Chin & Kachin Delegation Wraps up their Advocacy Mission

By Elaisa Vahnie  – February 9, 2007-Wahisngton DC: The Chin and Kachin delegation is wrapping up its advocacy mission tonight here in Washington DC, where they met with senior US government officials, urging them to take action to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Burma.

As part of a month-long trip to raise awareness about the deteriorating political conditions in Burma among the international community, the delegation met the US State Department officials and representatives from International Religious Freedom, including Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees, US special representative for Social Issues, John Hanford, ambassador-at-large of IRF, and Scott Flipse, US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

At the conference organized by IRF, the members of delegation raised concerns on several issues in Burma including sexual violence, human trafficking, as well as religious freedom in the regime ruled country.

The joint delegation also met with senior Congressional and Senate members, advisors, Congressman Joseph Pitts, senior advisor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as well as with Jon Stivers, the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Office, and with Keith Luce, Senior Advisor on Asia and the Pacific for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and advisor to Senator Richard Lugar.

“This is the first time we the Chin and Kachin are able to raise the awareness about our country’s situations to the high level executives and legislative bodies of the European Union as well as in the US Government” said Salai Bawi Lian Mang, Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.

The three weeks-long mission trip started from London, and then Brussels and Berlin, where they met European parliaments and government ministries, and now concluding in Washington DC. The delegation is represented by members from the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Women’s League of Chinland (WLC) and Kachin Women’s Association, Thailand (KWAT) and organized by UK-based Christian Solidarity Worlwide.