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CHRO: News Bulletin(December)



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     R H O D O D E N D R O N     N e w s   B u l l e t i n
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        Chin Human Rights Organization
        50 Bell Street N.#2, Ottawa ON K1R 7C7, Canada
        Ph/Fx : 1-613-234 2485 Email : chokhlei@xxxxxxxxxxx
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  Volume 1 No. 6                                 December 1998
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Preventing from running self-support private school
---------------------------------------------------
      
In remote areas of Chin State, especially along the border with
India and Bangladesh, many villages do not have a government
school.  Parents in these remote villages are usually poor and
cannot afford sending their children to another bigger village or a
town school. Therefore, the villagers themselves, sometimes with
the help of the church, have set up their own schools. The
teachers' salaries and school running costs are shared among the
village community, and the children can get education with very
little expenses.

In order to keep complete control of the education system in the
villages, the military junta have now sent orders throughout Chin
State for any school non-affiliated with the government to close
down. This directive is part of the SPDC anti-opposition tactic, to
prevent any contact between villagers and opposition. Similar
orders have also been issued in Mon State, and probably other
regions of Burma as well.

By prohibiting self-supported schools to run, in many villages,
children have no other alternative for education, and have to
abandon their studies.  Parents are worried that the young people
will be roaming around the streets, wasting their lives.

60 times a porter for the Burmese army in 1998
----------------------------------------------

Mangte (name changed),a Chin villager from Saek village, Falam 
township of Chin State, had served as porter for 60 times in 1998.
Other villagers also served as army porter as he did.  He said:
"Most of the time we had to carry chicken, pork, foods and
house-wares that the army had looted from the villagers."

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SPDC order
Township Education Office
Thantlang
Letter no. seik-1/(simaan)/,4044/Pa Wa Da
date: 1998 June 23

To
  Principal
  Basic Higher/Middle/Primary Schools
  _____________ Town.

Subject    : To recognize only government affiliated schools

Reference: Chin State and Townships School Inspectors Decision

     With reference to Chin State School Inspector's directions,
I hereby inform you that, from the beginning of the 1998-99
School Year, any self-supported private Primary/Middle/High
School will not be allowed to stay open. Only Government
affiliated schools are recognized.

     If we find out any school running secretly after this
guidance has been released, severe action will be taken against the
Principal.

                                        (SD/)
                                        Principal
                         Thantlang Township Education Office

cc:
1. State Education Office, Haka, Chin State
2. Chairman, Township Peace and Development Council(TPDC), 
   Thantlang
3. Chairman, Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC)
4. Interdepartmental circular letter
5. O/C

Hlaing/2261998***
---------------------------------------------------------------

Interview with a Burmese army defector
--------------------------------------

          Name        :Zonunpuia 
          Nationality :Chin
          Religion    :Christian
          Age         :17 
          From        :Lungpi village, Falam township, Chin State
                                 
I was forced to join the Burmese army in 1994.  [Zonunpuia was
still a child when he was forcibly recruited]. When I was tending
the cattle near my village with my friends, Burmese soldiers came
to us and try to convince us to join the army.

Although we refused, they arrested us and sent us to Falam. Then,
we were sent to Kalaymyo, Sagaing Division. Two days later, we
were sent to Monywa where we spent two months. After two
months in Monywa, we were sent to Mandalay, and a week later
back to Kalaymyo. There the army gave us basic military training
for four months at Sakhankyi military training fields. As soon as
the training is finished I was posted at a company post in Falam of
Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 268 based in Kalaymyo. 

There are many kinds of discrimination among the soldiers. So,
most of the soldiers were morally very frustrated. Our salary is
very low and always cut for any reason. It is hard to say how
much my real salary is.  It happened not only to the private
soldiers but also to the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO).
That's why we all are waiting for a good chance to run away from
the army.                               

The reason why I defected from the Burmese army is that I was
forcibly recruited into the army and I don't want to fight with my
own brethren. For a long time I was waiting for a good
opportunity to run away. When I was sick, I was hospitalized in
Falam Civil Hospital and when I recovered, I fled away on my
way to report to the regiment in March 1997. Lt. Col. Myint
Thwe was LIB 268 commander while I fled.

Committing suicide
-------------------
                
CHRO was informed that Lieutenant Tin Hlaing Aung, Company
Commander of LIB 383 battalion based in Mawleik, had
committed suicide. 

His Company is directly controlled by Tactical Commander in
Haka. He shot himself dead at 8:00 AM on 22 September 1998 in
Tlangrua village, Thantlang township. While he was sitting in the
verandah of the village headman's house, he started cursing his
superiors, then he entered into the house and shot himself.

According to the villagers, he left a note of dissatisfaction about
his superiors. No soldier could touch the dead body according to
the Tactical commander's order. A company of LIB 226 from
Haka arrived at Tlangrua on September 23 and they arrested all
of Tin Hlaing Aung's soldiers. Dr. Hmuh Thang, a Doctor and
MP ( elected in 1990 ), came along with LIB 226, and was asked
to carry out a post-mortem. The troops took Tin Hlaing Aung's
dead body and his soldiers to Haka. Later Tin Hlaing Aung's
body was brought to Falam to establish a second post-mortem
with a specialist. All the arrested soldiers were kept in the
Detention Center.

Rice storage for whom?
----------------------                               

Burmese army Light Infantry Battalion 274 is based in Mindat
town, Chin State. Company No 3 of LIB 274 led by Lieutenant
Han Zaw Aung is posted in Lailenpi village, Matupi township,
Chin State. The platoon came to Pintia village of Matupi
township in the first week of October 1998 and inquired about
200 tins of rice stored in the village. They interrogated all the
village headmen of nearby villages. First, they interrogated the
headman of Pintia village with his hands and legs being tied and
hung upside down. He was beaten several times by the soldiers.
When they stopped the interrogation, he couldn't even walk by
himself. He was treated by the villagers in his house.                    
Likewise, the village headman of Sabawngpi was also tortured
and interrogated. When he could not bear the pain anymore, he
was forced to confess that the rice that they had stored were to be
sent to the Indian border. As soon as he confessed, the soldiers
forced Pintia and Sabawngpi villagers to carry and transport this
rice to Lailenpi army camp. The headmen of Tangku, Rekhin,
Sumsen, Tisi and Aru villages were also interrogated and tortured
by the soldiers while an inquiry was made to find out where the
rice came from and why the villagers had stored it.  These village
headmen were tortured, because the army suspected them to
provide food to insurgents.

Villages elders forced to drink liquor
--------------------------------------
                               
Recently, the Burmese army Battalion 266 from Lungler village, 
Thantlang township, Chin State had thrown a party with food and
drinks.  The  village elders from Dawn, Ralpel, Saikah, Ruabuk,
Ruakhua, Zaangtlang and Lungding were compelled to attend the
party.               

Most of the villages elders do not drink alcohol.  Even though
they refused, they were forced to drink liquor. When the village
headman of Ralpel continued to refuse, the soldiers poured
alcohol all over his body. 

While the villages' elders were forcibly drinking, the soldiers took
photograph and recorded it. Soon after, the villagers were forced
to buy alcohol 5 to 10 bottles every month from the army. The
actual price of alcohol is Kyat 250/-but the army charged Kyat
500/-to 1,000/-per bottles.                               

The commander of Lungler army post accused and threatened the
villagers:  "I know you consume alcohol, but when the Army
offer it to you, you refuse. I don't understand your behavior! 
What I know is that you have to pay the price as we fixed."

A villager beaten in Paletwa township
-------------------------------------

The following incident occurred in Kantlang village, Paletwa
township. On 30 July 1998, 2nd Lieutenant Ri Ding, from LIB
374, No.2 company, commander of Kantlang army post, ordered
Aa Huat, 18-year old Chin farmer to buy alcoholic drink from
Turahaing village, which is a day's walk from Kantlang village.
Aa Huat could not find any alcohol drink and came back
empty-handed. As a result, 2nd Lieutenant Ri Ding beat him at
the army post with 3 feet long and 3 inches thick bamboo stick on
his head, arms, his backbone and all over places of his body until
he lost consciousness. He was being treated at home because his
family could not afford to take him to hospital.

Extortion for selling cattle
----------------------------

In Temahchawng village, which is 2-hours walk away from
Paletwa, a 25-year old farmer, named Aung Kyaw, from Paletwa,
was imposed a fine of 10,000 Kyats by Corporal Thein Shwe and
Private Kyi Thein from Riot Police Department and 10 of his
cows being confiscated. He was accused of attempting to sell his
cattle in Mizoram, India.

Shot on sight                                
-------------
                
This incident was occurred on 15 July of 1998. Kyaw Naing, 23 years old, 
a Chin Christian man had one child and was peacefully living in 
Kuanchawngwah village of Paletwa township. On 15 July 1998, Kyaw Naing 
and his friend were coming back from hunting. Kyaw Naing was carrying a 
monkey on his shoulder, as well as a gun slung over the shoulder.
They were at a place about 5-hours walk away from Kaletchawng
village when Burmese soldiers saw them. These soldiers fired at
them without warning, and Kyaw Naing was shot dead on the
spot. His friend luckily escaped unharmed. 

USDA rally in Haka
------------------
                               
The State Peace and Development Council(SPDC), the Burmese
military junta, was organizing the Chin people to attend a USDA
rally against the National League for Democracy party's proposal
to convene parliament.

In September 1998, the SPDC forced people from all over Chin
State to come to Haka, the capital city of Chin State, to
participate in the rally, to oppose the NLD's party proposal to
convene parliament. They forcibly brought people from Matupi
township to Haka by truck. On the way, there was an accident. 
Five people died on the spot and 14 were seriously injured. Those
who got injured were treated in Haka civil hospital.

Rape of a woman porter
----------------------
                               
A platoon of Burmese army led by Sergeant Aung Shwe, from
(LIB) 303 based in Mawleik, Sagaing Division, came to
Congthia village, Thantlang township on September 10, 1998.
They collected 6 villagers as porters by force. On their way to the
next village, the Sergeant ordered his troops and 5 porters to go
ahead but he ordered Miss Nunau (name change) to stay behind
with him. Then, the sergeant raped her. She reported this to the
village elders.

Killed by land-mines
--------------------

Since 1997, many land-mines have been planted along the
Indo-Burma border and Bangla-Burma border, especially on most
of the mountain ranges and between villages. Chin villagers are
now facing threat of land-mines. They were afraid and dared not
go for hunting, fishing or tending their cattle as usual.  The
presence of land-mines not only causes death and injuries, but
also severely affects the food security of the villagers.      
                               
In the first week of September 1998, Salai Ram Hre, 25 years old
from Haka's Farhual block was killed by a land-mine planted by
Burmese army at Lahva stream near the border of India on his
way to Mizoram State of India. The villagers waited for a few
days to pick up his dead body because they were afraid that there
could be other land-mines. 
                               
The same incident occurred in October 20, 1998 at Ralpel
village, Thantlang township, Chin State. Pu Hmar, aged 60, was
killed on the spot by land-mine planted by Burmese army while
he was going to his farm located between Ralpel and Thingsai
village.

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