CNF to Launch Chin-Govt Preliminary ‘Peace-talk’ DVD
16 February 2012: The Chin National Front (CNF) is to make a DVD production of the preliminary peace-talk procession recently held in Hakha with the Chin State government available for purchase early next week.
Edited in Thailand, the 90-odd-minute long documentary will be launched in most of Chin-residing countries across the globe on the Chin National Day, which falls on 20 February 2012.
The film features a whole cavalcade of the ‘peace talk’ between CNF and Chin State government with focus on an effusive welcome and support of the Chin public and on speeches delivered by members of two parties.
“We didn’t have any plans to produce a documentary film like this. But as the event turned out to be unexpectedly receptive and surprising with such a massive support from the Chin public, we decided it is worth making a record of it,” said a member of the DVD production team.
Reportedly amid warnings from the authorities, tens of thousands of Chin public turned up lining up in traditional dresses along the streets with banners and placards to give a warm welcome to members of the CNF delegation officially setting their feet back on their native places for the first time in more than 23 years.
The DVD contains a combination of various different clips from the beginning of the CNF delegation arriving at the Tio River bordering India and Burma, the welcoming ceremonies across villages and towns up to Hakha, to the return journey towards the Indian-Burma border.
One of the Chin residents in Thailand, who reviewed the film, told Chinland Guardian: “It is a must-own piece of Chin historical events. Only after you watch the whole documentary, you will well realize the value of it.”
The Chin National Front, an underground group fighting against Burma’s successive regimes since 1988, held a two-day meeting with the Chin State government officials from 5-6 January, signing a ‘ceasefire’ agreement as the first step towards achieving a permanent peace in the country through a political dialogue offered by Thein Sein’s administration.
In the 9-point preliminary agreement includes a provision for the Chin National Front to open up liaison offices in three locations and operational bases in three townships across Chin State.
In recognition of individual and collective contribution and support for its organization, the Chin National Front elected for the year 2011 Salai Van Lin Hmung from Norway as the Chinland Club’s Person of the Year and the Australia Regional Committee as the best regional committee.
The Chin National Front (CNF) was formed on 20 March 1988, dedicated to securing the self-determination of the Chin people, to restore democracy, and to establish federal Union of Burma. More than 80 CNF members have sacrificed their lives over the past 23 years.
Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang
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