Peaceful protest against order to remove Hakha cross planned

23 January 2015 — Christians in Hakha, Chin State plan to stage a peaceful demonstration against government’s order to remove a Christian cross from its current location of Caarcaang Hill.

They will march along the main road in the capital on 29 and 30 January and call on the State government to cancel the order.

Salai Van Chan Ceu, one of the event organizers, told the Chinland Guardian: “We applied to the Hakha Township Police Force for permission to hold the rally today. We hope that it will be granted in time.”

“We want to request the chief minister [Hung Ngai] to call off his instruction to take the Christian cross away from the hilltop,” he added.

According to the official letter last Tuesday, Chief Minister Hung Ngai ordered Pu J.P Biak Tin Sang, owner of the cross and its location, to move it by 30 January 2015 and apply for permission to plant it on another site.

The letter also said that necessary action would be taken against him if instructions were not followed.

Ceu said: “It is not about an individual and his or her work. It is about the Christian monument shared by the people.”

A meeting held on Thursday by representatives from churches, civil society groups including youth and women and political parties in Hakha agreed to make a concerted effort to make their voices heard.

The event leaders are waiting for an official response to their application.

On 4 November last year, Chief Minister Hung Ngai and other State ministers inaugurated a new ‘Peace for the whole world’ pagoda constructed on the hillside above Hakha.#