CND exhibition opened despite anti-alcohol appeal
19 February 2013: Pu Hung Ngai, Chief Minister of Chin State government, opened a ribbon-cutting ceremony of an exhibition prepared in honour of the Chin National Day in Hakha today.
The exhibition presents an array of cultural items, traditional weavings and consumers’ awareness with an emphasis on environmental issues.
It also showcases a range of advertisements featuring various alcoholic drinks including Myanmar Beer, Hero Whisky and Double Strong, sparking disappointment among local communities.
Chin communities and civil organizations including the Chin Women Organization (CWO) expressed deep concerns over the preparation swamped with alcohol advertising.
Pi Van Thla Cer Hniang, Chairperson of CWO, told Chinland Guardian that the Chin National Day was not a drinking event but a significant historic day for the Chin.
Some of the ‘alcohol’ posters flooding the celebration venue at the Vom Thu Mawng football ground have been taken off following an official letter written to the authorities in the government of Chin State.
“Once we saw the adverts, we talked to the people nicely and asked them to remove them all. But they didn’t. So, we took action by writing letters to relevant authorities,” added Pi Van Thla Cer Hniang.
A Chin elder from Hakha said a lot of people got discouraged to turn up at the celebration following the alcohol promotion and commercial advertisements all over the place.
The town municipal department is mainly responsible for issuing permission to companies willing to advertise their products at the event, according to sources from Hakha.
Event organizing members of the Chin National Front (CNF) raised during the meeting with the government of Chin State the issue to ban import and sales of alcoholic drinks at the celebration.
Tomorrow will mark the 65th anniversary of the Chin National Day with commemoration of the Falam conference in 1948 where the Chin decided to establish a democratic governing system.
Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang
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