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NEWS - Two Pastors arrested in Than
Subject: NEWS - Two Pastors arrested in Thantlang, Chin State
Chin Human Rights Organization
50 Bell St. N # 2
Ottawa, On K1R 7C7, Canada
Tel/Fax: 613 234 2485 Email: chokhlei@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.chro.com
_____________________________________________________________________________
Two Pastors arrested in Thantlang, Chin State
Chin Human Rights Organization CHRO received the following report on
20th
September 1999 from reliable source.
On 26 June, 1999, a soldier of the 266 Light Infantry Battalion led by
2nd
Lieutenant Myo Kyaw, deserted his unit, near Tlangpi village. The
villagers
of Tlangpi and of Farrawn, which is one of its neighboring villages,
were in
no way responsible for his defection, but the chairmen of these villages
and
other neighboring villages were arrested, taken to Hakha, and severely
tortured, for it. The chairman of Tlangpi village was given a twelve
year
sentence with rigorous imprisonment and the others also two to three
year
sentences, with rigorous imprisonment
All the chairmen of the villages in Zahnak Tlang area of the Thantlng
Township, Chin State viz. of Lungler, Bungkhua, Dawn, Ralpel, Saikah,
Fungkah, Thangzang, Sihhmuh, Ruabuk, Ruakhua, have also been arrested by
the
same Battalion.
Also all the chairmen of the "yatkwets" ( block ) in Thantlang Town, viz
Pu
No Lal Ling of School "Yatkwet", Pu Van Hnun of Market "Yatkwet", and Pu
Ceu
Hnin of TABC "Yatkwet", have been arrested and tortured, and one of
them,
viz Pu Ceu Hnin of TABC "Yatkwet" was so severely tortured that all his
front teeth were knocked out. A good civilian in Thantlang town, by the
name
of Al Bik, was also arrested, taken to the Camp of the Military
Intelligence
at Rung Tlang in Hakha, and has been kept in isolation, allowing no body
to
see him.
All these arrests were allegedly made on the flimsy evidence that they
were
in sympathy with the Chin National Front CNF.
When all these arrests and atrocities were taking place, the senior
pastor
of the Thantlang Baptist Church, the Rev. Biak Kam, who is over 60 years
of
age, and the General Secretary of the Thantlang Association of Baptist
Churches, the Rev. Thawng Kam, called a meeting as to how to negotiate
with
the military authorities in charge of the area and to make a request for
their release. But before they could meet with the military authority,
the
military authority have them also arrested at night on September 7,
1999,
accusing them of calling a meeting without their knowledge or
permission.
They were sent away hastily and secretly by night the same night, on
foot,30
miles away, to the Military Out Post in Lungler village. They have been
kept
there. Nothing has been heard about them, as no one was allowed to see
them;
hopefully they were not tortured. These two Baptist pastors were almost
arrested once at the time of the problem which arose out of matters
related
to erecting a cross on a hill west of Thantlang in January 1999 and it
could
very well be that they were secretly observed and shadowed.
Thantlang Baptist Church is the biggest church in Thantlang Township
with a
membership of over 1500 and Thantlang Association of Baptist Churches
(TABC)
is a fullfledge association, with a membership of 44 village churches,
under
the Zomi Baptist Convention, which in turn is a fullfledge convention
under
the Myanmar Baptist Convention, which is a national convention of all
the
Baptist Churches in Burma.
There is a great fear that all of them would be tortured and their lives
be
in danger of death. All the men in Thantlang town have evacuated for
fear of
being arrested by the military.