Authority Continues Forcible Collection of Money from Chins
26 July 2012: The local authorities of Burma’s new government still conduct a forcible collection of money from the Chin locals including students and Christian churches, sources revealed.
Primary students of the Basic Education High School (BEHS) No. 1 in Thantlang town, Chin State, have been ordered to make a financial contribution of 300 Kyats for making school badges each in June and July 2012 under the instructions of a new Burmese headmaster, U Theh Aung.
A community leader from Thantlang, who asked not to be named, told Chinland Guardian that some Chin teachers made a complaint against the collection to the headmaster, adding: “U Theh Aung said it will be stopped next year.”
It is estimated that there are about 240 primary school students at Thangtlang BEHS No. 1.
Pastors and leaders of Christian churches in Khampat sub-township of Sagaing Division have been ordered to contribute money to pay off the outstanding expenses for construction of an Examinations Board Department fireproof building, according to the Chin World Media.
In a meeting held in June 2012, the sub-township General Administration Office said the churches had to make contributions to meet the costs of the fireproof building construction, which was already completed in April this year.
A Christian pastor from the area, with the majority being Chins, complained that the total expense of the construction was not revealed and that Burmese residents in Ward No. 5 were not included in the money collection.
Eight out of nine wards in Khampat sub-township where about 80 percent of the population are Christian Chins have been forced to make a total of one and half lakh Kyats each, according to the Chin World Media.
Recently, the headmaster of a middle school in Zawngte village of Falam Township forcibly collected 500 Kyats from each household for the transportation cost of school supplies from Falam town, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization.
A staff member of the local authority in Kalaymyo, Sagaing Division said money will be collected from local residents in Satawm Ward for the cost of the ongoing road construction, which is temporarily suspended during the rainy season but will resume in October this year.
Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang
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