happened in May 2007 when U Awm’s pig was shot and killed and then taken to the army camp for food. The owner of the pig was not only compensated but his request for some of the meat was turned down by the soldiers.

 

Villages such as Am Sai, Khengca, and Thong Na are facing the same situation as their domestic animals are hunted whenever the patrolling Burmese army arrived in their village.

 

 

EXEMPTION FOR RELIGIOUS PASTOR REPEALED

 

July 24, 2007: Christian religious pastors will no longer be exempted from various forms of often arbitrary taxes and levies exacted by the military government.

 

A chairman of Falam Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), in last week of June 2007, issued an order repealing all exemptions that were previously in place for Christian Pastor, a local person has told CHRO.

 

On 27 June 2007, TPDC chairman had called a meeting of (200) Christian Pastors from (35) associations at his office. In the meeting, he declared that all exemption privileges for religious pastors had been revoked effective immediately. Like common citizens, Christian pastors will give be required to pay all applicable levies and contributions demanded by the military government” he added.

 

According to existing laws, religious leaders from all religions are exempt from taxes and other contributions, including forced labor, demanded by the government. “This latest revocation of such privileges is seen by the public as an open attempt to discriminate Christians in Chin State,” said a local person.

 

 

SPDC ARMY EXTORTED 20,000 KYATS FROM TRADER

 

July 26,2007: A Burmese army column commander Lt. Captain Myo Ku Ku Zaw from LIB-228 (Kalay based battalion), positioned at Zimpi village of Tedim township, Northern Chin state, on July 13, 2007, seized 20,000 Kyats from a trader, an eye witness reported to CHRO.

 

Lt. Captain Myo Ku Ku Zaw, on getting information that U Pa Pawng was carrying dry areca nut on 20 horsebacks from Kalay town to sell it to Mizoram, ambushed him near Buk Phir village. The victim was asked to pay 1000 Kyats per horse and threatened him to be handed over to the Battalion Commander at Rih town, if he did not pay the money.

 

It has been learnt that Lt. Captain and his men also looted money from other traders unfairly who travel on the same route.

 

 

ARMY OFFICER CONFISCATES 7.6 MILLION KYATS FROM TRADER

 

July 28,2007: Lieutenant Tein That Oo, company commander of Burmese army from LIB- 269 (Tedium based battalion), positioned at Darkhua village of Tawn Zang Township, Northern Chin state, on July 15, 2007, unlawfully seized more than 7 million Kyats from a trader, CHRO has learned.

 

The victim who is a resident of Kalay town was carrying millions of Kyats worth of Indian-made tobacco on horsebacks with 160 horses when he met with the Lieutenant and his eight men on the way between Tlan Mual and Tui Tang Villages. The officer then asked the trader to pay 100, 000 Kyats per horse or face severe punishment. He was given three days to come up with the money.

 

Many crosss-border traders are facing increasing extortion by Burmese army units patrolling the Indo-Burma border. The settlement of Darkar army camp and Zimpi temporary army camp has become a threat to commercial activities, as the Burmese soldiers started asking money for following this Indo-Burma commercial route.

 

 

SPDC AUTHORITY LEVIED TAX FROM FARMERS

 

July 05, 2007: Township revenue department officer, U Soe Nyein of Palatwa town, Southern Chin state, has levied excessive tax from farmers in areas, according to CHRO source. Farmers must pay 10, 000 Kyats per each farmland they own, according to the latest order.

 

U Soe Nyein has asked all village council chairmen in the areas to collect data on farmers and their properties for the purpose of taxing them accordingly by the Township Revenue Department.

 

In issuing the order, he further stressed that any excess farmland or inaccurate reporting of farmland area would result in seizure of that farmland.

 

Some villagers who were unable to get money had to borrow money with high rates of interest for fear of punishment and seizure of their farmland by the authorities according to the local source.

 

 

NEW TAX IMPOSED ON FRUIT MERCHANTS IN SOUTHERN CHIN STATE

 

July 07,2007: Major Aung Lawi Oo, Commander of LIB-289 (Based in Palatwa town) Southern Chin state, in the first week of May this year, released an order requiring all merchants selling fruits to pay high taxes, according to CHRO source.

 

According the the Major’s order, anyone selling fruits produced in Paletwa to other areas must pay the taxes. He has assigned Coropral Tun Aye to collect 50,000 Kyats per boatload of fruit shipment. Those unable to pay the money are to have their goods confiscated, the order reads.

 

The said army commander also prohibits transporting rice to other regions. The rule breakers are to be fined 3000 Kyats for punishment, according a local person.

 

 

NEW RESTRICTIONS ON FARMERS AND TRAVELERS SOUTHERN CHIN STATE

 

July 10, 2007: A deputy batallion commander of LIB-304, Major Zaw Win Niang, posted at Sabawngte Village of Matupi Township, Southern Chin state, on May 16th, 2007, has issued an order prohibiting farmers to stay overnight at their farms due to purported security reasons, CHRO has learned. Those who must stay at their farms overnight are to get proir written permission from the army.

 

Major Zaw Win Nyin asked all 12 village administrative councils and nearby the army camp to issue permission letter to people travel ring in the regions. Travelers without permit letter are liable for severe punishment. Farmers are directed not to sleep night at the farm more than three days.

 

Moreover, the army officer has compelled 20 persons from surrounding villages to work on road construction for three whole days.

 

The forced labor has adversely affected villagers’ crop productions as some of their crops were spoiled due to late harvesting.

 

 

UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF GOODS AND MONEY

 

July 13, 2007: A Burmese army sergeant and his men, based in Vuangtu army camp of Than Tlang Township, Northern Chin state, from LIB-269, (Tidim based battalion), had unlawfully confiscated money and rice from from a Bungkhua villager.

 

On June 19, 2007, the partolling army unit seized Kyats 50, 000 and a bag of rice from Bungkhua village who was travelling between Hriangkhan and Ruafiang villages. “The sergeant accused the victim, who does not understand Burmese, of trying to sell foodstuff to Mizoram and took away all he had, including 50, 000 Kyats.

 

The victim repeatedly requested them to give him back ration and money, as his family has left no more rice to eat. It is learned that many villages in Chin State are now beginning to face food shortage, due to bamboo flowering year.

 

MORE EXTORTION BY BURMESE ARMY

 

July 14, 2007: Burmese Soldiers, based in Vuangtu Army Camp of Than Tlang Township, Northern Chin state, fromLIB-269 (Based in Tidim), on June 16, 2007, extorted 300,000 Kyats from two traders, according to CHRO source.

 

The victims are from Lawngtlang village and were transporting pigs to Mizoram for sale when they were caught at Lungcawipi village by the soliders. All their money was then seized by the army.

 

Refugee Situations

 

HUNDREDS ARRESTED IN MALAYSIA IMMIGRATION RAIDS

By: Amy Alexander

25 June 2007-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Over 200 asylum-seekers and UNHCR-recognized refugees from Burma have been rounded up and taken into custody after early morning immigration raids today conducted by Malaysia’s controversial People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) in Kuala Lumpur neighborhoods.

The raids began around 1:30 am and took place in KL’s urban neighborhoods of Jalan Imbi and Sempaing, where a large number of asylum seekers and refugees from Burma’s Chin State reside. Approximately 217 were arrested and reportedly taken to Lenggeng detention camp located two hours outside of KL. This is the second large-scale raid in this area of KL since the beginning of the year.

Among those arrested are many UNHCR-recognized refugees, including several who are scheduled to be resettled to a third country within the next couple weeks and months. The Coordinator for the Chin Refugee Center (CRC), a community-based organization working to provide assistance to the Chin population living in Malaysia, was one of those arrested during the raid. He and his family are scheduled for resettlement to the United States in September. The Coordinator was eventually released after intervention by UNHCR and human rights organizations.

This raid is just one of a series of raids that have been conducted since the Government of Malaysia launched operations targeting undocumented migrants in March 2005. Despite criticism by human rights groups, conditions have only gotten worse for undocumented migrants as harassment, arrests, and deportations increased during the last year. Those arrested for immigration offenses are increasingly charged with canings, a serious penalty that leaves deep, permanent scarring. Conditions inside Malaysia’s detention facilities meanwhile remain deplorable, with detainees being given inadequate food, clothing, and accommodations, in addition to being subjected to verbal and physical abuse by the guards.

RELA, the untrained task force largely responsible for conducting immigration raids, has been the focus of consistent complaints for human rights violations and abuse of power. RELA has been responsible for deliberate property damage, extortion, harassment, indiscriminate and unlawful arrests, and physical assaults resulting in serious injuries and even death. Increasingly, there are calls for an end to RELA’s activities, with the Malaysia-based human rights group SUARAM issuing two separate complaints to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) within the last year and the Malaysian Bar calling for RELA’s immediate disbandment in March. Within this last month, RELA succumbed to pressure by numerous human rights groups to do away with the bounty system, which provided RELA agents with 80RM (US$25) for each arrest and led to increased abuses among the untrained volunteers.

Meanwhile the Malaysian Government has refused to address these issues. Rather, in February of this year, Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad reportedly criticized the UNHCR for getting in the way of the operations of agencies such as RELA and the Immigration Department. The Minister further indicated that Malaysia “accepts UNHCR’s presence, but not their powers.” At the beginning of this month, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid further reiterated that Malaysia will not recognize refugees.

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.

 

MORE CHIN REFUGEES ROUNDED UP IN MALAYSIA IMMIGRATION RAIDS

By: Amy Alexander

31 July 2007-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: About 60 refugees and asylum seekers from Burma’s Chin State are now behind bars in Malaysia awaiting an uncertain future after immigration raids yesterday in Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Lokeyew neighborhood. About 20 women and children and 25 UNHCR-recognized refugees are among those rounded up during the raid.

Almost half of those arrested yesterday morning are recognized refugees with valid UNHCR documents. Many are in the final stages of a long process to be resettled to a third country, with some scheduled to depart within the next couple weeks. Instead of boarding an airplane to begin a new life abroad, they now face the possibility of being loaded onto a lorry bound for the Thai border.

The raid began in the early hours of the morning yesterday in Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Lokeyew neighborhood, where a large number of refugees and asylum seekers from Burma’s Chin State reside. This neighborhood was targeted just one month ago in a similarly-styled raid, which resulted in the arrest and detention of mostly women and young children.

The raid was conducted by Malaysia’s controversial RELA or the People’s Volunteer Corps, an untrained, volunteer civilian unit endowed with considerable enforcement powers. This year RELA has come under increasing criticism for its member’s reckless conduct and abusive actions during raids, not only by international human rights groups but also by organization’s within Malaysia’s civil society. In March, the Malaysian Bar joined the Malaysia-based human rights group SUARAM in calling for RELA’s immediate disbandment following repeated complaints of torture and other human rights violations.

Despite continued condemnation by members of the international community and human rights organizations, yesterday’s raid is one of a mounting number of recently conducted raids targeting the refugee and undocumented migrant community in Malaysia. Since the beginning of this year, several hundreds of refugees and undocumented migrants have been caught up in similar immigration raids.

Malaysia refuses to recognize or give any protections to refugees or asylum seekers living within its borders. Rather, Malaysia has been conducting operations to target undocumented migrants as well as refugees and asylum seekers since March 2005. In February of this year, Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad reaffirmed the government’s intolerance for the refugee population by criticizing the UNHCR for getting in the way of the operations of agencies such as RELA and the Immigration Department. The Minister further indicated that Malaysia “accepts UNHCR’s presence, but not their powers.”

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

URGENT ACTION APPEAL: REFUGEE WOMEN AND CHILDREN DETAINED IN CONTINUING RAIDS IN MALAYSIA

June 26, 2007

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: CHRO has recently been informed that just two days after Malaysia’s RELA forces rounded up and detained more than 200 refugees and asylum seekers from the Jalan Imbi neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian immigration authorities conducted a second raid, this time in Kuala Lumpur’s Lok Yew neighborhood. This second raid resulted in 42 more refugees and asylum seekers being sent to the already overflowing Lenggeng immigration detention facility.

 

Whereas most of the Chins detained during the June 25th raid are UNHCR recognized refugees awaiting resettlement to third countries, a majority of those detained during the June 27th raid are women and young children. From these two incidents alone, over 36 children, two pregnant women, and 19 UNHCR-recognized refugees who are within months of being resettled to third countries are now in Malaysian immigration detention facilities facing an uncertain future.

CHRO is concerned for the safety and security of all those who are detained in Malaysia. CHRO is particularly concerned for the two nine-month pregnant women, Tuan Zi (Chin Refugee Center File No. 354-05C08617) and Fam Tang (UNHCR File No. 03/MLS/08317), and the children who remain in detention despite their vulnerable positions, including:

Ngun Tha Lian, age 1 (File No. 05/MLS/05505)

Tial Tim Rem, age 3 (File No. 05/MLS/05505)

Van Lian Bawi, age 3 (File No. 354-05C08617)

Siang Hlei Sung, age 4 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Jumania Sung Tin Par, age 6 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Ngun Za Hlei, age 7 (File No. 05/MLS/05505)

Cem Cem, age 7 (File No. 05/MLS/05503)

Tha Chin Iang, age 10 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Solomon, age 12 (File No. 05/00579)

Cung Uk Thawng, age 12 (File No. 04/07211)

Sui cin, age 13 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Philip, age 14 (File No. 05/00579)

Conditions inside Malaysia’s immigration detention facilities rise to the level of torture, with prisoners being given inadequate food, clothing, and accommodations, in addition to being subjected to verbal and physical abuse by the guards. Those arrested for immigration offenses are increasingly charged with canings, a serious penalty that leaves deep, permanent scarring. This situation is of serious concern for anyone in detention; however, for the numerous women and children, particularly pregnant women and very young children, the situation is critical.

The raids conducted by immigration enforcement agents during this past June are just two of a series of raids that have been conducted on an almost weekly basis since the Government of Malaysia launched operations targeting undocumented migrants in March 2005. For members of the Chin community, frequent raids and security abuses is an exhausting but unavoidable reality of daily existence in Malaysia. As expressed by Nani, a Chin refugee and volunteer with the Chin Refugee Center in Kuala Lumpur, “I’m really tired of this situation but [we] have to face whatever comes.”

CALL TO ACTION

By continuing to conduct immigration raids that target the refugee community and results in the detention, abuse, and deportation of large numbers of particularly vulnerable persons, Malaysia is in violation of basic human rights standards. Malaysia is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as a sitting member of the UN Human Rights Council, however, women and children in Malaysia, including pregnant woman and very young children, continue to be exposed to and unprotected from security abuses, hostile immigration raids, and increasingly violent crimes committed with impunity.

Under international human rights law, these violations should not have to be a part of daily existence for asylum seekers and refugees living in Malaysia. CHRO calls on the Malaysian government to:

• Discontinue immigration raids and RELA operations that target members of the refugee and asylum seeking community.

• Immediately and unconditionally release all refugees and asylum seekers currently in immigration custody, particularly women and children.

• Cooperate with and work in conjunction with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to protect the inherent rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

• Respect and uphold its international legal obligations to protect and promote the human rights of all people living within its borders.

CHRO also calls on the international community to join our efforts. Please write to or contact the following Malaysian officials in support of our demands:

Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi

Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Security

Prime Minister’s Office Malaysia

Perdana Putra Building

Federal Government Administrative Centre

62502 Putra Jaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel : + 60 3 8888 6000

Fax : + 60 3 8888 3444

 

Datuk Radzi Sheikh Ahmad

Minister of Home Affairs

Level 12, Block D1, Parcel D

Federal Government Administrative Centre

62546 Putra Jaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 8886 8000

Fax: +60 3 8889 1613

 

Tuan HJ. Wahid Bin MD Don

Director-General of Immigration Department

Director General Office

Immigration Department of Malaysia

Level 1-7 (Podium) Block 2G-4, Precint 2

Federal Government Administration Centre

62550 Putrajaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 8880 1000

Fax: +60 3 8880 1200

 

Dato’ Ishak Mohamed

Enforcement Director of Immigration Department

Director General Office

Immigration Department of Malaysia

Level 1-7 (Podium) Block 2G-4, Precint 2

Federal Government Administration Centre

62550 Putrajaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 8880 1000

Fax: +60 3 8880 1200

 

News & Events

 

CHIN CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP IN DENMARK HELD ITS 4TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE SUCCESSFULLY

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

19 July, 2007: The fourth annual conference organised and hosted by Denmark Chin Christian Fellowship (DCCF) ended successfully on Sunday, last week. It was held from 13th July to 15th July, 2007 in Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark , in the southwest Jutland .

 

Nearly 500 people including more than 20 fellow Chins from Germany , Norway and former General Secretary of Zomi Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Chum Awi and his wife from the US joined the conference. “We have been blessed to have had this great opportunity. This is the only time in a year we, all the Chins from different parts of Denmark , can come, meet and praise the Lord together. This year we are very happy that we have some fellow Chins from other countries participating with us,” said Pu Sang Nawl, chairman of DCCF.

 

 

“We also had time to discuss about various issues concerning religious, social, educational and literary movements for the Chins in Denmark for the future. It really went well and as a result, we achieved better than we expected,” added Pu Sang Nawl as he thanked all the participants for their respective contributions to the success of the conference.

 

The fifth DCCF’s annual conference will be held in Bornholm, an island in the east of Denmark in July, 2008.

 

As of June, 2007, there are about 520 Chins currently living in Denmark . Most of them came as refugees on UNHCR’s resettlement programs mainly from Malaysia , Thailand and India .

 

DCCF was established as a parent body responsible for looking after nine different areas across Denmark where the Chins have worship services in their own language.

 

CHINS HELD THE INTRA-ETHNIC CONSTITUTION CONSULTATIVE MEETING

 

31st July, 2007

Chiangmai, Thailand: Leaders of the Chin Forum and the Chin National Council, the biggest alliance of the Chin political parties and civil societies working for the common interests of the Chin people, have successfully concluded their first ever joint Chinland Constitution Consultative Meeting dated 24 – 28 of July, 2007 at the Thai-Burma border.

 

Clearly, the first consultation on the future Chinland Constitution jointly organized by leaders of Chin Forum and CNC is viewed as the first step in the right direction towards strengthening and nurturing the spirit of national unity and cooperation among the Chin people which will bring about many positive things for the Chins everywhere.

 

 

Participating in the five-day long consultative meeting includes six representatives of the Chin Forum, Pu Lian Uk, Salai Kipp Kho Lian, Salai Victor Biak Lian, Dr. Salai Ngun Cung Lian, Dr. Sui Khar, Pu Nang Lian Thang, and three representatives of the CNC, Pu Lalramlawma, Pu Khua Uk Lian, Pu Thang Len Piang, and three resource persons, Professor David C. Williams, John S. Hasting Professor of Law at Indiana University school of law and Consultant of the Chin Forum, Prof. Susan H. Williams of Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law at Indiana University School of law, Honorable Judge David H. Hamilton of The United States District Judge, Southern District of Indiana, and as observers Amy Amy Alexander, the legal consultant of the Chin Human Rights Organization and Salai Za Ceu Lian, the Global College of the University of Winnipeg intern 2007.

 

Founded in 1998, with the objective of keeping in place beforehand the Chin State Constitution in draft, the Chin Forum has been holding a number of meetings and constitutional seminars which resulted in the successful publication of the fourth initial draft of the Chinland Constitution, leading now drafters to work on the fifth initial draft of the Chinland Constitution. Since its inception, the Chin Forum stands as a common platform open to all Chins of different political views or affiliations interest in working together for common democratic objectives. Now the preparation to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the birth of the Chin Forum is underway. Besides, to highlight the roles of the Chin forum and its existence, leaders the CF are planning to publish the Chin forum magazine.

 

Commenting on the significant role of the Chin forum, Salai Victor Biak Lian, a former Secretary of Chin Forum Management Body says, “Looking back to where we started, I believe that we have come a long way in terms of accomplishing some of our political objectives that we initially set forth. Among others, we not only produced the fourth initial draft of our constitution, as the years go by, we also witness that people in the movement are able to differentiate between a democratic movement and the vital role played by constitution in democracy and they understand now that constitution indeed is the real hearth of federalism and democracy which I think is so important.”

 

“From the very beginning of our mission, the fact that we are always result and solution-oriented, I believe that we attained our goals to a certain degree and hope that we continuously make a progresses which will lead us to attain our ultimate goals eventually”, he adds.

 

Firmly believing that restoring democracy will not ensure the rights of self-rule and self-determination for their homeland, along with their ethnic nationalities counterparts, the Chin leaders have been taking initiatives systematically to start preparing their own constitutions with a view to protect their national rights and distinct national identity constitutionally.

 

Sharing his views on the ongoing role that the Chin Forum is undertaking, current coordinator of the Chin Forum, Salai Kipp Kho Lian says, “It opens up a new place in the federal movement of the political exiles of Chinland. We manage to fill up gap between two ages and I believe that many effective new initiatives will follow soon.”

 

The Chins held their intra-ethnic consultative meeting following their participations in the 6th seminar on the state Constitutions dated 16-20th July, 07 where delegates of the non-Burman ethnic nationalities together and jointly discussed and amended the drafted constitution of the Federal Constitution Drafting and Coordinating Committee (FCDCC) members designed for the future federal Union of Burma.

 

THE 6TH SEMINAR ON THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS KICKS OFF

 

 

By Salai Za Ceu Lian

Chinland Guardian

16th July, 2007

 

Chiangmai, Thailand: Scheduled for five days from the 16th to 20th July, 2007, the 6th Seminar on State Constitutions, attended by representatives from the seven major ethnic nationalities groups of Burma, the Arakan, the Chin, the Kachin, the Karen, the Karenni, the Mon, and the Shan, gets kicked off at the Thai-burma border area.

 

This State Constitution Seminar was initially born out of the joint effort made by the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD-LA) under the title of Supporting Committee for State Constitution (SCSC) in 2001. Now, following the emergence of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (www.encburma. org), a council trying to unite the whole ethnic groups of Burma under one umbrella, this ongoing state Constitution Seminar is organized under the Constitutional Affairs Committee (CAC), one of the major committees of the Ethnic Nationalities Council.

 

Knowing that restoring democracy is only the first step towards achieving the rights of self-determination, the national reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence among diverse ethnic groups in the Union of Burma, the non-Burman ethnic leaders are taking initiatives, preparing their own state constitution in anticipation of the future democratic Union of Burma insistently since the year 2001.

 

“We need to be united in order for us to attain our common political goals such as the rights of equality, our birth rights of the national self-determination, and the establishment of a federal Union . Without unity and close cooperation among us, we will not attain our goals”, strongly urges, Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein, Chairman of the Ethnic Nationalities Council, in his opening remarks. “We need to accept the responsibility to work together and accept the need to have unity, national reconciliation, and federal Union in Burma ”, he added.

 

Coincidentally, this 6th seminar on State Constitutions comes politically at a historic time when the State Peace and Development Council of Burma (SPDC) is hell bent on aiming to wrap up their over-decade long national convention slated to begin on the 18th of July, 2007, a convention of which many Burma’s affair analysts called it as “Sham National Convention” and believe that the military junta this time a round will legalize its military rule in the Burma’s constitution.

 

On the question of whether or not the SPDC’s ongoing national convention will bring about a genuine democracy and national reconciliation in Burma, the ENC clearly states its position saying,“ The Ethnic Nationalities Council believes that the SDPC’s seven-point ‘road map’ and its National Convention will not lead to democratization and the establishment of a federal union. The current Convention as it stands will only serve to legitimize the military dictatorship.”

 

With this national convention being at the stage of the final round as said by the regime, many predict that the military junta would force its hand-picked peoples attending national Convention to ratify their constitution, which is the first of their seven steps on a roadmap to democracy and will call a general election.

 

Looking at the initiatives consistently taken to hold a series of seminar on constitutions, one can dub that the ethnic leaders of Burma are reconvening the second Taungyi conference, the first of which was convened in Taungyi, Shan State in 1961under the leadership of Prince Sao Shwethike, the first democratically elected President of the Union of Burma, whereby the ethnic leaders representing their respective national states were attempting to address the internal political conflict of Burma through a peaceful mean, focusing on the constitutional reforms in accordance with the Panglong Agreement signed in 1947.

 

In the end of his remarks during the Taungyi Conference in 1961, Captain Mang Tung Nung, a Chin leader attending the conference said, “May there be the Unity among our ethnic groups and may the Union of Burma be stable”, which reflected his commitment to the integration of the Union of Burma.

 

Like in the past, in the ongoing effort to uproot the military dictatorship from power and achieve the democratic reform based on a genuine federal system in Burma, despite the long years of their marginalization and alienation politically from the mainstream political decision making process, the non-Burma ethnic groups are still opting for rebuilding a Union together with the Burman ethnic group under federalism.

 

While working for the restoration of democracy in a military ruled Burma, with a commitment to claming and defending the rights of ethnic nationalities, political and national, the Ethnic Nationalities Council has been internationally advocating for the emergence of tripartite dialogue involving the ethnic groups as one of the three main dialogue partners to break decades long Burma’s political deadlock in line with a series of resolutions passed and strongly recommended by the United Nations since 1994.

 

A Personal Reflection On The Outcomes Of The Chin Student Conference

 

By Salai Za Ceu Lian

President of Chin Student Union of North America (CSUNA)

 

Our much anticipated conference, the first Chin Student Conference of North America, a historic gathering of Chin Students studying at various Universities and Colleges across the United States of America and Canada was indeed successfully accomplished at Indianapolis, Indiana, USA for the first time in the history of Chin people living in North American Continent. From a two-day long conference on 19th and 20th of August 2007, we, all participants of the conference unanimously agreed to form the Chin Student Union of North America (CSUNA), a union charged with mission to carry out aims and objectives identified from the conference.

 

For the accomplishment of our first conference, there are organizations and individuals who contributed their times, ideas, hard labours, and Money. First of all, our heartfelt appreciation goes to those initiators, the central convening committee members, and the local Indiana working committee for toiling day and night in preparation for the successful implementation of our Conference. Without their hard works and contributions, the conference could not have been organized. Thank you all for dutifully playing each of your assigned works which made our conference a reality.

 

We also would like to thank our people living in Indianapolis for their warm receptions, cozy welcomes and accommodations. Most importantly, we want to express our earnest thanks to the Indiana Chin Baptist Church (ICBC), for their financial assistance and support. We thank them for generously allowing us used their church and instruments for our meetings and worship service. At the same time, our thanks also go to our two Chin music bands, Abandon from Maryland and Lai & Heart from Indianapolis for entertaining our audience with Chin, Burmese and English songs. Fully knowing the important roles played by students in the shaping of our nation buildings in future, we are thankful that our national figures like Pu Lian Uk, Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, Pu Kap Thio, and Pu Val Thang could also wholeheartedly join us and support us.

 

Reflecting on the conference, I am very impressed to see all participants sharing their views and ideas enthusiastically without any misunderstanding whatsoever on any issues we discussed. The conference atmosphere was so friendly, pleasant, shining, joyous, promising, and so relaxing. I saw the smiling faces, an __expression of satisfaction and delight from the inner feelings of each participant. In particular, I am so thrilled to say that the tribal mindset, divisive and unhealthy one for our people in the past, no longer has a place among the Chin University Students. What a wonderful news of encouragement for our Chin people a round the world yearning for our Chin national Unity, the word once seemed to be flying in the air! Way to go students!

 

For a person like myself, who always advocate for the elimination of tribally driven sentiment in our efforts to work for our national unity, nothing is greater than seeing the expressed willingness and commitment of our people, young and old, to work together for the common interest of our Chin people. Our recent conference already paved the way, a way in which all of us regardless of what tribes we belong but focus on our oneness as a distinct people with a shared destiny, to work hand in hand for the all-round development of our Chin people. I believe that our love for the Chin people’s togetherness and historical responsibility calling upon us to protect and preserve our motherland will always unite us as we move forward. To this end, we the CSU of North America fully commit ourselves in bridging the gab.

 

Following our announcement of the formation of the Chin Student Union of North America, it was so uplifting for us to have received the congratulatory notes and best wishes from our fellow brothers and sisters around the globe. On behalf of the CSUNA, I am extending our sincere appreciation to Salai Kipp Kho Lian and his colleagues in the Chin Forum, leaders of the Chin National Front, fellow students of the Chin Students’ Union of New Delhi, and all individuals for your warm greetings and words of congratulation. Keeping in mind your wishes and trusts in our Union and in accordance with our objectives, I want to say to you that my colleagues and I in the Chin Student Union of North America will do our best for the educational development of our Chin people. To make our vision reality, as you know that we, students are with limited resources, we need your supports in any way you can. Therefore, I am appealing to you, parents and youth, to do your part and support us so that we can do together something tangiRhododendron News

Volume X. No. III. July-August 2007

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Human Rights Situations in Chin State

 

• New Family Registration Drive Poses Burdens for Chin Families

• Burmese Soldiers Living off Chin Villagers

• SPDC Soldiers Looted Money from Pig-trader

• SPDC Army Killed 50 Pigs for Food without Compensation

• Exemption for Religious Pastor Repealed

• SPDC Army Extorted 20,000 Kyats From Trader

• Army Officer Confiscates 7.6 Million Kyats from Trader

• New Tax Imposed on Fruit Merchants in Southern Chin State

• New Restrictions on Farmers and Travelers Southern Chin State

• Unlawful Seizure of Goods and Money

• More Extortion by Burmese Army

 

 

Refugee Situations

 

• Hundreds Arrested in Malaysia Immigration Raids

• More Chin Refugees Rounded Up in Malaysia Immigration Raids

• URGENT ACTION APPEAL: Refugee Women and Children Detained in Continuing Raids in Malaysia

• Chins held the intra-ethnic Constitution Consultative meeting

News & Events

• Chin Christian Fellowship In Denmark Held Its 4th Annual Conference Successfully

• Chins held the intra-ethnic Constitution Consultative meeting

• The 6th Seminar on the State Constitutions Kicks off

 

 

 

Human Rights Situations in Chinland

 

NEW FAMILY REGISTRATION DRIVE POSES BURDENS FOR CHIN FAMILIES

 

July16, 2007: Each household in Thantlang Township is to pay 10, 000 Kyats to local authorities as a fee for making a family registration book, according to an order issued during the second week of July by Pu Lai Tu, Chairman of the township Peace and Development Council.

 

The head of each local administrative body has been instructed to levy 10,000 per family in their jurisdiction. Households who have one or more of their family member absent during the registration drive are to pay twice the amount as a penalty.

 

All households in the township are to enter each family member in the new registration book at the latest by July 24, 2007. “This is just a ploy to squeeze more money out of the public. There should have been advance notice since some family members many not be home in time for the registration deadline,” one local villager complained.

 

 

BURMESE SOLDIERS LIVING OFF CHIN VILLAGERS

 

July 18,2007: A company commander from LIB-140, (Matupi based battalion) positioned at Pasin village of Matupi Township, Southern Chin state, in the first week of July, sent a letter requsitioning ration supplies. All villages in the area must supply rations for the Burmese soldiers according to the order, which was sent to villagers together with a bullet, local person reported to CHRO.

 

The said company commander had started collection of rice and chickens from villages in his jurisdiction. Each family in the area must supply 3 cups of rice and one chicken every month. In July, he sent to the villagers bullets wrapped in a letter as a warning for punishment for anyone who failed to meet his demands.

 

Many Chin villagers are now are living in fear as they are being compelled to supply food and curry for the Burmese soldier under threat and intimidation.

 

 

SPDC SOLDIERS LOOTED MONEY FROM PIG-TRADER

 

July 20, 20007: A Burmese Soldiers led by a sergeant from LIB-266, (Hakha based battalion) stationed at Than Tlang town, Northern Chin state, looted 15000 Kyats from a pig trader at the India-Burma border area, CHRO has learned.

 

The victims, Mr. Ceu Cung and his two mates were herding five pigs for sale in Mizoram, India. On June 05, 2007, they met with a group of Burmese soldiers on patrol between Sialam and Hmunhalh village.

 

frontline activist Burmese soldiers, between Sia Lam village and Hmun Halh village. The amry Segeant said, “You people are doing illegal trading, and for punishment you have to pay15000 Kyats. You can not pass on the journey without this”.

 

Mr. Ceu Cung had bought five pigs from the nearby villages to sell them across the border in Mizoram to support his family. “The presence of Burmese soldiers in Chin State is nothing more than hardship for the people. They are just living off the local people by looting and confiscating what little possessions we have,” said a cross-border trader.

 

 

SPDC ARMY KILLED 50 PIGS FOR FOOD WITHOUT COMPENSATION

 

July22, 2007: A Burmese army company commander from LIB-304 (Matupi based battalion) posted at Matupi town, Southern Chin state, had shot dead (50) pigs that were let loose from their sties, a villager reported to CHRO.

 

Since the establishment of the army camp in Maadu village in 2005, Lt. Captain Than Aung had issued an order to keep pigs in the sty and not to let them loose in the village. However, some pigs jump off their enclosures. Taking advantage of this situation, the soldiers had shot and killed at least 50 pigs belonging to the villagers and taken to their camp for food.

 

The last incident happened in May 2007 when U Awm’s pig was shot and killed and then taken to the army camp for food. The owner of the pig was not only compensated but his request for some of the meat was turned down by the soldiers.

 

Villages such as Am Sai, Khengca, and Thong Na are facing the same situation as their domestic animals are hunted whenever the patrolling Burmese army arrived in their village.

 

 

EXEMPTION FOR RELIGIOUS PASTOR REPEALED

 

July 24, 2007: Christian religious pastors will no longer be exempted from various forms of often arbitrary taxes and levies exacted by the military government.

 

A chairman of Falam Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), in last week of June 2007, issued an order repealing all exemptions that were previously in place for Christian Pastor, a local person has told CHRO.

 

On 27 June 2007, TPDC chairman had called a meeting of (200) Christian Pastors from (35) associations at his office. In the meeting, he declared that all exemption privileges for religious pastors had been revoked effective immediately. Like common citizens, Christian pastors will give be required to pay all applicable levies and contributions demanded by the military government” he added.

 

According to existing laws, religious leaders from all religions are exempt from taxes and other contributions, including forced labor, demanded by the government. “This latest revocation of such privileges is seen by the public as an open attempt to discriminate Christians in Chin State,” said a local person.

 

 

SPDC ARMY EXTORTED 20,000 KYATS FROM TRADER

 

July 26,2007: A Burmese army column commander Lt. Captain Myo Ku Ku Zaw from LIB-228 (Kalay based battalion), positioned at Zimpi village of Tedim township, Northern Chin state, on July 13, 2007, seized 20,000 Kyats from a trader, an eye witness reported to CHRO.

 

Lt. Captain Myo Ku Ku Zaw, on getting information that U Pa Pawng was carrying dry areca nut on 20 horsebacks from Kalay town to sell it to Mizoram, ambushed him near Buk Phir village. The victim was asked to pay 1000 Kyats per horse and threatened him to be handed over to the Battalion Commander at Rih town, if he did not pay the money.

 

It has been learnt that Lt. Captain and his men also looted money from other traders unfairly who travel on the same route.

 

 

ARMY OFFICER CONFISCATES 7.6 MILLION KYATS FROM TRADER

 

July 28,2007: Lieutenant Tein That Oo, company commander of Burmese army from LIB- 269 (Tedium based battalion), positioned at Darkhua village of Tawn Zang Township, Northern Chin state, on July 15, 2007, unlawfully seized more than 7 million Kyats from a trader, CHRO has learned.

 

The victim who is a resident of Kalay town was carrying millions of Kyats worth of Indian-made tobacco on horsebacks with 160 horses when he met with the Lieutenant and his eight men on the way between Tlan Mual and Tui Tang Villages. The officer then asked the trader to pay 100, 000 Kyats per horse or face severe punishment. He was given three days to come up with the money.

 

Many crosss-border traders are facing increasing extortion by Burmese army units patrolling the Indo-Burma border. The settlement of Darkar army camp and Zimpi temporary army camp has become a threat to commercial activities, as the Burmese soldiers started asking money for following this Indo-Burma commercial route.

 

 

SPDC AUTHORITY LEVIED TAX FROM FARMERS

 

July 05, 2007: Township revenue department officer, U Soe Nyein of Palatwa town, Southern Chin state, has levied excessive tax from farmers in areas, according to CHRO source. Farmers must pay 10, 000 Kyats per each farmland they own, according to the latest order.

 

U Soe Nyein has asked all village council chairmen in the areas to collect data on farmers and their properties for the purpose of taxing them accordingly by the Township Revenue Department.

 

In issuing the order, he further stressed that any excess farmland or inaccurate reporting of farmland area would result in seizure of that farmland.

 

Some villagers who were unable to get money had to borrow money with high rates of interest for fear of punishment and seizure of their farmland by the authorities according to the local source.

 

 

NEW TAX IMPOSED ON FRUIT MERCHANTS IN SOUTHERN CHIN STATE

 

July 07,2007: Major Aung Lawi Oo, Commander of LIB-289 (Based in Palatwa town) Southern Chin state, in the first week of May this year, released an order requiring all merchants selling fruits to pay high taxes, according to CHRO source.

 

According the the Major’s order, anyone selling fruits produced in Paletwa to other areas must pay the taxes. He has assigned Coropral Tun Aye to collect 50,000 Kyats per boatload of fruit shipment. Those unable to pay the money are to have their goods confiscated, the order reads.

 

The said army commander also prohibits transporting rice to other regions. The rule breakers are to be fined 3000 Kyats for punishment, according a local person.

 

 

NEW RESTRICTIONS ON FARMERS AND TRAVELERS SOUTHERN CHIN STATE

 

July 10, 2007: A deputy batallion commander of LIB-304, Major Zaw Win Niang, posted at Sabawngte Village of Matupi Township, Southern Chin state, on May 16th, 2007, has issued an order prohibiting farmers to stay overnight at their farms due to purported security reasons, CHRO has learned. Those who must stay at their farms overnight are to get proir written permission from the army.

 

Major Zaw Win Nyin asked all 12 village administrative councils and nearby the army camp to issue permission letter to people travel ring in the regions. Travelers without permit letter are liable for severe punishment. Farmers are directed not to sleep night at the farm more than three days.

 

Moreover, the army officer has compelled 20 persons from surrounding villages to work on road construction for three whole days.

 

The forced labor has adversely affected villagers’ crop productions as some of their crops were spoiled due to late harvesting.

 

 

UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF GOODS AND MONEY

 

July 13, 2007: A Burmese army sergeant and his men, based in Vuangtu army camp of Than Tlang Township, Northern Chin state, from LIB-269, (Tidim based battalion), had unlawfully confiscated money and rice from from a Bungkhua villager.

 

On June 19, 2007, the partolling army unit seized Kyats 50, 000 and a bag of rice from Bungkhua village who was travelling between Hriangkhan and Ruafiang villages. “The sergeant accused the victim, who does not understand Burmese, of trying to sell foodstuff to Mizoram and took away all he had, including 50, 000 Kyats.

 

The victim repeatedly requested them to give him back ration and money, as his family has left no more rice to eat. It is learned that many villages in Chin State are now beginning to face food shortage, due to bamboo flowering year.

 

MORE EXTORTION BY BURMESE ARMY

 

July 14, 2007: Burmese Soldiers, based in Vuangtu Army Camp of Than Tlang Township, Northern Chin state, fromLIB-269 (Based in Tidim), on June 16, 2007, extorted 300,000 Kyats from two traders, according to CHRO source.

 

The victims are from Lawngtlang village and were transporting pigs to Mizoram for sale when they were caught at Lungcawipi village by the soliders. All their money was then seized by the army.

 

Refugee Situations

 

HUNDREDS ARRESTED IN MALAYSIA IMMIGRATION RAIDS

By: Amy Alexander

25 June 2007-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Over 200 asylum-seekers and UNHCR-recognized refugees from Burma have been rounded up and taken into custody after early morning immigration raids today conducted by Malaysia’s controversial People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) in Kuala Lumpur neighborhoods.

The raids began around 1:30 am and took place in KL’s urban neighborhoods of Jalan Imbi and Sempaing, where a large number of asylum seekers and refugees from Burma’s Chin State reside. Approximately 217 were arrested and reportedly taken to Lenggeng detention camp located two hours outside of KL. This is the second large-scale raid in this area of KL since the beginning of the year.

Among those arrested are many UNHCR-recognized refugees, including several who are scheduled to be resettled to a third country within the next couple weeks and months. The Coordinator for the Chin Refugee Center (CRC), a community-based organization working to provide assistance to the Chin population living in Malaysia, was one of those arrested during the raid. He and his family are scheduled for resettlement to the United States in September. The Coordinator was eventually released after intervention by UNHCR and human rights organizations.

This raid is just one of a series of raids that have been conducted since the Government of Malaysia launched operations targeting undocumented migrants in March 2005. Despite criticism by human rights groups, conditions have only gotten worse for undocumented migrants as harassment, arrests, and deportations increased during the last year. Those arrested for immigration offenses are increasingly charged with canings, a serious penalty that leaves deep, permanent scarring. Conditions inside Malaysia’s detention facilities meanwhile remain deplorable, with detainees being given inadequate food, clothing, and accommodations, in addition to being subjected to verbal and physical abuse by the guards.

RELA, the untrained task force largely responsible for conducting immigration raids, has been the focus of consistent complaints for human rights violations and abuse of power. RELA has been responsible for deliberate property damage, extortion, harassment, indiscriminate and unlawful arrests, and physical assaults resulting in serious injuries and even death. Increasingly, there are calls for an end to RELA’s activities, with the Malaysia-based human rights group SUARAM issuing two separate complaints to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) within the last year and the Malaysian Bar calling for RELA’s immediate disbandment in March. Within this last month, RELA succumbed to pressure by numerous human rights groups to do away with the bounty system, which provided RELA agents with 80RM (US$25) for each arrest and led to increased abuses among the untrained volunteers.

Meanwhile the Malaysian Government has refused to address these issues. Rather, in February of this year, Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad reportedly criticized the UNHCR for getting in the way of the operations of agencies such as RELA and the Immigration Department. The Minister further indicated that Malaysia “accepts UNHCR’s presence, but not their powers.” At the beginning of this month, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid further reiterated that Malaysia will not recognize refugees.

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.

 

MORE CHIN REFUGEES ROUNDED UP IN MALAYSIA IMMIGRATION RAIDS

By: Amy Alexander

31 July 2007-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: About 60 refugees and asylum seekers from Burma’s Chin State are now behind bars in Malaysia awaiting an uncertain future after immigration raids yesterday in Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Lokeyew neighborhood. About 20 women and children and 25 UNHCR-recognized refugees are among those rounded up during the raid.

Almost half of those arrested yesterday morning are recognized refugees with valid UNHCR documents. Many are in the final stages of a long process to be resettled to a third country, with some scheduled to depart within the next couple weeks. Instead of boarding an airplane to begin a new life abroad, they now face the possibility of being loaded onto a lorry bound for the Thai border.

The raid began in the early hours of the morning yesterday in Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Lokeyew neighborhood, where a large number of refugees and asylum seekers from Burma’s Chin State reside. This neighborhood was targeted just one month ago in a similarly-styled raid, which resulted in the arrest and detention of mostly women and young children.

The raid was conducted by Malaysia’s controversial RELA or the People’s Volunteer Corps, an untrained, volunteer civilian unit endowed with considerable enforcement powers. This year RELA has come under increasing criticism for its member’s reckless conduct and abusive actions during raids, not only by international human rights groups but also by organization’s within Malaysia’s civil society. In March, the Malaysian Bar joined the Malaysia-based human rights group SUARAM in calling for RELA’s immediate disbandment following repeated complaints of torture and other human rights violations.

Despite continued condemnation by members of the international community and human rights organizations, yesterday’s raid is one of a mounting number of recently conducted raids targeting the refugee and undocumented migrant community in Malaysia. Since the beginning of this year, several hundreds of refugees and undocumented migrants have been caught up in similar immigration raids.

Malaysia refuses to recognize or give any protections to refugees or asylum seekers living within its borders. Rather, Malaysia has been conducting operations to target undocumented migrants as well as refugees and asylum seekers since March 2005. In February of this year, Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad reaffirmed the government’s intolerance for the refugee population by criticizing the UNHCR for getting in the way of the operations of agencies such as RELA and the Immigration Department. The Minister further indicated that Malaysia “accepts UNHCR’s presence, but not their powers.”

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

URGENT ACTION APPEAL: REFUGEE WOMEN AND CHILDREN DETAINED IN CONTINUING RAIDS IN MALAYSIA

June 26, 2007

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: CHRO has recently been informed that just two days after Malaysia’s RELA forces rounded up and detained more than 200 refugees and asylum seekers from the Jalan Imbi neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian immigration authorities conducted a second raid, this time in Kuala Lumpur’s Lok Yew neighborhood. This second raid resulted in 42 more refugees and asylum seekers being sent to the already overflowing Lenggeng immigration detention facility.

 

Whereas most of the Chins detained during the June 25th raid are UNHCR recognized refugees awaiting resettlement to third countries, a majority of those detained during the June 27th raid are women and young children. From these two incidents alone, over 36 children, two pregnant women, and 19 UNHCR-recognized refugees who are within months of being resettled to third countries are now in Malaysian immigration detention facilities facing an uncertain future.

CHRO is concerned for the safety and security of all those who are detained in Malaysia. CHRO is particularly concerned for the two nine-month pregnant women, Tuan Zi (Chin Refugee Center File No. 354-05C08617) and Fam Tang (UNHCR File No. 03/MLS/08317), and the children who remain in detention despite their vulnerable positions, including:

Ngun Tha Lian, age 1 (File No. 05/MLS/05505)

Tial Tim Rem, age 3 (File No. 05/MLS/05505)

Van Lian Bawi, age 3 (File No. 354-05C08617)

Siang Hlei Sung, age 4 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Jumania Sung Tin Par, age 6 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Ngun Za Hlei, age 7 (File No. 05/MLS/05505)

Cem Cem, age 7 (File No. 05/MLS/05503)

Tha Chin Iang, age 10 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Solomon, age 12 (File No. 05/00579)

Cung Uk Thawng, age 12 (File No. 04/07211)

Sui cin, age 13 (File No. 354-06C03661)

Philip, age 14 (File No. 05/00579)

Conditions inside Malaysia’s immigration detention facilities rise to the level of torture, with prisoners being given inadequate food, clothing, and accommodations, in addition to being subjected to verbal and physical abuse by the guards. Those arrested for immigration offenses are increasingly charged with canings, a serious penalty that leaves deep, permanent scarring. This situation is of serious concern for anyone in detention; however, for the numerous women and children, particularly pregnant women and very young children, the situation is critical.

The raids conducted by immigration enforcement agents during this past June are just two of a series of raids that have been conducted on an almost weekly basis since the Government of Malaysia launched operations targeting undocumented migrants in March 2005. For members of the Chin community, frequent raids and security abuses is an exhausting but unavoidable reality of daily existence in Malaysia. As expressed by Nani, a Chin refugee and volunteer with the Chin Refugee Center in Kuala Lumpur, “I’m really tired of this situation but [we] have to face whatever comes.”

CALL TO ACTION

By continuing to conduct immigration raids that target the refugee community and results in the detention, abuse, and deportation of large numbers of particularly vulnerable persons, Malaysia is in violation of basic human rights standards. Malaysia is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as a sitting member of the UN Human Rights Council, however, women and children in Malaysia, including pregnant woman and very young children, continue to be exposed to and unprotected from security abuses, hostile immigration raids, and increasingly violent crimes committed with impunity.

Under international human rights law, these violations should not have to be a part of daily existence for asylum seekers and refugees living in Malaysia. CHRO calls on the Malaysian government to:

• Discontinue immigration raids and RELA operations that target members of the refugee and asylum seeking community.

• Immediately and unconditionally release all refugees and asylum seekers currently in immigration custody, particularly women and children.

• Cooperate with and work in conjunction with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to protect the inherent rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

• Respect and uphold its international legal obligations to protect and promote the human rights of all people living within its borders.

CHRO also calls on the international community to join our efforts. Please write to or contact the following Malaysian officials in support of our demands:

Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi

Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Security

Prime Minister’s Office Malaysia

Perdana Putra Building

Federal Government Administrative Centre

62502 Putra Jaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel : + 60 3 8888 6000

Fax : + 60 3 8888 3444

 

Datuk Radzi Sheikh Ahmad

Minister of Home Affairs

Level 12, Block D1, Parcel D

Federal Government Administrative Centre

62546 Putra Jaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 8886 8000

Fax: +60 3 8889 1613

 

Tuan HJ. Wahid Bin MD Don

Director-General of Immigration Department

Director General Office

Immigration Department of Malaysia

Level 1-7 (Podium) Block 2G-4, Precint 2

Federal Government Administration Centre

62550 Putrajaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 8880 1000

Fax: +60 3 8880 1200

 

Dato’ Ishak Mohamed

Enforcement Director of Immigration Department

Director General Office

Immigration Department of Malaysia

Level 1-7 (Podium) Block 2G-4, Precint 2

Federal Government Administration Centre

62550 Putrajaya

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 8880 1000

Fax: +60 3 8880 1200

 

News & Events

 

CHIN CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP IN DENMARK HELD ITS 4TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE SUCCESSFULLY

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

19 July, 2007: The fourth annual conference organised and hosted by Denmark Chin Christian Fellowship (DCCF) ended successfully on Sunday, last week. It was held from 13th July to 15th July, 2007 in Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark , in the southwest Jutland .

 

Nearly 500 people including more than 20 fellow Chins from Germany , Norway and former General Secretary of Zomi Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Chum Awi and his wife from the US joined the conference. “We have been blessed to have had this great opportunity. This is the only time in a year we, all the Chins from different parts of Denmark , can come, meet and praise the Lord together. This year we are very happy that we have some fellow Chins from other countries participating with us,” said Pu Sang Nawl, chairman of DCCF.

 

 

“We also had time to discuss about various issues concerning religious, social, educational and literary movements for the Chins in Denmark for the future. It really went well and as a result, we achieved better than we expected,” added Pu Sang Nawl as he thanked all the participants for their respective contributions to the success of the conference.

 

The fifth DCCF’s annual conference will be held in Bornholm, an island in the east of Denmark in July, 2008.

 

As of June, 2007, there are about 520 Chins currently living in Denmark . Most of them came as refugees on UNHCR’s resettlement programs mainly from Malaysia , Thailand and India .

 

DCCF was established as a parent body responsible for looking after nine different areas across Denmark where the Chins have worship services in their own language.

 

CHINS HELD THE INTRA-ETHNIC CONSTITUTION CONSULTATIVE MEETING

 

31st July, 2007

Chiangmai, Thailand: Leaders of the Chin Forum and the Chin National Council, the biggest alliance of the Chin political parties and civil societies working for the common interests of the Chin people, have successfully concluded their first ever joint Chinland Constitution Consultative Meeting dated 24 – 28 of July, 2007 at the Thai-Burma border.

 

Clearly, the first consultation on the future Chinland Constitution jointly organized by leaders of Chin Forum and CNC is viewed as the first step in the right direction towards strengthening and nurturing the spirit of national unity and cooperation among the Chin people which will bring about many positive things for the Chins everywhere.

 

 

Participating in the five-day long consultative meeting includes six representatives of the Chin Forum, Pu Lian Uk, Salai Kipp Kho Lian, Salai Victor Biak Lian, Dr. Salai Ngun Cung Lian, Dr. Sui Khar, Pu Nang Lian Thang, and three representatives of the CNC, Pu Lalramlawma, Pu Khua Uk Lian, Pu Thang Len Piang, and three resource persons, Professor David C. Williams, John S. Hasting Professor of Law at Indiana University school of law and Consultant of the Chin Forum, Prof. Susan H. Williams of Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law at Indiana University School of law, Honorable Judge David H. Hamilton of The United States District Judge, Southern District of Indiana, and as observers Amy Amy Alexander, the legal consultant of the Chin Human Rights Organization and Salai Za Ceu Lian, the Global College of the University of Winnipeg intern 2007.

 

Founded in 1998, with the objective of keeping in place beforehand the Chin State Constitution in draft, the Chin Forum has been holding a number of meetings and constitutional seminars which resulted in the successful publication of the fourth initial draft of the Chinland Constitution, leading now drafters to work on the fifth initial draft of the Chinland Constitution. Since its inception, the Chin Forum stands as a common platform open to all Chins of different political views or affiliations interest in working together for common democratic objectives. Now the preparation to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the birth of the Chin Forum is underway. Besides, to highlight the roles of the Chin forum and its existence, leaders the CF are planning to publish the Chin forum magazine.

 

Commenting on the significant role of the Chin forum, Salai Victor Biak Lian, a former Secretary of Chin Forum Management Body says, “Looking back to where we started, I believe that we have come a long way in terms of accomplishing some of our political objectives that we initially set forth. Among others, we not only produced the fourth initial draft of our constitution, as the years go by, we also witness that people in the movement are able to differentiate between a democratic movement and the vital role played by constitution in democracy and they understand now that constitution indeed is the real hearth of federalism and democracy which I think is so important.”

 

“From the very beginning of our mission, the fact that we are always result and solution-oriented, I believe that we attained our goals to a certain degree and hope that we continuously make a progresses which will lead us to attain our ultimate goals eventually”, he adds.

 

Firmly believing that restoring democracy will not ensure the rights of self-rule and self-determination for their homeland, along with their ethnic nationalities counterparts, the Chin leaders have been taking initiatives systematically to start preparing their own constitutions with a view to protect their national rights and distinct national identity constitutionally.

 

Sharing his views on the ongoing role that the Chin Forum is undertaking, current coordinator of the Chin Forum, Salai Kipp Kho Lian says, “It opens up a new place in the federal movement of the political exiles of Chinland. We manage to fill up gap between two ages and I believe that many effective new initiatives will follow soon.”

 

The Chins held their intra-ethnic consultative meeting following their participations in the 6th seminar on the state Constitutions dated 16-20th July, 07 where delegates of the non-Burman ethnic nationalities together and jointly discussed and amended the drafted constitution of the Federal Constitution Drafting and Coordinating Committee (FCDCC) members designed for the future federal Union of Burma.

 

THE 6TH SEMINAR ON THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS KICKS OFF

 

 

By Salai Za Ceu Lian

Chinland Guardian

16th July, 2007

 

Chiangmai, Thailand: Scheduled for five days from the 16th to 20th July, 2007, the 6th Seminar on State Constitutions, attended by representatives from the seven major ethnic nationalities groups of Burma, the Arakan, the Chin, the Kachin, the Karen, the Karenni, the Mon, and the Shan, gets kicked off at the Thai-burma border area.

 

This State Constitution Seminar was initially born out of the joint effort made by the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD-LA) under the title of Supporting Committee for State Constitution (SCSC) in 2001. Now, following the emergence of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (www.encburma. org), a council trying to unite the whole ethnic groups of Burma under one umbrella, this ongoing state Constitution Seminar is organized under the Constitutional Affairs Committee (CAC), one of the major committees of the Ethnic Nationalities Council.

 

Knowing that restoring democracy is only the first step towards achieving the rights of self-determination, the national reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence among diverse ethnic groups in the Union of Burma, the non-Burman ethnic leaders are taking initiatives, preparing their own state constitution in anticipation of the future democratic Union of Burma insistently since the year 2001.

 

“We need to be united in order for us to attain our common political goals such as the rights of equality, our birth rights of the national self-determination, and the establishment of a federal Union . Without unity and close cooperation among us, we will not attain our goals”, strongly urges, Pado Saw Ba Thin Sein, Chairman of the Ethnic Nationalities Council, in his opening remarks. “We need to accept the responsibility to work together and accept the need to have unity, national reconciliation, and federal Union in Burma ”, he added.

 

Coincidentally, this 6th seminar on State Constitutions comes politically at a historic time when the State Peace and Development Council of Burma (SPDC) is hell bent on aiming to wrap up their over-decade long national convention slated to begin on the 18th of July, 2007, a convention of which many Burma’s affair analysts called it as “Sham National Convention” and believe that the military junta this time a round will legalize its military rule in the Burma’s constitution.

 

On the question of whether or not the SPDC’s ongoing national convention will bring about a genuine democracy and national reconciliation in Burma, the ENC clearly states its position saying,“ The Ethnic Nationalities Council believes that the SDPC’s seven-point ‘road map’ and its National Convention will not lead to democratization and the establishment of a federal union. The current Convention as it stands will only serve to legitimize the military dictatorship.”

 

With this national convention being at the stage of the final round as said by the regime, many predict that the military junta would force its hand-picked peoples attending national Convention to ratify their constitution, which is the first of their seven steps on a roadmap to democracy and will call a general election.

 

Looking at the initiatives consistently taken to hold a series of seminar on constitutions, one can dub that the ethnic leaders of Burma are reconvening the second Taungyi conference, the first of which was convened in Taungyi, Shan State in 1961under the leadership of Prince Sao Shwethike, the first democratically elected President of the Union of Burma, whereby the ethnic leaders representing their respective national states were attempting to address the internal political conflict of Burma through a peaceful mean, focusing on the constitutional reforms in accordance with the Panglong Agreement signed in 1947.

 

In the end of his remarks during the Taungyi Conference in 1961, Captain Mang Tung Nung, a Chin leader attending the conference said, “May there be the Unity among our ethnic groups and may the Union of Burma be stable”, which reflected his commitment to the integration of the Union of Burma.

 

Like in the past, in the ongoing effort to uproot the military dictatorship from power and achieve the democratic reform based on a genuine federal system in Burma, despite the long years of their marginalization and alienation politically from the mainstream political decision making process, the non-Burma ethnic groups are still opting for rebuilding a Union together with the Burman ethnic group under federalism.

 

While working for the restoration of democracy in a military ruled Burma, with a commitment to claming and defending the rights of ethnic nationalities, political and national, the Ethnic Nationalities Council has been internationally advocating for the emergence of tripartite dialogue involving the ethnic groups as one of the three main dialogue partners to break decades long Burma’s political deadlock in line with a series of resolutions passed and strongly recommended by the United Nations since 1994.

 

A Personal Reflection On The Outcomes Of The Chin Student Conference

 

By Salai Za Ceu Lian

President of Chin Student Union of North America (CSUNA)

 

Our much anticipated conference, the first Chin Student Conference of North America, a historic gathering of Chin Students studying at various Universities and Colleges across the United States of America and Canada was indeed successfully accomplished at Indianapolis, Indiana, USA for the first time in the history of Chin people living in North American Continent. From a two-day long conference on 19th and 20th of August 2007, we, all participants of the conference unanimously agreed to form the Chin Student Union of North America (CSUNA), a union charged with mission to carry out aims and objectives identified from the conference.

 

For the accomplishment of our first conference, there are organizations and individuals who contributed their times, ideas, hard labours, and Money. First of all, our heartfelt appreciation goes to those initiators, the central convening committee members, and the local Indiana working committee for toiling day and night in preparation for the successful implementation of our Conference. Without their hard works and contributions, the conference could not have been organized. Thank you all for dutifully playing each of your assigned works which made our conference a reality.

 

We also would like to thank our people living in Indianapolis for their warm receptions, cozy welcomes and accommodations. Most importantly, we want to express our earnest thanks to the Indiana Chin Baptist Church (ICBC), for their financial assistance and support. We thank them for generously allowing us used their church and instruments for our meetings and worship service. At the same time, our thanks also go to our two Chin music bands, Abandon from Maryland and Lai & Heart from Indianapolis for entertaining our audience with Chin, Burmese and English songs. Fully knowing the important roles played by students in the shaping of our nation buildings in future, we are thankful that our national figures like Pu Lian Uk, Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, Pu Kap Thio, and Pu Val Thang could also wholeheartedly join us and support us.

 

Reflecting on the conference, I am very impressed to see all participants sharing their views and ideas enthusiastically without any misunderstanding whatsoever on any issues we discussed. The conference atmosphere was so friendly, pleasant, shining, joyous, promising, and so relaxing. I saw the smiling faces, an __expression of satisfaction and delight from the inner feelings of each participant. In particular, I am so thrilled to say that the tribal mindset, divisive and unhealthy one for our people in the past, no longer has a place among the Chin University Students. What a wonderful news of encouragement for our Chin people a round the world yearning for our Chin national Unity, the word once seemed to be flying in the air! Way to go students!

 

For a person like myself, who always advocate for the elimination of tribally driven sentiment in our efforts to work for our national unity, nothing is greater than seeing the expressed willingness and commitment of our people, young and old, to work together for the common interest of our Chin people. Our recent conference already paved the way, a way in which all of us regardless of what tribes we belong but focus on our oneness as a distinct people with a shared destiny, to work hand in hand for the all-round development of our Chin people. I believe that our love for the Chin people’s togetherness and historical responsibility calling upon us to protect and preserve our motherland will always unite us as we move forward. To this end, we the CSU of North America fully commit ourselves in bridging the gab.

 

Following our announcement of the formation of the Chin Student Union of North America, it was so uplifting for us to have received the congratulatory notes and best wishes from our fellow brothers and sisters around the globe. On behalf of the CSUNA, I am extending our sincere appreciation to Salai Kipp Kho Lian and his colleagues in the Chin Forum, leaders of the Chin National Front, fellow students of the Chin Students’ Union of New Delhi, and all individuals for your warm greetings and words of congratulation. Keeping in mind your wishes and trusts in our Union and in accordance with our objectives, I want to say to you that my colleagues and I in the Chin Student Union of North America will do our best for the educational development of our Chin people. To make our vision reality, as you know that we, students are with limited resources, we need your supports in any way you can. Therefore, I am appealing to you, parents and youth, to do your part and support us so that we can do together something tangible, which will generate positive results for our people.

 

After the conference, with view of telling our people about the purpose of our Conference and the vision of our Student Union, we travelled to see our Chin communities in Battle Creek and Washington DC Area. We held public discussions where we exchanged our views for the betterment of our Union and development of our Chin people educationally. To cut the point short here, knowing that having a lot of educated peoples for a minority people like our Chin people is absolutely essential, we are motivated by the fact that our community leaders are so willing and ready to work with us in the days to come.

 

As a matter of fact, we are really encouraged by the warm receptions and full supports of our community leaders for our Student movement. Indeed, education that we talk about is not just for the students of the day, but also for our people as a whole. We want all our parents and community leaders to understand that what we are doing now is for generations to come so that our young men and women value the importance of education. Meeting with our community leaders were really fun and encouraging. The only thing that disappointed us this time was that we didn’t have enough time to meet with all our people that we really wanted to. But, I hope that they understand the limited time that we have. As we move forward and will be doing more of this kind of exposure trips to various states, I hope that we will have a better chance.

 

In our endeavour to work for the educational development of our Chin people, we sincerely request that you all openly and thoughtfully share with us your ideas, advices, and concerns on any issues concerning our Union. The Chin student Union of North America stands for our Motherland and our people! Thank you.

 

An Unsent Postcard From Chinland

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

19 June 2007

 

A postcard clad in messages and wishes

Well patterned like hand-woven Chin dresses

For the birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi

Who’s for the truth held in custody

 

The postcard wearing a bunch of orchids –

A flower of perfection and merits

For the one whose love bears no borders

And again whose smiles fear no armours

 

The postcard remains unsent and hidden

For no postman be allowed or in taken

Though stands the Post Office as usual

There’s no service actual but virtual

 

The postcard written and signed in Chinland

Though not dispatched by the Junta’s hand

Like a Chinnish breeze in our hearts whispers

That the joy and hope today never withers

 

 

 

 

 

Rhododendron News

Volume X. No. V. September-October 2007

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Villager Shot To Death By Burmese Police In Thantlang

• TPDC Authorities Warn NLD Members In Chin State

• SPDC Heightened Security In Chin State

• Two Elected Chin Mps Arrested; Protest In Burma Continue Amid Brutal Crackdown

• SPDC Forced Chin People To Participate In A Rally In Support Of National Convention

• Unfair Charge Imposed On Civilian For Making Citizenship Card

• Burmese Junta Forces Villagers To Pay For Road Construction

• Villagers Forced To Cultivate Chili Farm For Army

• Unjustly Seized Cigarettes Worth For Kyat- One Lakh

• Local Villagers Have Been Exploited For Personal Profit

• Burmese Police Extorted Money From Travelers

• Confiscated Land For Buddhist Orphanage School

• Confiscated Village Head House For Army Camp

• SPDC Forced Villagers For Construction Of Army Camp

 

REFUGEE ISSUE:

• UNHCR, India Suspends Registration Of New Comers From Burma

PRESS RELEASE:

• CHRO Condemns The Violent Crackdown On Protestors In Burma

 

NEWS & EVENTS:

 

• The Biggest Chin Christian Organization Urges Worldwide Chin Community To Support Buddhist Monks In Prayer

• Chin Christians Join Buddhist Monks In Anti Junta Protest

• University Students And People Join Monks In Kalay

• British Parliamentarians Visited Chin Refugees On The India-Burma Border

 

INTERVIEW:

 

• “Reconciliation Through Dialogue” Is The Name Of The Game In Burma Politics (Interview With Harn Yawnghew)

 

 

 

VILLAGER SHOT TO DEATH BY BURMESE POLICE IN THANTLANG

October 12, 2007 – On suspicion that he was working for the Chin rebels, the Burmese police shot dead a local Mr. Bawi Ceu (31) near the entry gate of Thangtlang town in Chin state, Burma at 8 p.m. on October 3.

The victim Bawi Ceu from Hriphi village in Thangtlang Township put up in the house of U Tin Aung in Thangtlang town for a few days. However, he didn’t report his presence to the Quart Council office.

A police team on patrol duty shot Bawi Ceu when he tried to run away to avoid a penalty for failing to report his presence in Thangtlang, a local in Thangtlang said.

“Of course, I know him very well. He is from Hriphi village. He was shot dead near the signboard that says “welcome” to visitors, erected at the entrance of Thangtlang town”, said a local.

The local authorities spread the falsehood that Bawi Ceu was gunned down because the Chin National Army asked him to buy liquor for them.

“What they said relating to the cold blooded murder is totally distorted. They spread the misinformation to avoid blame. Moreover, there is no liquor available in Thangtlang,” the spokesperson of the Chin Nation Front said.

In Thangtlang Township, the selling and trafficking of liquor has been prohibited by local authorities since 2005. The ban on liquor by local authorities was welcomed by locals, church leaders and the medical fraternity in Thangtlang.

 

TPDC AUTHORITIES WARN NLD MEMBERS IN CHIN STATE

September 6, 2007 – Five members of the National League of Democracy (NLD), who spearheaded a rare but peaceful demonstration in Chin state, Burma on September 4, were summoned and questioned by the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) authorities in capital Hakha, yesterday.

Hakha’s TPDC President, U Khin Maung Win, Town’s Justice, U Min Wei and Chin state’s Deputy Magistrate, U Thang Cung told the five NLD members to abide by article 2/88, the prevalent law in Burma, which prohibits gathering of more than five people, said U Van Lian, president of NLD in Hakha.

“We were told that we cannot assemble more than 50 people when NLD holds a meeting. We were asked to inform and take permission from them (the local authorities) if we plan to hold demonstrations in the future” U Van Lian told Khonumthung News.

The sermon on demonstrations by the TPDC to NLD members went on for about an hour in the TPDC office.

On September 4, about 15 people including NLD members staged a peaceful march to the Township Peace and development Council (TPDC) office in Hakha, demanding a roll back in the prices of petroleum products and the consequent increase in prices of essential commodities. They also demanded a halt to the municipalities collecting tax from people and government employees so as to enjoy the same privileges as employees did in mainland Burma.

The protest on Tuesday was the first time that the people held a peaceful rally in Chin state after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising across cities in Burma

SPDC HEIGHTENED SECURITY IN CHIN STATE

September 18, 2007 – The Burmese military junta is not taking chances and in Hakha, capital of Chin state, Burma, it has kept a hawk’s eye on monks and the people. It has deployed security forces around a monastery and other key areas.

“There is no demonstration here like the ones staged by monks in Rangoon and other cities of Burma but the junta has deployed its militia in main areas of Hakha including the monastery”, said a source inHakha.

Military authorities in Hakha have stationed members of block councils, USDA and the police near the monastery with two senior Buddhist monks and five monks sent by the religion ministry.

Moreover, one person from each household in Hakha is forced to do security duty on rotation at block council offices.

“I don’t think, there will be a demonstration by monks because only a few monks are residing in the monastery in Hakha,” a source said.

The situation in other towns in Chin state could not be ascertained because of poor communication service.

Meanwhile, members of National league for Democracy (NLD) in Kalay town, Sagaing division, are being monitored by Burmese military intelligence.

“So far, there is no security personnel deployed near monasteries in Kalay town. However, they (MI) keep watching U Ba Min, secretary of NLD and me” said U Do Thawnga, Member of Parliament from Kalay town.

Today, thousands of monks held peaceful rallies against the junta in Rangoon, Sittwe, Pegu, Kyaukpadaug, Aunglan, Chauk and Pakoku cities in Burma.

Security personnel fired tear gas to disperse the monks and locals in Sittwe, capital of Arakan state, western Burma. Some monks were arrested.

TWO ELECTED CHIN MPS ARRESTED; PROTEST IN BURMA CONTINUE AMID BRUTAL CRACKDOWN

 

27 September, 2007: Two Chin prominent politicians and elected MPs Honorable Pu, Cin Sian Thang of Zomi National Congress (ZNC) and Honorable Pu Thawng Kho Thang of United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD) were arrested in a raid before dawn at their houses by the Burmese authorities in Rangoon.

 

They were said to have been taken away for what the authorities described as “questioning for a while” together with other NLD members over their roles in the ongoing anti-regime protest. As of today, it is not yet known what had happened to them.

 

According to report from Peter and John two Chin students who have been actively participating in the demonstration along with Hon. Pu Cin Sian Thang and other Chin activist told the Chinland Guardian that “Pu Cin Sian Thang was not there when we went to meet with him at a teashop”. And we learned later on that he was arrested at an early morning raid at his residence.

 

“Pu Cin Sian Thang was the one who’s always cheering us up with his smiling face even in a very dangerous situation, and it was disheartening for us to learn that he is arrested again” said Peter.

 

An elected MP during general elections in 1990, Cin Sian Thang is chairman of Zomi National Congress and a member of Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP). Thawng Kho Thang is a member of the United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD).

 

The police confiscated documents in Cin Sian Thang’s room and took him to the Aungtarpay interrogation centre in Kyaikkasan, Rangoon according to the Khonumthung News today.

 

Despite the Junta using force to crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstration in Rangoon , the protest continues in Burma according to Chinland Guardian source.

 

“I went to Sule Pagoda but there was nothing happening, no demonstration there as there were many riot police and Burmese soldiers stationing around the pagoda. At around one thirty in the afternoon, I went to Anawratha street , and there some Buddhist monks and the civilians marching and I joined with them. Then, suddenly the riot police and the soldiers come out and I heard gunshots, the riot police started beating us with their batons. The demonstrators disperse and we run for our lives”. Many people were arrested and loaded to nearby trucks by the riot polices” Peter recounted about his experience today in Rangoon.

 

Peter himself was beaten up by the riot police with their batons. His pal John was the one who got a swollen face that the riot police had badly beaten him up in his face.

 

In spite of their injures from the riot police and a life and death situation demonstrating against the SPDC, Peter and John thanks Chin community that they survive bullets and batons because of the prayers from the international Chin community.

 

In Magwe College , Chin Students were forced to return home by the college authorities. But till yesterday the students refuse to obey the order.

 

According to reports from Chin student leaders in Rangoon , final year students from Chin State ’s Mindat, Kanpetlet and Matupi area who are in Magwe college were forced to go home by the college authority. And when the students refuse the order saying that they do not have money to buy ticket home, the college authority arrange two buses to transport the students home for free. As of yesterday, the students refuse the order.

 

At a nearby Kalay University where more than 90% of the students are Chin, the anti junta protest has been going on for the past few days. Chinland guardian

 

SPDC FORCED CHIN PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN A RALLY IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL CONVENTION

October 9, 2007 – A rally seeking to garner support, albeit by force, on the outcome of the National Convention by the Burmese military junta, was held in Chin state, Burma today. The rally which has ceremonial overtones was cancelled yesterday due to heavy downpour.

Over 20,000 people from different areas in Chin state were forced to attend the rally held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Burma standard time) in ‘Vumtu Maung’ play stadium in Hakha, capital of Chin state.

“Many people had no option but to involve themselves in the rally as it was mandatory. However, the people were in no mood to do so,” said a Hakha local.

“The rally attendees were forced to shout slogans supporting the outcome of the NC and were made to describe the Burmese media and opposition groups in exile as destructive elements who had encouraged the recent protests in Burma,” he added.

Major General Tar Aye, Commander of the Northwestern Command in Burma and Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Ministry of Burma, Brigadier Thura Aung Ko, attended the mass rally in Chin state, sources from Hakha said.

Government employees, junta backed organizations, like the USDA and fire brigade from Thangtlang, Falam, Tedim, Matupi and Paletwa Townships also participated in the mass meeting in Hakha.

Meanwhile, people from rural areas in Kalay, Sagaing division, Northwestern Burma who failed to attend the procession in Kalay to support the NC yesterday, were fined Kyat 5,000 (Burma currency) per household by the local authorities.

The rallies to support the outcome of the NC are being organized by the military regime in different places in Burma after the violent crack down on anti-government demonstrators across Burma which left over 200 dead while thousands of monks and protesters were arrested.

The National Convention which began in 1993 as a part of the regimes so called seven-step road map to ‘disciplined democracy’ was wrapped up on September 3, 2007.

 

UNFAIR CHARGE IMPOSED ON CIVILIAN FOR MAKING CITIZENSHIP CARD

 

5 September 2007

 

Chin people living in Tonzang Township, northern Chin state have been unfairly charged excessive money for making citizenship card, beginning in the first week of August 2007, a local man reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

A team of implementing body was set up by the chief officer of Tonzang’s immigration department with his subordinate bureaucrats. Any body reaching 18 year of age has been directed to compulsorily make citizenship card, with unfair charge of Kyat-5000/-per individual.

 

A family also has to pay Kyat-10000/- for registration of family member. Many people have no money for making citizenship card. But they are compelled to give their name, age, parent’s name and date of birth to the authorities. And they had been directed to collect their citizenship card at the Tonzang town’s immigration office, in September 2007 without fail with Kyat-5000/-.

 

Some villagers denied as they have not yet completed 18 year, in order to be free from such unfair charge. It had been also learnt that most of the people in this region are farmers. So, they have much difficulty to get the necessary money for making citizenship card.

 

 

BURMESE JUNTA FORCES VILLAGERS TO PAY FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION

 

08 September 2007

 

Residents of Thantlang Township and Hakha, the capital of Chin state area were forced to pay money for road construction between Hakha and Mandaw in the last week of July 2007, a source reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Brigadier Hung Nyian, the chairman of Chin State Peace and Development Council and Chief of Military Tactical (1) for Chin state, directed the two township chairmen of Hakha and Thantlang (TPDC) to raise fund for Hakha- Mandaw’s car road construction by collecting money from the civilian in their respective region. The construction of (60) miles distance car road up to Mandaw village of Kanhkaw township, in Sagaing division from Hakha, is interlocked with the objective that people in Hakha, Thantlang region would able to easily import rice, oil and vegetables from this region.

 

The two township chairmen of Thanlang and Hakha had consigned the village councils in the whole region for the collection of money. They had directed all village heads to finish the collection of money, latest by the end week of August 2007. The amount of money to be collected has arranged from Kyat 3000/- per household for people in Hakha region and Kyat 5000/-per household for people in Thantlang region.

 

The road construction was started in September 2006. A bulldozer- J.C.B was bought with donated fund. From Hakha side, 20 miles distance has completed. For the remaining (40) miles, the Burmese junta has planned to finish in 2007, depending mainly on the civilian strength. As a result of bad harvest, people are facing difficulty for livelihood. And paying 3000/- to 5000/- Kyat is a great burden for the Chin people, a local person said.

 

 

VILLAGERS FORCED TO CULTIVATE CHILI FARM FOR ARMY

 

05 October 2007

 

A Burmese army, Lieutenant Tein That Oo from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB-269) (base in Tedim town) asked Darkhai villagers to make a chili farm for the army, a local villager reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

The Burmese soldiers stationed in Darkhai army camp deployed (10) villagers daily alternately from 14 to 21 July 2007, for cultivating a chili farm. Firstly the villagers had to pluck the chili seeds from village’s farm and they had to implant in the army’s (2) acres farm. The village head himself was assigned to supervise the whole work.

 

The order of making the army chili farm was a direct order came from Brigadier Hung Nyen, who is the military tactical (1) commander for Chin state. So, the camp commander had to use all possible means to implement the job. Other than this, the junta has assigned Darkhai villagers to make another (2) acres chili farm without any payment for their labor.

 

It was also reported that Lieutenant Tein That Oo used to put at the village head’s house with his (8) soldiers without stationing in the army camp. He used to go out the village weekly for patrolling. At these times, he had taken six villagers for porter and he in advance used to inform the next village that he would arrive to be to ready for porter.

 

 

UNJUSTLY SEIZED CIGARETTES WORTH FOR KYAT- ONE LAKH

 

07 October 2007

 

Second Lieutenant- Myo Ko Ko Zaw, based in Rih Sub-town, northern Chin State, from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB- 228) accompanied by (8) soldiers, seized a dozen of cigarette box from two traders going to Mizoram, India with (16) horses, on July 07, 2007, an eye witness reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Burmese soldiers had accused them of doing illegal business without permission from the authorities. Hence, they had taken them along with their goods and other two persons of the horse owners as well, to Haimual village from Thinglay village where they were got arrested. Although the victims begged them with money, the army officer refused it, saying that the money was very less, said an eyewitness.

 

“In the previous month, the Burmese soldiers seized 92- Zarda box shipped with (70) horses from Tedim. But neither the horses nor goods have ever been returned to the owner till yet. So, the same thing can happen to the victims as well” an eye witness person claimed.

 

The Burmese army officer Myo Ko Ko Zaw and his men are now stationing at Zimpi village of Tedim township on temporarily base. Their motive is to loot more goods and live-stocks from traders, doing business along Indo-Burma zone.

 

 

 

LOCAL VILLAGERS HAVE BEEN EXPLOITED FOR PERSONAL PROFIT

 

09 October 2007

 

Local village men in Falam Township, who have skills in wood-sawing, are exploited by Lt. Colonel Aung Hme, commander of Light Infantry Battalion (LIB- 268), for his personnel profit, since the beginning of June, 2007, an anonymous person reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Lt. Colonel Aung Hme, had deployed villagers in the region who are expert sawyer and professional in sawing. He have called many sawyers from the region and deployed them to saw timber, nearby Ram Hlo village which is situated in the southern part of Falam town. And the produced planks are sold with Kyat 3000/- per 1 cubic. The workers are paid from the money, incoming from selling the planks. But their payment is only one-fourth compare to their real strength.

 

A local person said that the authorities have issued an order not to cut trees, but contrarily they themselves cut all precious and hard woods and firewood as they like”. It is estimated that the junta have already cut a tree worth 1000 cubic in Falam Township alone. If they continue to do like this, no long, hard-woods and firewood will be wiped out from Chin state after some years.

 

 

BURMESE POLICE EXTORTED MONEY FROM TRAVELERS

 

10 October 2007

 

A Burmese policemen stationed at Rih gate No. 2, based in Rih sub- town , northern Chin state are reported to unjustly extort money from civilian and traders, coming from Kalay areas according the encountered victim’s report to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Travelers and traders coming from Kalay Myot are now strictly checked by guards of Rih Gate. It has been reported that operation of intensive check is done to every body. Without relief, all the travelers both with national identity card and with no card are fined for Kyat 1000/, claiming that they all have crossed the mother land unlawfully. Those who have no money also could not free from the fine, as their national identity card would be seized unless they pay the money being asked.

 

Most of the travelers and victims are from Tedim Township, who are depending their livelihood on foods and goods that they could buy in Mizoram, India. It is estimated that around 50-60 persons are passing the gate on daily basis.

 

 

CONFISCATED LAND FOR BUDDHIST ORPHANAGE SCHOOL

 

12 October 2007

 

A (12) acres wide farmland owned by Pu Khual Zul Thang was unlawfully confiscated by a Buddhist Orphanage School headmaster, in Cuntungpin Village of Kalay Township, a regional person reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Headmaster Nying Aung Mo had seized the farmland of Pu Khual Za Thang with the intention to raise fund for his Orphanage School. The land is very productive and good for cultivation. So, Nying Aung Mo has been tempted for conspiracy. Pu Khual Zul Thang has not able to fight the headmaster for justice to get back his land. Because the headmaster has influence over the authorities while the victim has no close with the authorities.

 

The victim had appealed to Senior General Than Shwe, the chairman of State Peace and Development Council for the return of his possession according to the law of the land, in his last ditch attempt. However, his appeal is answer till to day. Pu Khual Zul Thang’s farm was annexed in 2005. The marketing price of the land is estimated to worth at least (85-Lakh) Kyat

 

 

CONFISCATED VILLAGE HEAD HOUSE FOR ARMY CAMP

 

12 October 2007

A Burmese soldier, Captain Tat Way Ngin, based in Sin Oo Wah village, Palatwah Township, southern Chin state, from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB-233) confiscated U Ko Aung’s house to replace army camp on the spot, on 29 July 2007, an anonymous villager reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

The Burmese junta established the army camp in Sin Oo Wah village in November 2006 after having certain ground investigation of the location. However, Captain Tat Way Ngin, stating the camp was not located in a strategic position for security. So, he unjustly confiscated the house of the Sin Oo Wah village’s head, saying that the land spot is most suitable for army camp.

 

U Ko Aung did not dare to speak up anything for fear of bitter consequences. As they have no home after that, his family had to stay in a bamboo-tent in the banana farm near by the village. Not only that the Burmese soldiers also killed his breeding chickens and big and consumed all without leaving anything for his family.

 

U Ko Aung and his family depend their livelihood on cultivation. He has three children. All his possessions such as house, pots, and plates were also annexed by the Burmese soldiers without paying a penny for compensation.

 

 

SPDC FORCED VILLAGERS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF ARMY CAMP

 

15 October2007

 

 

The Burmese soldier, sergeant Ye Win Aung, based in Yiyua Sub-town, southern Chin state, from Light Infantry Battalion ( LIB-304), directed nearby villagers to provide 60 persons and (600) pieces of bamboo-wood for repairing the army camp, an anonymous person reported to Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

The three villages called to repair the Yiyua army camp by Sergeant Ye Win Aung are Lawngthantlang village, Sawtti village and Zuaman village. Each of the three villages had to send 20 persons to the army camp duly on 05, July 2007. The villagers had to work for two days and assigned them to get (600) pieces of bamboo-wood from a (4) miles distance place from the army camp.

 

To get (600) pieces of bamboo-wood is very difficult as Yiyua areas are covered with forest. But, the villagers had to get it to the camp within two days as an order. The villagers had also carried the wood to the army camp. Others nearby villagers will also to call for repairing the army camp, after getting enough bamboo wood by the three villagers. In addition to no payment for labor charge, the villagers have to carry their own rations and tools in the camp, a local person said.

 

 

 

REFUGEE ISSUE:

 

UNHCR, INDIA SUSPENDS REGISTRATION OF NEW COMERS FROM BURMA

September 18, 2007 – The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New Delhi, India yesterday announced the indefinite suspension of registration for new comers from Burma. The decision takes affect from today.

The reason for the suspension has to do with the increasing number of new comers from Burma and the backlog which needs to be cleared by the UNHCR office in New Delhi. This is delaying the registration of Burmese people who seek refugee status.

The UNHCR notification said it would try to clear the backlog before the end of November, 2007.

However, the UNHCR office did not mention the date of reopening registrations for newly arrived people from Burma.

The inefficiency of staff members in the office has held up the process of interviewing and decision making for granting refugee status, said Margarita Vargav, legal officer of the UNHCR office in New Delhi, at an open house meeting for Burmese refugees held in August.

“I agree with the decision of the UNHCR as there are a lot of cases still remaining to be dealt with. Some people have been waiting for two to three years,” said Jeremiah Lishang Chuiha, president of the Chin Refugees Committee (CRC) in New Delhi.

“The UNHCR office also assured intervention or necessary action in case of deportation of Burmese by Indian authorities, he added.

There are 270 pending cases and 35 appeal cases locked in files in the UNHCR in New Delhi, CRC said. Moreover, over 100 minor cases (less than the age of 18) are registered in the UNHCR office.

There are over 2,000 refugees, majority from Chin state, Burma living in New Delhi and among them, 1800 have been granted refugee status by the UNHCR office, according to Other Media (Refugee Desk) in India. – Khonumthung.

 

PRESS RELEASE:

CHRO CONDEMNS THE VIOLENT CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTORS IN BURMA

28 September 2007

The Chin Human Rights Organizations denounces the SPDC’s recent crackdowns and killings of peaceful protestors and religious leaders in Burma. CHRO also sends messages of support and encouragement to all the brave and courageous men and women of Burma who are currently rising up against the military regime. In support of the protestors, CHRO calls on the SPDC to lay down their arms, release the innocently imprisoned, and allow all those in Burma to live in peace and with dignity.

Over the past several weeks, protests have gained momentum throughout Burma. Spurred by the sudden and arbitrary rise in fuel prices on 19 August 2007, thousands of monks and religious leaders took to the streets to engage in peaceful marches. Following the lead of the monks, protests have spread throughout the country. In Chinland and in other parts of Burma, the Chin people have joined calls for democracy and peaceful change in Burma.

Unfortunately, the peaceful demands of the monks and people have been met with unrestrained violence and aggression by the military regime. Starting two days ago, the regime have begun raiding monasteries, arresting and beating monks, shooting unarmed protestors, and committing extensive human rights abuses.

As a result of the regime’s reaction to the protests, many are believed to be dead and many more injured or imprisoned. Yesterday two elected Chin MPs, Pu Cin Sian Thang of the Zomi National Congress and Pu Thawng Kho Thang of the United Nationalities League for Democracy, were caught up in the raids when they were taken from their homes and put under arrest. There is no way to know the number of people who have become victims of the regime’s retaliation.

For decades the people of Burma have suffered brutal oppression, human rights violations, and severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms at the hands of the military regime. For too long the people of Burma have lived under severe oppression and military rule. Let this be the time for change in Burma!

To the people inside Burma, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. Your struggles are not in vain- the world is watching.

To the SPDC and the Generals of Burma:

• Lay down your arms and let the voices of the people of Burma to be heard without obstruction

• Release all those innocently imprisoned, including the elected democratic leaders of Burma, Buddhist monks and religious leaders, and all others wrongly detained

• Engage in constructive dialogue with opposition parties, ethnic leaders, and others

• Allow the people of Burma to live with full and complete access to freedom, prosperity, and peace

To the International Community:

• Write or call your government officials and representatives and urge them to speak out against the military regime of Burma

• Show support for the protestors in Burma by joining or organizing protests in your area against the military regime of Burma

To ASEAN nations, China, and India:

• Burma is a threat to regional peace. Use your influence to affect positive change in the Burma

• Stop supporting the military regime through investments and trade

• Protect and promote the rights of refugees coming from Burma

For More Information Please Contact:

In Thailand: Amy Alexander, CHRO Regional Advocacy Officer, at Tel: 66-85-2302-609, email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

In N. America: Salai Bawi Lian, CHRO Director, at Tel: 510-332-0983, email: [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

NEWS & EVENTS:

 

THE BIGGEST CHIN CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION URGES WORLDWIDE CHIN COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT BUDDHIST MONKS IN PRAYER

 

 

Chinland Guardian

Ottawa, Canada

21 September, 2007

 

The Chin Baptist Fellowship of America (CBFA) the biggest Chin Christian organization outside of the country make an announcement today from Washington DC urging worldwide Chin Christians community to hold prayer service in support of Burmese Buddhist monks who have been protesting in various town of Burma against the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) since August.

 

The Executive Minister of the CBFA Rev. Dr. C. Duh Kam in the statement urged all Chin Christians around the world to observe September 23, 2007 for the day of prayer for positive change in Burma.

 

“Poverty and humanitarian crisis in our homeland is due to political chaos and human rights abuse by the military government. There are various groups working by various means for positive change in Burma . Now is the time for us to raise our voice in solidarity with our fellow countrymen who have suffered untold poverty due to the SPDC’s mismanagement” said the statement.

 

“This is a very encouraging voice because most Chin listen when the Pastors speak up, the CBFA is doing the right thing in this crucial time” said Victor Sang of Chin Human Rights Organization reflecting the influence of Chin Christians pastors and religious leaders among predominantly Christian Chin society.

 

“Only God knows what we are doing is right or wrong. But the voices of the monks are the voices of the people. If you look at the history of Burma , Buddhist monks play important role since king Anawratha who built the first Burmese kingdom” said Rev. Dr. C. Duh Kam.

 

Chin Baptist Fellowship of America (www.cbfamerica. org) is composed of several Chin churches in USA and Canada. CBFA has good connections with Chin Churches from Europe , Australia and Asia , and is the biggest Chin Christian organization outside of the country. Thousand of Chins come to North America as refugees due to human rights violations in their homeland. And religious persecution is one of the major concerns among predominantly Christian Chins.

 

CHIN CHRISTIANS JOIN BUDDHIST MONKS IN ANTI JUNTA PROTEST

 

 

Chinland Guardian

24 September 2007

Ottawa, Canada

 

As the anti junta protest led by Buddhist monks in Burma is spreading out like a wild fire in the whole country, Chin Christians around the world joined the protesters by observing September 23 as a day of prayer for positive change in Burma .

 

On September 21, the Chin Baptist Fellowship of America (CBFA) the biggest Chin Christian organization outside of the country released a statement calling for all Chin Christians around the world to observe September 23, as a day of prayer for change in Burma .

 

“There are various groups and organizations working by various means to restore democracy and human rights in Burma . But this is the time for us to raise our voices in supports of our fellow citizen in Burma ” said one of the senior pastors of CBFA in the statement.

 

The Chin National Council (CNC) an umbrella Chin political organization composed with four Chin political parties and several civil society organizations including Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) and Women League of Chinland (WLC) also endorse the protest led by Buddhist monks against State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and urged all Chins around the world to join in.

 

The calls was well responded both inside and outside of the country.

 

According to Pastor M in Rangoon , who prefers to remain anonymous, various Chin Churches regardless of different denomination responded the calls for positive change in the country and held prayer service. Hundreds of Chin students and youngsters walked along with the Buddhist monks in the street of Rangoon in supports of the protest.

 

“In fact we have been praying all the time for change in the country. But this time, it is something different because the protest is led by the Buddhist monks and the (army) Generals seems to be very reluctant or confuse to take actions against the monks” said the pastor.

 

“There is no time for just sitting idle and watch the Burmese Buddhist monks protesting against the Burmese Generals. This is not just about the Burmese Buddhist monks and the Burmese Generals. This is concern with all citizen of the union of Burma no matter what ethnic or religious background you belongs to. Show your solidarity, support and join in when the people are calling for change” said Victor Biak Lian of Chin Human Rights Organization.

 

Back in the capital of Chin state town of Haka , about a hundred locals held anti junta protest after the SPDC announces gas price hike. But the authority warned and closely watched the protesters making them insecure. However, in churches across Chin state, the people sing songs for peace, and pray for change.

 

The Chin Christians around the world are praying for a new government to emerge in Burma , the government that will not persecute them for their ethnic, religious background and political affiliation.

 

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND PEOPLE JOIN MONKS IN KALAY

September 24, 2007. – Thousands of students from Kalay University and locals joined the peaceful demonstration by monks in Kalay town, Sagaing Division, Burma today.

At 9 a.m. around 600 monks marched along Bogyoke Road and chanted prayers to protest against the junta. They reached Payakyi pagoda in Kalay at around 11 a.m.

At around 1 p.m. students from Kalay University in four trucks and 50 motorcycles arrived at the Payakyi pagoda to join the monks. After which the demonstration was held for the second time.

“Students in four trucks and 50 motorcycles came to Payakyi. Monks, students and locals started to march from Kalay to Tahan along Bogyoke road. Along the road the onlookers offered some refreshments to the demonstrators,” a local from Kalay said.

The protesters in Kalay shouted slogans demanding a roll back of fuel and commodities prices, the release of political prisoners and national reconciliation in Burma.

There was no interference by the military authorities.

The demonstration was concluded at around 3 p.m. The demonstrators vowed to continue the protest tomorrow.

 

 

BRITISH PARLIAMENTARIANS VISITED CHIN REFUGEES ON THE INDIA-BURMA BORDER

 

 

Van Biak Thang

Chinland Guardian

26 September, 2007

 

London, UK: Burma has been isolated from the outside world by the military regime for decades and so has further been Chin State within the country. Burma’s military dictatorship is internationally condemned and ill-famed for its brutality in practicing human rights abuses against its own peoples. Yet, little is exposed and known about the Chin people and their long sufferings from Burma’s junta. Many Chin people fled their homeland to various countries near and far.

 

Two British Parliamentarians with a delegation from Christians Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) in cooperation with Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) made an historic visit to Chin refugees on the India-Burma border last week. The visit organised by CSW was the first time a member of the British House of Commons has made to the Chin people and the third time for Baroness Cox and CSW.

 

John Bercow MP, Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma, and Baroness Caroline Cox, a member of the House of Lords and CEO of HART, with a delegation from CSW UK, CSW Australia and HART returned with reports of gross human rights violations inflicted on the Chin people by the military regime.

 

The delegation heard first-hand accounts of horrific forms of torture, conditions in prison camps, forced labour, rape, religious persecution, forced marriage and cultural genocide. According to one witness, prisoners in Chin State face even more severe torture and living conditions than in other prisons because it is a more isolated part of the country. He described how prisoners are shackled and chained, yoked like oxen and forced to plough fields and if they attempt to escape they are placed on a fire to burn, stabbed with knives, and then forced into a tub of salt water.

 

One witness told the delegation how he had been arrested and hung upside down for an entire night, with soldiers beating him and banging his body against a pillar continuously. Another man was beaten so badly he is now paralysed. Numerous further testimonies of torture, forced labour and sexual violence are documented in CSW’s report on the visit, which is released today.

 

Commenting on the visit, John Bercow said: “The military dictatorship in Burma is notorious for its savage human rights abuses. The desperate suffering of the ethnic nationals in eastern Burma has been extensively catalogued, but this compelling report draws on extensive eye-witness accounts to highlight just how grievously the Chin people are suffering at the hands of Burma’s sadistic tyrants. These proud but vulnerable people need help now. This report is a call to the international community to speak with one voice and demand that the dictatorship in Burma stop terrorising its people.”

 

Baroness Cox added: “It is time to turn rhetoric into action. The UN Security Council must set out specific objectives to be met by the regime, with clear timelines and benchmarks. If the regime fails to meet such goals, including the release of political prisoners by a specific date, it should face increased sanctions. Burma’s neighbours, particularly India, China and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), must use their influence with the regime to bring an end to the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the military. In particular, India should re-examine its conscience and stop providing arms and military training to the regime. India should also reconsider its economic investments in Burma, until a meaningful transition to democracy is underway. The suffering of the people of Burma has gone on too long with too little action.”

 

Benedict Rogers, Advocacy Officer for South Asia at CSW, who organised the visit and authored the report, said: “The visit and subsequent report come at a time when the world’s attention is once again on Burma. The country is witnessing the biggest protest movement against the regime in a decade. Over 200 people have been arrested, yet Buddhist monks are continuing to march in the streets. CSW is delighted that the United Nations Security Council held an informal meeting last week to discuss the escalating crisis. We hope that the report on our recent visit will remind the international community of the ongoing violations of human rights which must also be addressed and that this visit will help raise awareness about the plight of the Chin people who have long been forgotten.”

 

Christians Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights organisation specialising in religious freedom, has made previous visits to the Chin people on the India-Burma border in 2004 and 2006 in cooperation with Chin Human Rights Organization, and also organised earlier this year a delegation of Chin human rights activists to visit London, Brussels, Berlin and Washington, DC to raise international awareness.

 

 

“RECONCILIATION THROUGH DIALOGUE”

IS THE NAME OF THE GAME IN BURMA POLITICS

 

Interview With Harn Yawnghew

 

 

Chinland Guardian

October 16, 2007

Ottawa

 

While the whole world is condemning the Junta after it’s brutal crackdown against peaceful demonstrators in Burma , Chinland Guardian has a chance to interview Harn Yawnghwe one of the most capable strategists and influential leaders among Burma ‘s pro-democracy movement. Harn Yawnghwe is director of National Reconciliation Program and Brussels based Euro-Burma Office. He is senior advisor to Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) the council that represent 7 non-Burman ethnic states. Harn Yawnghwe is the son of Sao Shwe Thaike the last prince of Yawnghwe and the first president of the Republic of Union of Burma

 

Chinland Guardian: It is a pity to watch the people movement crushed by the SPDC. Is there any option left for positive change in Burma soon?

 

Harn Yawnghwe: It depends on how you define positive change. If you mean ‘an immediate regime change’ either by a people’s uprising, a military coup d’etat, intervention by UN or US forces; or the SPDC willingly handing over power to DASSK, the answer is definitely ‘No’. None of these will happen soon if ever. But if you define positive change as an opportunity to change the power equation in Burma and bring about a political solution, the answer is a qualified ‘Yes’. I say qualified because it will depend on how skillful we are and how willing we are to take risks. Most people expect that because of international pressure, the SPDC will hand over power. They are not, however, willing to risk engaging with the SPDC in case it is a trick or in case the SPDC wins. If we engage the SPDC in a dialogue and can get the international pressure to continue, we could maybe see a real dialogue take place between DASSK and the SPDC. The international community has never been this united in wanting to see change in Burma. We have to provide the way to make that change happen.

 

Chinland Guardian: During the monk led demonstration, one of the main demands included “National Reconciliation” . Why is that? What kind of “National Reconciliation” is needed in Burma?

 

Harn Yawnghwe: The monks asked for ‘National Reconciliation’ because they recognized that political problems are at the root of the economic problems. They know that toppling the regime is not the answer. They want a peaceful transition. They recognized that the Union of Burma is a very divided nation – the military versus civilians; the rich versus the poor; Buddhists versus Muslims and Christians; Burmans versus ethnic nationalities; ethnic nationalities versus minorities; ceasefire groups versus non-ceasefire groups; those who want democracy first versus those who want economic development first; those who want an immediate regime change versus those who want a transition; those who want sanctions versus who want engagement; etc. Religious people are supposed to be peacemakers, so the monks asked ‘national reconciliation’ as a first step to heal the deep wounds. Over the last 60 years, we have been divided and sub-divided until today we can say that society in Burma has been fragmented or atomized. Only the military has been left as an institution of state. If we want democracy, we have to re-build a cohesive society. That means reconciling differences through dialogue, understanding and accepting that diversity in the nation is an asset rather than a weakness. We need unity but not uniformity. A Chin can never be the same as a Shan and a Shan can never be the same as a Burman. But we can all be united by working for the same goals.

 

Chinland Guardian: The recent statement made by Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) encouraged Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (DASSK) to accept the offer made by Gen. Than Shwe, to meet with her in spite of the precondition made by the General. What is your opinion on that statement?

 

Harn Yawnghwe: The ENC did not encourage DASSK to accept the offer. The ENC asked her to seriously consider it. There is a difference. The ENC cannot make the decision for her. She has to make the decision herself. The ENC asked her to seriously consider it because first of all, she has always asked for a dialogue to solve the problems that we face in Burma. Secondly, it is ENC policy to find political solutions for political problems and it is the ENC’s strategy to find such solutions through a tripartite dialogue. Thirdly, all the monks and demonstrators asked for national reconciliation and a dialogue. Should DASSK not try to fulfill the demands of the people who risked their lives? Fourth – the international community is asking the SPDC to have a dialogue with DASSK in order to have national reconciliation. If she refuses to have a dialogue, the SPDC will have an excuse to say that they were willing but she refused. In such a case, there would be no role left for either Gambari, the UN or the UN Security Council. Fifth – the SPDC has always refused to have a dialogue because it believes that force is the only way to solve any problem. Should we not be encouraging them to find other solutions? Sixth – last but not least, the future of the whole of the Union of Burma depends on whether we can bring about change now. That change depends on whether or not there is a dialogue. DASSK must think about the future of the nation and all its peoples. She cannot think as a private person or even as the leader of the NLD. She must also think on behalf of the ethnic people including the ceasefire and non-ceasefire groups. I am sure she is very aware of this and has not yet responded to the SPDC. Her party and others, however, have without thinking seriously responded in a negative way. The key to change is to get a real dialogue started. We should then use the international attention to force the SPDC into a substantive dialogue. As for the pre-conditions, I see them as a face saving device for the SPDC. Than Shwe cannot be seen as having given in to international pressure. He needs to be able to justify why he is talking to DASSK. If she agrees, he can say she is giving in to him so he is talking to her. We must not forget that in Burmese culture, he is older and she is a woman. So, in his mind it is more natural for her to give in. If we look at the preconditions carefully, there is nothing she cannot really agree to:

 

Confrontation/ Utter devastation – The SPDC claims that ‘utter devastation’ is what she threatened the SPDC with. This is not true. She said there is a need to dialogue and solve the problem. Otherwise the country will face utter devastation. So she can easily say, her policy is always to have a dialogue and find a political solution, that she does not want confrontation and that she does not want utter devastation for anyone, not for the SPDC, and least of all for the country.

 

Sanctions – The NLD has stated clearly that it is not NLD policy to call for sanctions. The countries that imposed sanctions did so because of the way the SPDC was behaving. She can say that in the interest of the people, she believes that a dialogue is needed, and so for the time being she would like to facilitate a dialogue by calling for a moratorium (to withhold) on sanctions. The countries that have sanctions will not automatically lift them just because she says so. The most they will do is say, they support a dialogue and are willing to lift sanctions once the see progress. This is a great way to make the dialogue substantive.

 

1990 elections – DASSK has always said she is not seeking power. She has always called for a dialogue. She can say that if a dialogue will provide an answer to how the 1990 election results can be taken into account, she is willing to start the dialogue without the precondition that the 1990 election results must be respected immediately. But she can further say that she herself was never elected, so she cannot make a decision on behalf of those who were elected. To make it binding, she will need to consult with all those who were elected and their parties. This is a very reasonable request. The international community will support it. This will make it very hard for the SPDC to refuse and it may open up more political space and maybe even bring about the release of MPs.

 

SPDC Road Map – DASSK can say that she in principle she agrees to a transition period. All transitions need a Road Map and a timetable, and that she is willing to accept the steps outlined in the SPDC Road Map. She can further say that the dialogue will determine the timetable and the contents of the Road Map.

 

If she can handle these and other preconditions in a skilful way, the SPDC will have to respond. If they do not, they will be blamed for the failure of the talks. If she rejects the preconditions, she will be blamed for the failure of the talks that everyone wants.

 

Chinland Guardian: Why one of the stake holders, Non-Burman Ethnic Nationalities, not mentioned in the talk?

 

Harn Yawnghwe : Actually, point No.3 of the ENC statement affirmed that a ‘tripartite dialogue’ is needed to solve Burma’s problems. Point No.2 did not mention it because it is talking about the offer made by Than Shwe to DASSK. He did not make the offer to the ethnic nationalities. In any case, the ENC views a dialogue or talks as a process. It is not something that takes place once or twice. The ENC is also certain that the problem in Burma cannot be resolved either by the SPDC or DASSK without bringing in the ethnic nationalities. They will at one point have to bring in the ethnic nationalities into the process. This is because no ethnic nationality will accept a decision made for them. They must decide for their own future.

 

Chinland Guardian: How is the prospect of “Tripartite Dialogue”?

 

Harn Yawnghwe: Again it depends on how you define it. If you think it means SPDC + NLD + ENC = Tripartite, the answer is that the prospect for such a dialogue is slim. Why?

 

1. The SPDC does not believe in a dialogue. It believes it can solve problems by the use of force and it is the only one that should decide Burma’s future.

2. The SPDC is agreeing to talk with DASSK because of international pressure based on the recent domestic demonstrations and its aftermath.

3. The SPDC will do as little as possible. If it is further pressured, it might agree to include the ceasefire groups, not the non-ceasefire or exile groups.

 

On the other hand, if you define a ‘Tripartite Dialogue’ as where the concerns of the ethnic people are addressed, the prospects are good. Why?

 

1. The international community including China is calling for inclusive dialogue and national reconciliation;

2. DASSK agrees to the UNGA resolution calling for a tripartite dialogue;

3. The ENC is seen by the international community as a credible organization and its recommendations are taken seriously;

4. As far as the ENC is concerned, it does not matter if it is invited or not. They key is to ensure that true ethnic representation is included in the talks. These can be ceasefire, non-ceasefire or even political parties. The key is to ensure all ethnic parties have the same policies regarding the constitution.

 

Chinland Guardian: The SPDC is rallying the people to support their National Convention in Ethnic States like Kachin and Chin State. What step should the opposition groups take now?

 

Harn Yawnghwe: The SPDC is determined to go ahead with its NC and Road Map – dialogue or no dialogue. Hopefully, the dialogue will be substantive and can contribute to the modification of the Road Map. At least a time frame for a transition can be agreed to. However, the ethnic states should not depend on the outcome of the dialogue. As far as I know, ENC strategy is as follows (Hope for the best, prepare for the worst):

 

1. Prepare for a long term campaign by:

a) Empowering the people;

b) Protecting the civilian population;

c) Improving civil administration;

d) Building up the capacity of political parties and engaging in SPDC politics;

2. Prepare for the medium term by:

a) Preparing to resume hostilities if the SPDC tries to disarm groups prematurely before the dialogue can reach an agreement;

b) Preparing to engage politically if no agreement can be reached;

c) Preparing to engage politically if some agreement can be reached;

3. Immediately:

a) Engaging with the SPDC in a dialogue;

b) Engaging with the international community in a dialogue;

c) Engaging with the people in a dialogue;

d) Engaging with democracy activists in a dialogue.

 

Chinland Guardian : Recent uprising in Burma gained overwhelming international attention. But, needless to say, action is needed. What kind of international action would be most productive for positive change in Burma?

 

Harn Yawnghwe: Many Burmese believe more sanctions are needed to bring down the regime. I personally believe that this is the wrong strategy. Why?

 

1. The international community will not act to bring down the regime. They, especially the neighbours, are scared of anarchy and instability;

2. The West has no economic interest in Burma to risk bringing it down. The cost benefit relationship is not in favour of intervention;

3. The UN system is overstretched. It cannot handle another major crisis even if there is the will to intervene (There is none as describe in No.2);

4. Other options short of intervention will not bring the regime down. Sanctions are mostly cosmetic and do not affect the generals;

5. Bringing the regime down will not solve problems. If the SPDC goes, we might have to deal with 13 dictators (the regional commanders) instead of one. They have everything to lose and are not likely to favour dialogue either;

6. If there are 13 dictators, not counting the ceasefire armies, our giant neighbours might be compelled to intervene to protect their national interest if there is anarchy and instability. It is not impossible to see Chin State and Sagaing Division – maybe even Magwe annexed by India; Arakan State annexed by Bangladesh; Kachin State, Mandalay Division, Shan State, Karenni State, Pegu, Rangoon and Irrawaddy Division annexed by China; Karen and Mon State and Tenasserim Division annexed by Thailand.

 

The international community is the most united now – UN, US, EU, China, ASEAN – all agree that there needs to be a dialogue and national reconciliation. At the moment Gambari is the main interlocutor. He gets on well with the generals and with DASSK. He is well aware that the dialogue process has to be inclusive – meaning the ethnic nationalities. This is also China’s position.

 

Gambari is backed by the UN Security Council. China wants to see this work. It does not want the issue to go to the Security Council for its own reasons. At the moment the UN Security Council only deals with ‘hard’ security issues – war, regional stability, etc. it does not deal with ‘soft’ security issues – democracy and human rights. If Burma becomes a UN Security matter, the scope of the UNSC will be expanded to include ‘soft’ security issues. This is dangerous for Russia and China. Both will veto it regardless of what is at stake in Burma .

 

Asking for UNSC sanctions will not help because China and Russia will veto it. Even if the UNSC could agree, the question is this – What will the UN do if the SPDC refuses to comply? So it is not useful to push for a UNSC resolution if the UN cannot act. In the Darfur case, the UN had to get the Sudan Government to agree before the UN could send a peacekeeping force. SPDC is unlikely to agree.

 

The best option is to continue with Gambari. He will need the UN Security Council and multi-party talks to back him up. The Gambari mission in turn will push for substantive dialogue in Burma.

 

 

 

 

 

Rhododendron News

Volume X. No. VI. November-December 2007

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CHINLAND

• 45 Chin Perished at Sea

• Officials Auctioned Off Seized Goods for Personal Profit

• Extortion Rampage

• New Recruitment Drive Targets High School Students

• Burmese Troops Forced Civilians as porters

• Chin people fined for not attending pro-junta rally

• SPDC extorts money and food from people in western Burma

 

REFUGEE ISSUE

• CHRO Calls for More Protections in Malaysia Following the Disappearance of Another Child

• Renewed Calls for Release of Woman and Children

• CHRO Calls for Release of Chin Women and Children Detained in Malaysia

 

CAMPAIGN & ADVOCACY

• CHRO Statement at USCIRF Hearing

 

NEWS & EVENTS

• CHRO Welcomes Honorary Canadian Citizenship for Aung San Suu Kyi

• CHRO Calls to Observe Day of Mourning

• CHRO Testify Persecution of Chin Christians at The U. S Congress

• Burma Ethnic Leaders Promised A Review of India’s Policy on Burma

• UNSC Urged to Brand USDA As State Sponsored Terrorist Organization

• Burma’s Pro-Democracy Icon Aung San Suu Kyi Pay Constant and Serious Consideration on Ethnic Nationalities

 

 

45 CHIN PERISHED AT SEA

 

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 )

 

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 TROOPS FORCED CIVILIANS AS PORTERS

 

November 19, 2007

Treating Burma as its fiefdom, the Burmese military junta has been forcing people from remote areas in Chin State to work as porters to ferry army rations and ammunition as soldiers patrol the Indo-Burma border area.

 

Troops of the Light Infantry Battalion (266) stationed in Lunglei village, Thangtlang Township in Chin state, patrolling the border use villagers not only as guides but also force them to carry army rucksacks full of and ammunition and food.

 

“Some of them (villagers) are not only being used as guides but are also being forced to carry rucksacks, bed sheets and bullets for the army,” a villager said. Moreover, the soldiers forcibly take rice, chicken and vegetable from villagers residing along their patrol route.

“They (soldiers) ask for food and livestock from villagers in remote areas even as people struggle to survive,” a villager in Chin state said.

 

Given the uncertain climatic conditions in the area, the main crops such as paddy, maize and vegetables in farms in Chin state have registered a lower yield compared to last year.

Fourteen soldiers lead by Major Myo Zaw Tant on patrol duty forced 11 villagers from Sabawngte village, Matupi Township in Chin state to carry army backpacks, rations and bullets on October 8.

 

Since 1988, the Burmese military regime has been on an expansion mode increasing its military battalions in Chin state. As a consequence human rights abuses and forced labour have become the order of the day in these areas.

 

CHIN PEOPLE FINED FOR NOT ATTENDING PRO-JUNTA RALLY

 

November 21, 2007

 

State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) authorities in Chin state, Burma have unleashed a kind of vendetta on people who did not attend the rally to support the outcome of the regime’s National Convention held in the state on November 9.

 

The Township Peace and Development Council’s (TPDC) authorities from Thangtlang Township in Chin state have started to fine Kyat 1,500 (Burmese currency) to each person who flouted the order of the authorities to join the pro-junta rally.

 

On November 9, the local authorities forced the people in Thangtlang to come out on the streets to join the rally to support the outcome of NC and shout pro-junta slogans.

“Some people attended the rally because they were forced. The people know what is black and what is white,” a local in Chin state said.

 

Around 6,000 people from Thangtlang Township joined the pro-junta rally while around 100 reportedly refused to attend, according to a local in Thangtlang.

 

Earlier, the Burmese military junta organized rallies in other towns such as in Falam, Rihkhaudar and Hakha in Chin state to support the tenuous 14-year long convention to draft a state constitution as part of junta’s seven step road map to “disciplined democracy” in Burma.

 

The National Convention held in the outskirts of Rangoon, the former capital of Burma began in 1993 and was wrapped up in September 2007.

 

SPDC EXTORTS MONEY AND FOOD FROM PEOPLE IN WESTERN BURMA

 

December 18, 2007

There is no let up on people’s miseries in Burma. The Burmese military junta has recently started collecting money and is forcing the people to provide food in Chin state.

 

U Kho Suan Khaing, chairman of the Township Peace and Development Council of Rihkhuadar town in Falam district in Chin state collected Rs. 150 per household from Rihkhawdar for the construction of a high school. The deadline was December 10.

Rihkhawdar town is about three or four miles from ‘Tio’ stream on the Indo–Burma border.

 

“They gave several reasons and collected money from us. We paid what they asked for because we are afraid of the consequence if we fail to pay”, said a local in Chin state.

“We can afford to pay in Burmese currency but how can we in Indian Rupee”, complained a local from Rihkhuadar.

 

Moreover, Rihkhawdar’s TPDC authorities also issued an order that the locals have to buy Jatropha seeds at Kyat 30,000 per household.

 

For Jatropha and tea plantation projects, Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (266) have also demanded money from villagers in Shaling village tract. The villages were also forced to provide chickens, rice, cooking oil and salt, according to a villager.

“Whenever they (soldiers) come to the village, we arrange food and blankets at night,” said a villager.

 

“The worst is when the commanders themselves are involved in patrol duty then we give rice and chickens,” a former village council member in Rihkhawdar town said on condition of anonymity.

 

He added that during his term in the village council the price of chickens and rice they had provided soldiers with had already touched around Kyat 170,000.

 

REFUGEE ISSUE

 

CHRO CALLS FOR MORE PROTECTIONS IN MALAYSIA FOLLOWING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANOTHER CHILD

 

14 November 2007

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: As another child goes missing in Malaysia, CHRO renews its calls for the Malaysian government to protect all refugee and undocumented children. Biak Cin Thang, a 15-year old Chin boy, is the second Chin child to go missing since 20 March when Dally Sui disappeared and was later found dead in some undergrowth near her family’s home in Cheras. The Chin community in Kuala Lumpur continues to search and pray for Biak Cin Thang, hoping that he will be found unharmed.

 

On 7 November, 15-year old Biak Cin Thang went missing and remains unaccounted for. Biak Cin Thang was last seen leaving his family’s flat on Jalan Water Grenier off Jalan Imbi on Wednesday, 7 November around 4:00 pm. He never returned. His family filed a missing persons report with the district police that evening when he did not come home. They also contacted all their friends and relatives living in Malaysia. However, no one has any information as to Biak Cin Thang’s whereabouts.

 

The Chin Refugee Center (CRC), an organization working for the Chin community in Malaysia, is doing all it can to find any information that may lead to the safe return of Biak Cin Thang to his family. CRC has asked that anyone with any information as to the whereabouts of Biak Cin Thang to please contact their office immediately. CRC can be reached at +60.32.144.7271.

 

Biak Cin Thang came to Malaysia along with his younger brother under the care of his aunt, Nu Nu Sung. All three have been granted UNHCR refugee status and are awaiting resettlement to a third country. Nu Nu Sung brought the two young boys to Malaysia after their father was killed on the Indo-Burma border while serving in the Chin National Front (CNF). When Biak Cin Thang was very young, he came down with a serious case of malaria, which affected his cognitive abilities. According to those who know him, Biak Cin Thang rarely talks and tends to avoid strangers, making his disappearance even more disconcerting.

 

Biak Cin Thang’s disappearance is a sad reminder for the Chin community of the loss of Dally Sui who disappeared under similar conditions about 8 months ago. In the case of Dally Sui, she went missing around 7:00 pm from her family’s flat in the Cheras neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur. Like Biak Cin Thang, Dally’s family was living in Malaysia as UNHCR recognized refugees. She went missing the day before she and her family were scheduled to leave Malaysia to be resettled to the United States. Her body was found one week after her disappearance with her hands severed at the wrist, evidence of a brutal end to a young life. Her killer was never found.

 

Undocumented And Refugee Children Remain Vulnerable In Malaysia:

 

After the disappearance and tragic death of Dally Sui, CHRO issued a call to action demanding that the Malaysia government protect all children living within its borders. Now, with the recent disappearance of Biak Cin Thang, CHRO renews this call.

 

As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Malaysia has a responsibility to uphold and ensure the rights of all children, including refugee and undocumented children, are protected. The case of Dally Sui and Biak Cin Thang reflects the lack of adequate protection for the most vulnerable members of the community.

 

Currently there are over 500 Chin children living in Malaysia. For many refugee children living in Malaysia, most of their days are spent indoors, afraid or prohibited by their parents from leaving their family’s homes. Not only are refugee children vulnerable to abduction and general societal crimes, but they are also at risk of arrest, detention, and deportation by the Malaysian authorities. Despite their obligations to refrain from arbitrarily depriving a child of his or her liberty under Article 37(b) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Malaysian authorities are constantly responsible for the unwarranted arrest and detention of children. Refugees and undocumented children are also not allowed to attend school in Malaysia. The Malaysia government must do more to protect and promote the rights of children.

 

Call To Action:

 

It is time for the Malaysian government to live up to its commitments under international law and provide adequate protection to all the children living within its borders. CHRO calls on the Malaysian government to:

• Conduct a proper investigation into the disappearance of Biak Cin Thang and to ensure such acts of violence are not committed with impunity.

• Respect and uphold its international legal obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• Stop the arrest and detention of refugee children and their mothers.

• Immediately and unconditionally release refugee children and their parents in government custody.

 

To join CHRO in their call for the protection of refugee and undocumented children in Malaysia, please write or contact the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry at:

 

Ministry of Home Affairs

Royal Malaysian Police

Cawangan Perhubungan Awam

Polis Diraja Malaysia

Ibu Pejabat Polis Bukit Aman

50560 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: (60) 3-2262 6310; Fax: (60) 3-2272-2710;

 

RENEWED CALLS FOR RELEASE OF WOMAN AND CHILDREN

 

5 December 2007

Kelantan State, Malaysia: CHRO is deeply concerned for the well-being of one Chin woman and her four young children, who remain detained in Tanah Merah Immigration Detention Camp in Malaysia’s Kelantan State. Tin Thluai and her children, Zung Thluai Men, age 1, Sonia Run Chin Par, age 3, Sui Dawt Par, age 9, and Lal Rin Mawi, age 13, were arrested and taken into immigration custody on 29 October 2007 shortly after being involved in a serious traffic accident that left two of the children with broken legs and the mother with severe head wounds.

 

The Immigration Department in Kelantan State has refused to release the family, denied UNHCR access into the detention facility, and prohibited visitation rights to the husband and father of the family. CHRO condemns these appallingly inhumane actions of the Kelantan Immigration Department and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the family.

 

Tin Thluai

 

Lal Peng, the husband and father of the family, is distraught over the continued detention of his wife and children. “I just want my family to be safe and together again. I was allowed to see my wife and two daughters when they were still in the hospital. My little girl was crying so much she couldn’t stop. Then I was told I had to leave and couldn’t come back or they would arrest me too.”

 

Lal Peng is a UNHCR-recognized refugee awaiting resettlement to the U.S. Despite his UNHCR status, the UNHCR has been unable to intervene in his family’s case. Lal Peng, himself, was only able to visit his family in the detention camp once before being barred from further visits. During that visit, his wife described the difficulty of conditions in the camp, “She told me that they are not given enough food. My wife is still breast-feeding our youngest child. But the others are going hungry. I tried to give them money for food but the guards would not allow it.”

Lal Rin Mawi, age 13

 

CHRO first reported this incident on 9 November 2007 when Lal Peng’s family along with 16 other women and children were first arrested and detained in Kelantan State. Sadly, the other 16 women and children were deported earlier this month to the Thailand border. Lal Peng’s family were spared deportation only because the severity of their injuries. Thirteen-year old Lal Rin Mawi has a broken leg and nine-year old Sui Dawt Par is in a partial body cast suffering from an upper leg injury and still cannot stand on her own. Lal Peng’s wife, Tin Thluai, has two sets of stitches in her head and deep cuts on her hand.

 

Call To Action

Sui Dawt Par, age 9

 

The callous actions of the Kelantan Immigration Department are not only disconcerting but also in violation of basic human rights, including specific protections for women and children contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Please join CHRO in their demands to the Malaysian government to:

 

• Immediately release Tin Thluai and her children, Zung Thluai Men, age 1, Sonia Run Chin Par, age 3, Sui Dawt Par, age 9, and Lal Rin Mawi, age 13;

• Stop further arrests and detention of women and children in Malaysia;

• Allow UNHCR access to all potential refugees, particularly vulnerable women and children, under their custody;

• Ensure visitation rights for family members of immigration detainees are protected.

• Your letters can make a difference. Please show your opposition to the abusive actions of the Malaysian Immigration Department. Be a voice for all refugees living in Malaysia. Direct your communications and concerns to:

 

Datuk Radzi Sheikh Ahmad

Minister of Home Affairs

Level 12, Block D1, Parcel D,

Federal Government Administrative Centre,

62546 Putrajaya

Tel: +60.38.886.8000

Fax: +60.38.889.1613

 

Tuan HJ. Wahid Bin MD Don, Director-General of Immigration Department

Director General Office

Immigration Department of Malaysia ,

Level 1-7 (Podium) Block 2G-4, Precint 2,

Federal Government Administration Centre,

62550 Putrajaya,

Tel: +60 3 8880 1000

Fax: +60 3 8880 1200′

 

Encik Che Baharom Bin Hamzah

Director of State Immigration

Kelantan State

Malaysia

Tel: +60.9.744.1644

Fax: +60.9.744.0200

 

Datuk Ishak Bin Haji Mohamed

Immigration Enforcement Director

Immigration Department of Malaysia

Tingkat 4, Blok 2G4, Precinct 2

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan

62550 Putra Jaya

Malaysia

Tel: +603.8880.1297

Fax: +603.8880.1310

 

CHRO CALLS FOR RELEASE OF CHIN WOMEN AND CHILDREN DETAINED IN MALAYSIA

 

9 November 2007

Kelantan State, Malaysia: CHRO recently received information that eight Chin women and 13 Chin children have been arrested and detained by immigration authorities in Malaysia’s Kelantan State on 29 October 2007. At least five of the children are under the age of 4.The arrests took place shortly after the van the women and children were riding in was involved in a serious traffic accident. They are currently being held in Tanah Merah Immigration Detention Camp near Pasir Mas.

 

This most recent arrest occurred on 29 October 2007 as the Chin women and children were traveling through Kelantan State heading to join their families in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia’s capital city. On the journey to KL the van, in which the Chin women and children were passengers, ran off the road and slammed into a large tree. Five of the passengers were seriously injured in the accident, including four minors. Meanwhile, the driver of the van fled the scene of the accident.

 

Following the accident, the immigration authorities arrived and immediately took into custody all 21 Chin passengers for failing to have proper immigration documents. In fact, the women and children were traveling to KL to join family members, who are recognized refugees expecting to be resettled to a third country. Although United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been informed of the situation, they have indicated that they cannot intervene on behalf of the arrested women and children because they are not yet formally registered with the UN.

 

Commenting on the predicament, a representative of the Chin Refugee Center, a community-based organization in KL, said, “Now we have to try to do whatever we can do for our community members since the UN will not get involved. We must find a way to protect our women and children. Immigration detention is no place for a child.”

 

Currently all 21 women and children are being held in Tanah Merah Immigration Detention Camp located in Pasir Mas in Kelantan. Three of the passengers who were injured in the accident were taken to the hospital for treatment. One girl, age 13, suffered a broken thigh while her mother had to have glass shards removed from her head. After their release from the hospital, they were returned to immigration custody.

 

Lack Of Protection For Chin Women And Children In Malaysia:

 

CHRO is concerned by Malaysia’s consistent disregard for the rights and protections of Chin women and children living in Malaysia. Currently there are about 70 Chin women and children being held in immigration detention facilities throughout Malaysia. Pregnant women and very young children are not immune and many young mothers have been forced to give birth and nurse their newborns while under immigration custody. Chin women and children in Malaysia, including those with UNHCR documents, are at constant risk of being arrested, detained, and deported at the hands of the Malaysian authorities.

 

Under Article 27(b) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Malaysia is a signatory, Malaysia is responsible for protecting children from being arbitrarily deprived of his/her liberty. Malaysia has also agreed to abide by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. By continuing to arrest and detain Chin women and children, Malaysia has failed to uphold their commitments under international law.

 

Call To Action

CHRO calls on the Malaysian government to respect and uphold its international legal obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Please join CHRO in their demands to the Malaysian government to:

• Respect and protect the rights of Chin women and children living within Malaysia’s borders;

• Stop the arrest and detention of Chin women and children; and

• Immediately and unconditionally release all Chin women and children currently being held in its immigration detention facilities, including the 21 most recent arrestees being held in Kelantan;

 

Please direct your communications and concerns to:

Datuk Radzi Sheikh Ahmad

Minister of Home Affairs

Level 12, Block D1, Parcel D,

Federal Government Administrative Centre,

62546 Putrajaya

Tel: +60.38.886.8000

Fax: +60.38.889.1613

 

Tuan HJ. Wahid Bin MD Don, Director-General of Immigration Department

Director General Office

Immigration Department of Malaysia ,

Level 1-7 (Podium) Block 2G-4, Precint 2,

Federal Government Administration Centre,

62550 Putrajaya,

Tel: +60 3 8880 1000

Fax: +60 3 8880 1200

 

Encik Che Baharom Bin Hamzah

Director of State Immigration

Kelantan State

Malaysia

Tel: +60.9.744.1644

Fax: +60.9.744.0200

 

Malik Zaliman Bin Deraman

State Immigration Enforcement Officer

Kelantan State

Malaysia

Tel: ( 609 ) 7475735

Fax: ( 609 ) 7434608

 

 

ADVOCACY & CAMPAIGN:

 

The United States Commission On International Religious Freedom

Public Hearing

After The Saffron Revolution, Repression, And The U.S. Policy Option For Burma”

Statement By Salai Bawi Lian Mang Of Chin Human Rights Organization

Washington DC-December 3, 2007

 

Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman and the honorable commission.

A few months ago, the world witnessed how the Burmese military regime, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) ruthlessly persecuted Buddhist monks in the street of Rangoon. The whole world was shocked.

 

In fact, the SPDC have been systematically persecuting religious minority groups such as Chin Christians for decades. I am honored to be invited to this important hearing to tell how the military junta in Burma has systematically persecuted Chin Christians who inhabit Burma’s western territory of Chin State or Chinland.

 

My name is Salai Bawi Lian from Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO). I am an ethnic Chin from Burma.

 

When I and my colleagues founded Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), our intention was to document all incidents of human rights abuses against Chin people without focusing on a single issue. However, as time went on, it was quickly obvious that the issue of religious persecution was a matter of great concern to us. At least one piece of information in the reports that we gathered for our bimonthly newsletter, Rhododendron News, has had to do religious persecution against Chin Christians. The CHRO eventually published a book “Religious Persecution: A Campaign of Ethnocide Against Chin Christian in Burma” in 2005 that can be downloaded from CHRO website at www.chro.org

 

When I look back the record of CHRO documentation for the past 12 years, its begin with the news about 5 Chin Christian children lured and forced to become young Buddhist monks and nuns in 1995 and the last information report we received as recently as last month November 2007 that Chin Christian students in one particular town of Chin state are regularly forced to observe Buddhist merit making in the middle of the week that the entire school have to be closed on official school day. Then the entire school has to make up their missing day on Saturday.

 

The SPDC and successive Burmese military regime have been systematically persecuting Chin Christians for decades that the SPDC;

• Prohibit construction of Churches, Destroyed Crosses and Replaced With Pagodas or Statue of Buddhist Monk

• After 1990s the Chins never get permit to construct Churches

• Destroyed most Crossed planted in towns and replaced with Buddhist pagodas or Buddhist monk statue

• The order to destroy cross usually come from the highest military rank in the region

• The largest Cross remaining, 50 foot tall, in Chin State was destroyed in 2005 with direct order from the highest military commander in Chin State.

 

Censor Christian Literature and Publication

• Since 1962 the Chin Christians never get permission to print the Holy Bible in their own language in Burma

• In the year 2000 the CHRO received a report that 16,000 Bibles was confiscated by the SPDC in the India-Burma border town of Tamu.

• The Chins are prohibited to learn their own language in their own homeland.

 

Target Clergy

 

• Christian pastors and ministers are highly respected among the Chin people

• They are highly respected as intermediaries between God and the congregations.

• The dignitary position of pastors and ministers made jealousy of the military regime that they are the first targets in the regime’s campaign against Chin Christians

• Rev. Zaangkholet and three of the village elders were brutally killed. Rev. Luai Thang was humiliated and brutally killed. Several other pastors and minister have been humiliated and arrested.

 

Restrict on Freedom of Assembly and Worship

 

• All Christians gathering and conference including religious festival require prior authorization by the Military regime.

• The regime usually impose many restrictions.

• In some occasion the sermon had to be approved by the authority.

 

Discriminate Based on Ethnicity and Religion

 

• Christians with non-Burman ethnic background can not be promoted in high ranking government official.

• In the Army Chin Christian can not be promoted beyond Major rank unless they converted to Buddhism.

• There are 3 categories (A, B, and C) designated for those who can not be promoted in the rank. A stands for AIDS symptom, B stands for Hepatitis B and C stands for Christians.

 

Selective Forced Labor

 

• Forced labor is a widespread practice in Burma.

• However, forced labor is specifically directed against Chin Christians in order to coerce them into converting to Buddhism.

• Those who converts to Buddhism are exempted from forced labor while Christians are forced to work on Sundays.

 

State Sponsor Expansion of Buddhism

 

• Since early 1990s the Burmese military regime created Hill Region Buddhist Mission and send many Buddhist monks to Chin state.

• Chin Christians are forced to contribute labor, money for construction of Buddhist monasteries and Pagodas, and forced to listen the Buddhist monk sermons.

• Many Chin Christians children have been lured to provide education in a bigger town. However Children are later found to be in Buddhist monasteries with their head shaven to become novice Buddhist monks.

 

A People and Culture at Stake

 

• Due to militarization and human rights violations committed by the Burmese military regime against Chin Christians, many can not longer survive.

• There are 60 thousands Chin refugees living in India.

• There are between 25 thousands Chin refugees living in Malaysia

• The Chin people are facing untold poverty and humanitarian crisis

 

Recommendation

 

• Needed national reconciliation through dialogue

• Needed to implement Broad Based Constitutional Review Commission proposed by UN Special Envoy Mr. Ibrahim Gambari

• Needed to implement Broad Based Poverty Alleviation Commission

 

Thank you very much.

Salai Bawi Lian Mang

Director

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

 

NEWS & EVENTS:

 

CHRO WELCOMES HONORARY CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR AUNG SAN SUU KYI

 

23 October 2007

Ottawa, Canada: CHRO commends Canada’s recent show of support for the pro-democracy movement in Burma by granting Aung San Suu Kyi honorary citizenship.

Last week, on 16 October 2007, the Canadian parliament overwhelmingly favored a motion put forward by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to bestow honorary Canadian citizenship on Burma’s most famous and beloved democracy leader. This tribute is the culmination of lobbying efforts by the Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB), an Ottawa-based non-governmental organization dedicated to the democracy movement in Burma, and thousands of Canadians who supported the nomination petition for Aung San Suu Syi.

 

“We are very grateful to the Canadian people for their encouragement, solidarity, and compassion,” said Salai Bawi Lian Mang, the Executive Director of CHRO. “Canada has long provided a home and an ally to the people of Burma, and this most recent gesture is just one more demonstration of Canada’s belief in fundamental freedoms and basic human rights.”

 

Currently, Canada hosts thousands of refugees from Burma, including over 1,000 refugees from Chinland. Canada also serves as CHRO’s main headquarters.

 

The extension of honorary citizenship to Aung San Suu Kyi comes on the heels of brutal crackdowns against political and religious leaders last month following country-wide protests in Burma. Hundreds are believed to remain in detention facilities throughout the country. Aung San Suu Kyi also remains under house arrest. This Wednesday, 24 October, will mark a total of 12 years of house arrest for Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

CHRO CALLS TO OBSERVE DAY OF MOURNING

 

 

December 21, 2007

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) is calling Chin community around the world to observe Sunday December 23 as a day of mourning that the entire Chin communities around the world are shocked and saddened to learn the tragic news about the death of 45 Chins including several children and women at the Andaman Sea when a boat carrying about a hundred Chins accidentally sunk into the sea near Kaw-tawng Thai-Burma border on December 20, 2007 after colliding with a fishing boat at night.

 

According to Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia, most of the victims are Chin refugees heading toward Malaysia to join with their families in Kuala Lumpur.

 

“This is the most devastating tragedy ever in the Chin history” said Victor Biak Lian member of board of directors of CHRO.

 

Worsening human rights situation in Burma is a factor which forced thousands of Chins to flee from their homeland in search of survival.

 

The Chins who are mostly Christians, in Buddhist dominated country, are persecuted due to their belief in democracy and Christianity and also for their ethnic background, by the Burmese military regime.

 

There are about 25 thousand Chin refugee living in Malaysia and more than 60 thousands are taking refuge in Mizoram state of India.

 

Chin Human Rights Organization

www.chro.org

For more information please contact:

Victor Khambil in Malaysia at (60) 12-226-4549

Victor Biak Lian in Ottawa at (603) 796-9514

 

CHRO TESTIFY PERSECUTION OF CHIN CHRISTIANS AT THE U. S CONGRESS

 

 

Chinland Guardian

December 5, 2007-Washington DC: Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) had testified about decades long systematic persecutions of Chin Christians at a public hearing on Burma at the Capitol Hill on Monday. The hearing was organized by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a non-partisan panel appointed by the United States president and leaders of Congress.

 

The hearing of the Commission comes as Congress began an intense two week period in which lawmakers must approve a range of important policy legislation.

 

Mr. Richard Land, vice Chairman of USCIRF who chaired the hearing at the Congress quoted Dr. Martin Luther King in his opening remark that “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressors. It must be demanded by the oppressed”. He continued that “The people of Burma are demanding their liberty. It is time for the world to join them fully in this cause”.

 

The seven witness at the hearing along with Salai Bawi Lian, co-founder and director of CHRO includes Dr. Ashin Nayaka, a Buddhist Scholar and an exile Burmese Buddhist monk who is a visiting professor at Columbia University, Ms. Chris Lewa, coordinator of the Arakan Project and consultant for Refugee International and UNHCR, Aung Din, Policy Director at U. S Campaign for Burma, Paul Rush, a journalist who witnessed and report bloody crackdown in Burma during September, Michael Green, Professor at Georgetown University and former Special Assistant on National Security Affairs to President Bush, Jared Genser, President of Freedom Now and an attorney in the global government.

 

Salai Bawi Lian, said at the hearing that “the whole world was shocked to see how the Burmese military junta persecuted Buddhist monks in the street of Rangoon a few months ago. In fact the successive Burmese military junta has been systematically persecuting religious minority groups such as Chin Christians for decades.”

 

He continued that “the Burmese military junta violate the religious freedom rights of Chin Christians that they prohibit construction of churches, destroyed crosses and replaced with pagodas or statue of Buddhist monk, censor Christian literature and publication, restrict on freedom of assembly and worship, discriminate based on ethnicity and religion”.

 

Ashin Nayaka, a Buddhist scholar and leading member of International Burmese Monks, said monks were a symbol of hope for reforms in Burma but were “forcibly disrobed, assaulted, arrested and killed” by the military junta.

 

Paul Rush, a journalist whose video footage of Burmese troops in Rangoon shooting and killing a Japanese journalist was widely seen around the world suggests Burma ‘s military is likely continuing a brutal crackdown.

 

“The Burmese people, which include the country’s badly-persecuted ethnic minorities need the help of the international community, to shed this yoke of a half a century of oppression by a minority of murderous military elite. That I presume is why this hearing is taking place today and is why the international community is still listening,” said Mr. Rush.

 

A former Special Assistant on National Security Affairs to President Bush, Professor Michael Green, says while there have been some positive developments, including high profile attention from the Bush administration, some strong statements from ASEAN, and what he calls small but unprecedented steps by China , there has also been substantial inertia by the international community.

 

Mr. Green says China and India may be tempted to accept limited results, while he asserts that the United Nations continues to pursue what he calls a lowest common denominator approach. ASEAN, he asserts, is going backwards in its role perhaps because of pressure from Burma ‘s military on what he calls like-minded members.

 

Aung Din, policy director of the United States Campaign for Burma , urged the U.S government to appoint a full-time sanctions coordinator for Burma as it did in the late 1990’s against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic’s regime accused of genocide.

 

The U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U. S government agency that was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of though, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress of the United States.

 

BURMA ETHNIC LEADERS PROMISED A REVIEW OF INDIA’S POLICY ON BURMA

 

 

Chinland Guardian

November 28, 2007-New Delhi: A delegation of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) made a three-day visit to New Delhi at the invitation of Indian Parliamentarian Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB) from 25 November to 27 November 2007.

 

During its visit to India, the ENC delegation of Dr. Lian H. Sakhong, Saw David Taw, Sao Harn Yawng Hwe and Dr. Sui Khar met with political leaders, members of parliament, diplomats, civil societies, and journalists to discuss India ’s policy on Burma . The delegation also presented the perspective of ethnic nationalities of Burma to the Indian public and the Government of India on issues relating to Burma and the current situation in the country.

 

The ENC delegation also held a meeting with the various Burmese organizations based in New Delhi . They shared with the community the purpose of their visit and the expected outcome of their meetings with the Indian government.

 

“Our visit to New Delhi this time can be called a success. We received promises from the Indian leaders that they will push forward a review of the Indian Government’s policy toward the Burma ,” said Dr. Sui Khar.

 

“Prominent members of the Indian Parliament and the Government of India gave us assurances that they will raise the issue of Burma in the parliamentary debate to review their current policy on Burma,” added by Saw David Taw responding to a question about the outcome of their meeting with the Indian Government.

 

The ENC represents the seven ethnic nationalities states in Burma and has been pursuing an ultimate goal of establishing a genuine Federal Union of Burma. ENC has launched extensive lobbying and advocacy and campaigns in the UN, EU, ASEAN, and other neighboring States of Burma in cooperation with all the Burmese democratic forces.

 

UNSC URGED TO BRAND USDA AS STATE SPONSORED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

 

December 12, 2007-Geneva: Burma ’s ethnic nationalities representative urged the United Nations Security Council UNSC to brand Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) an organization establish and supported by Burma ’s ruling military junta State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) as state sponsored terrorist organization during the Sixth Session of United Nations Human Rights Council being held in Geneva .

 

Dr. Sui Khar foreign affairs secretary for the Ethnic Nationalities Council of Union of Burma (ENC) took the floor introducing his organization to the UN Human Rights Council saying that the ENC is representing seven ethnic states in the Union of Burma to establish democratic federal union based on equality, and that ENC is legitimate and credible organization to speak on behalf of all ethnic states in Union of Burma because the ENC members includes all groups in each state.

 

Taking up the floor on behalf of Netherlands based International Work Group for Indigenous Peoples (IWGIP), Dr. Sui Khar, made a statement at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council urging that the United Nations Security Council must brand the USDA as state sponsored terrorist organization based on their involvement in the past and recent military crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in Burma.

 

“Looking at their activities the USDA clearly meet the standard of state sponsored terrorist organization. The USDA was created and they are actively participated in the assassination attempt upon Aung San Suu Kyi during Depeyin massacre, intimidating and insulting pro-democracy parties and activists for the past several years, and their active role in recent crackdown in Burma ” said Dr. Sui Khar.

 

On the previous day, the SPDC ambassador to the UN made a statement saying that “People all over the country have been holding peaceful mass rallies within the bound to welcome the successful conclusion of National Convention as well as the establishment of Commission for drafting of the state constitution and to demonstrate their aversion of the present provocative events.”

 

During his oral intervention today at the UN Human Rights Council, Dr. Sui Khar rebutted that the SPDC’s ambassador statement was not true. “In fact these people were forcibly dragged by order to participate in the rallies otherwise imposed a huge fine which is more than their one month income.

 

Dr. Sui Khar also urged the UN Human Rights Council that the SPDC must halt all military offensives against ethnic nationalities groups in Burma . In Karen state alone more than 20 thousands refugee fled their home with in this year due to human rights violations committed by the military regime.

 

BURMA’S PRO-DEMOCRACY ICON AUNG SAN SUU KYI PAY CONSTANT AND SERIOUS CONSIDERATION ON ETHNIC NATIONALITIES

 

 

Chinland Guardian

November 8, 2007-Ottawa

 

The world most famous political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, also known as the lady of Burma , made a statement today through UN special envoy mentioning that she is ready to cooperate with her captors the military junta State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for “the interest of the nation and to make the process of political dialogue a success”.

 

On his way back from a four days mission to Burma , the United Nations special envoy Nigerian diplomat Hon. Ibrahim Gambari told reporters at a midnight press conference in Singapore that “We now have a process going which will lead to a dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi.”

 

In a statement conveyed by the UN special envoy, the lady of Burma Ms. Suu Kyi said that “In this time of vital need for democratic solidarity and national unity, it is my duty to give constant and serious consideration to the interests and opinions of as broad a range of political organizations and forces as possible, in particular those of our ethnic nationality races,”

 

Many people may surprise why Ms. Suu Kyi pay constant and serious consideration to ethnic nationalities issue in Burma . But according to Harn Yawnghwe, director of National Reconciliation Program and Euro-Burma office, it is very important to address the issue of ethnic nationalities in Burma .

 

“..when you take the seven ethnic states together, their population make up 40% of population of Burma (20 out of 50 million people), and their homelands together make up 60 % of the territory of Burma (almost the size of Germany ). The problem of the ethnic nationalities, therefore, is not a minority problem. It is a major constitutional problem” said Harn Yawnghwe in his statement during the Parliamentary Seminar on Burma hosted by parliamentarians from Czech Republic on November 6, 2007 .

 

Dr. Lian Sakhong the General Secretary of Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) said that the council warmly welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi statement. Dr. Sakhong also thanks UN special envoy for his efforts and skills in breaking Burma ’s political stalemate.

 

While welcoming Aung San Suu Kyi Satement the ENC General Secretary express his disappointment saying that “I am quite disappointed that the SPDC rejected Mr. Gambari’s proposal for the establishment of “a broad-based constitutional review commission and a broad-based poverty alleviation commission”. However, as the talk between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and General Aung Kyi progress, I hope that the SPDC will change their position soon”.

 

The ENC is a political body representing 7 non-Burman ethnic states in Burma .

 

Burma gained the highest level of international attention in its modern history after the world witnessed the brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks led peaceful pro-democracy uprising in September where several protesters including a Japanese photo journalist was shot to death at point blank by Burmese soldier. Several thousands more were arrested.

 

In response to the cry for positive change in Burma by the international community including the United Nations, the SPDC chief Senior General Than Shwe announced that he is willing to meet with the opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi if she stops confrontation activities with the junta.

 

The junta soon appointed the labor minister Aung Kyi who is a retired army General to facilitate the talk between Aung San Suu Kyi and the SPDC.

 

Many Burmese activists reject the offer made by SPDC saying that the junta’s offer for talk with preconditions is “unfair” and “unacceptable” .

 

However the Ethnic National Council one of the biggest political stakeholders in Burma welcomes the offer and asked Aung San Suu Kyi to seriously consider the offer made by the SPDC.

 

“There is no better time than now. The world is focused on Burma . The UN Secretary-General’ s Special Advisor Professor Ibrahim Gambari is fully engaged. The UN Security Council has also endorsed his role” said Harn Yawnghwe one of the most capable strategists among Burma ’s pro-democracy movements during his presentation two days ago at Czech parliament.

 

 

 

 

 

To protect and promote human rights and democratic principles