Category: Recent News

29 October 2012: A chain of ‘Khuado’ celebrations took place both inside and outside of Burma, marking the end of harvest season in Chin tradition.

28 October 2012: Villagers in Mualbem of Tedim Township, Chin State, has accused a Burmese midwife, Daw Myint Myint Than, of demanding an enormous amount of money from the local patients.

28 October 2012, KUALA LUMPUR: 40 refugees from Burma including five children believed to be victims of human trafficking were rescued from an abandoned warehouse at the township of Bukit Kayu Hitam, near to Malaysia-Thailand border on Wednesday night.

27 October 2012: A team of women volunteers held a meeting in Hakha, Chin State yesterday, forming a community-based group called ‘Chin Women Organization (CWO)’.

27 October 2012: Mount Victoria, the highest mountain in Chin State, has got a new recognition of the 32nd ASEAN Heritage Parks at a meeting of environment ministers from ASEAN member states.

26 October 2012: The Zomi Baptist Convention (ZBC) came to a conclusion during its recent meeting, saying it will try to find ways of resuming construction of the Zogam Prayer Mountain Building, which was banned in the mid-2000s by Burma’s military authorities. 

26 October 2012: About 300 people dressed up in Chin traditional costumes lined up at the entrance of Hakha to greet Victor Biak Lian, a prominent Chin activist who returns to his native town for a short visit after living in exile for more than 20 years.

25 October 2012: Preparation is in full swing as Chins living in the Kalay-Kabaw valley of Sagaing Division, Burma are set to celebrate the Chin harvest festival in the village of Cia-In on 29-30 October 2012.

The festival, known in Hakha dialect as Tho, which marks the end of the harvest season in Chin culture, is expected to attract participants from different regions including members of the Chin National Front (CNF), MPs and community leaders as well as government officials.

One of the event organizers, Pa Bawi, told Chinland Guardian that Dr. Sui Khar, leader of the CNF’s ceasefire negotiation team, and Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, Chairman of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), are to give a public address on the first day of celebrations.

“We all get excited about the celebration as it will be the very first Tho festival organized on a grand scale in Cia-In. And we get even more excited as many Chin leaders, politicians and scholars will be joining us,” added the Chin organizer from the Laimi Funtomnak Bu (LFB), a community-based organization established under the leadership of Pu Enoch in Kalaymyo.

On the second day of celebrations, special speeches will be presented by Chin MPs and leaders from Kalay University, government department, political parties, and organizations including the Chin Association for Christian Communication) and the Chin National Party.

Pu H.C. Ral Hnin, CNF member in charge of Thantlang Liaison Office, is also invited to attend the Tho festival programmed with a variety of activities including competitions of Chin cultural dances, songs, wrestling, and football matches from several villages in Kalay Township.

It is not yet confirmed if Pu No Than Kap, aka John Khaw Kim Thang, Chin Affairs Minister of Sagaing Region and Chairman of the Chin Progressive Party (CPP), will be able to participate in the Chin traditional celebrations, according to the organizers.

There are between 200,000 and 300,000 Chins living in Sagaing region scattering all over 28 out of 37 townships in the Burman-dominated parts of Burma, according to an interview with Pu No Than Kap by the Chinland Guardian last year.

Chin communities in Chin State and other parts of Burma as well as abroad have organized a series of the Chin harvest festival, which falls in the month of October, a celebration held in Chin tradition when farmers and their families return to the village after spending months on their fields for cultivation.

24 October 2012: Human rights violations and discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in Burma still continue, a report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) said.

24 October 2012: The incumbent Minister of the President’s Office of Burma, U Aung Min, said during his meeting with exiled Chin politician Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, that Chin State must be in the hands of Chin people.