Banner of ‘Chin National Day’ Banned In Burma
24 February 2010: Putting up a banner that reads ‘Chin National Day’ for its official celebration has been banned in Burma as the Chin people commemorated the 62nd anniversary of their national day on 20 February 2010.
Instead, Burma’s authorities ordered ‘Chin State Day’ to be used for celebrating the auspicious day in most places including Hakha, the capital of Chin State.
Veteran Chin politician Pu Lian Uk, who is in exile in the US, said: “The military regime forcing the Chin people and the Chin University students to celebrate Chin National Day, which falls on February 20, as Chin State Day is an insult to the Chin people and contempt of Panglong Agreement and the principles of democracy.”
The elected MP of the 1990 General Election also remarked that Chin State Day is to derive from January 3rd or 4th on which the Chin territory was designated and proclaimed as Chin State in 1974 due to the constant demand of the Chin people to have self-governing territory as a constituent State of the Union of Burma (UB).
In Kalay and Mandalay, the celebration was organised by Chin university students with a banner reading ‘Chin National Day’ while Chin students in Rangoon had the day without any words related to Chin National Day.
One of the student leaders from Kalay University said: “We applied for permission to celebrate within the campus. Since we didn’t get any sign of permission, we held our celebration at Zomi Hall, Satawm.”
A local from Thantlang told Chinland Guardian that the celebration organisers had no choice since the authority didn’t allow them to use a ‘Chin National Day’ banner on stage but we had a very good day with a variety of traditional dances, shows and activities.
Chin communities outside Burma have been celebrating their national day without any restrictions on the use of ‘Chin National Day’ banner. But in Burma, the military junta has for decades rejected and forced the day to be called ‘Chin State Day’.
February 20, 2010 marked the 62nd anniversary of Chin National Day, the day that the Chin people abolished the ancient traditional aristocratic ruling system and adopted democratic principle at a mass conference in Falam in 1948.
Van Biak Thang
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