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Chin Human Rights Report - October



Subject: Chin Human Rights Report - October 1999

CHIN HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION 
                    50 Bell Street, N #2, Ottawa, ON K1R 7C7,Canada 
                   Ph/FX : 613 234 2485.Email : chokhlei@xxxxxxxxxxx 
                         Volume (II) No(VIII):: OCTOBER 1999 

              INNOCENT CHIN VILLAGER SHOT DEAD BY BURMESE TROOP 

Cin Khua Sei was shot dead by six soldiers of Burmese Light Infantry
Battalion 269 Company 2, on
September 1, 1999. The troop led by a sergeant ordered Cin Khua Sei and
Thang Lian Thawng of
Cauleng village to deliver a letter to a nearby village Darkhai. The
soldiers ambushed the two villagers
on their return to Cauleng.Thang Lian Thawng escaped the ambush
unharmed, but Cin Khua Sei was
shot at the waist and he died on the spot. 

The incidence occurred at 2 km away from Cauleng at a bout 2 p.m. The
body of Cin Khua Sei was
taken by the villagers and buried at Cauleng, Tiddim Township, Chin
State, Burma. The soldiers said
that they mistaken them with the CNA activists, but the villagers
believed that the soldiers shot the two
deliberately. They did not find any reason that the soldiers would
mistake the persons whom they must
have recognized well when they assigned. The villagers had to keep
silent about the death of Cin
Khua Sei for their own safety. Cin Khua Sei, 40, was the sole person to
feed his family.The eldest of
his eight children is too young to work. The be reaved family is now in
dilemma as to how they will
survive. 

The soldiers paid no heed to the demand of compensation for the death of
Cin Khua Sei. Panicked by
fear,Cauleng villagers no longer dare to go out of the village-even to
their farms. 
                      ( Date of receiving report: 11 September 1999 ) 

                       A BUDDHIST MONK KIILED IN CHIN STATE 

A Buddhist monk U Thunanda ( 41 ) was killed by a group of unidentified
gun men near Tlangrua
village, Thantlang township, Chin State on 9 October 1999. On 11 October
1999, Myanmar Information
Committee ( the military government agency ) reported that Chin National
Front CNF (CNF is
underground armed Group fighting for restoration of democracy in Burma)
was responsible for the
killing of the monk. 

However, Chin National Front denied the accusation saying that "it is a
dirty trick of Military Intelligence
Service" in apress release made on October 12, 1999. There are only two
armed groups actively
operating in Chinland; SPDC's Burmese military and the other one is the
opposition Chin National
Front. Following the killing of the monk, 40 civilian have been arrested
by the authority in Thantlang
area. All Churches and a Monastery in Thantlang area are strictly
guarded by the Burmese army.Chin
community around the world strongly condemned the brutal killing of the
Buddhist monk. 

                     SPDC USED FORCED LABOR TO REPAIR ROAD 

(Date of receiving report: 30th September 1999) 
On 25/9/1999, Burmese army Company 3 Commander of 268 Battalion
stationed at Tibual Camp,
Falam Township ordered 20 villages along Falam-Rihkhawdar road to repair
the road (which extends
up to the Indian border). (See attached order)The number of laborers
from each village ranges from
15to 30 depending on the size and the population of the village. They
had to bring their own tools and
ration for three days. They were not paid for their labor. The soldiers
warned them that any village that
failed to contribute "unpaid laborers" will be considered supporters of
CNF, and that severe action will
be taken against them. No village dare nor defy the order. 

( Order Translation ) 
Impression of round seal of the 268 Light Infantry Battalion Company 3 
Date 24/9/99 
To 
Chairman 
Village Peace and Development Council 
Hnathial village (Old) 


Subject: Invitation for " voluntary labor" 

Regarding the above subject, you are hereby informed that you organize
15 adult men from your
village to volunteer for the reconstruction of the motor road between
Falam and Rihkhawdar, which
was damaged as a result of erosion and heavy landslide during the
monsoon. The heavy downpour
had also caused flood that damaged bridges. Led by yourself, 15
volunteers from your village have to
bring hoes, shovels,saws, harrows and other tools, which will be
required for the road construction.
You also have to bring rations for three days during your work. You have
to reach Hmunthar village to
notify yourselves by 28 September 1999. Defaulter village will be
considered as active supporters of
CNF and severe action will be taken for defiance of order. 

Sd/-Company Commander 
A new army camp in Lentlang 

The villagers around Lentlang are now facing problems, as they do not
have 800 kyats to give Myo
Kyaw, the commander of Battalion 268, Company 2,based in Falam, Chin
State. He made an order
throughout the area that one person from each family must see him or pay
the fine in his camp which
he ordered the villagers to build on September 1, 1999. Many of the
villagers were too busy to see him
timely, as it was the crucial period for their farm works. 

                         A STRANGE MONK AT RIHKHUADAR 

(Place: Rihkhuadar, Falam Township, Chin State, Burma.) 
Rihkhuadar, founded in 1942, is 70 miles west of Falam and 2 miles from
Tio River (the border river
between India and Burma), is by the beautiful heart-shaped lake Rih (3
square miles wide and 60 ft
deep).Rihkhuadar is on the trade route of Burma and India. There is 150
acres of productive paddy
field nearby the lake, which annually produces 15,000 tins of rice.There
is a government High school
at Rihkhuadar. The population of the twin village is about 1,400. All
the villagers are Christians. 

The Burmese Military Regime sent a Buddhist monk Baddandah Tan Wa Yah
(43years) to Rihkhuadar
in August 1997, for the project of building a pagoda which was started
that year. The military regime
sanctioned 5,000,000 kyats for the projects of two pagodas, Aungdawmu
and Naga-yung Pagodas.
Aungdawmu literally means"the Pagoda of Victory," and "Naga Yung Pagoda"
could be closely
translatedas "the Mythical Serpent Pagoda or Pagoda of Dragon.
"Aungdawmu Pagoda was built at a
place where the Christians villagers worship God for many years.
Naga-yung Pagoda also was built
nearby Lake Rih, which also was intentionally built at an important
traditional religious place of the
native Chins. 

Even though the building of the pagodas was projected and sanctioned by
the military regimes, the
army officials and the monk forced the villagers of Rihkhuadar and the
nearby villages to build the
pagodas continuously for months, without paying wages for their labors.
The authorities provided
nothing for the villagers, but the villagers had to supply themselves
with their own food, tools and
medicines. Some parts of Aungdawmu pagoda fell down in July 1999. The
military regimes sanctioned
another 1,000,000 kyats for the repair. However, the Buddhist monk,
Baddandah Ta Wa Yah and the
authorities forced the villagers again, for reconstruction of the
landslide without paying any wages for
their labors. The army officials and the monk shared the money.As the
villagers were forced to spend
months of their time and their labor for the repair of the pagodas, they
don't have time to work on their
farms. The hope nothing for the harvest. 

A Brief Biography of Baddandah Ta Wa Yah 
His service in the religionis 4 Wa, according to the Buddhist naming of
the service of the
Sanga(Buddhist monk). 

He was born at Hintaya (Henzada) township. He is believed to be a
powerful officers from the Military
Intelligence Service ( MIS) of the Burmese military regime. The
villagers were in fear of him. His
realname is hidden. In fact, the military regime frequently uses the
armies as monks for intelligence
service. That has been being the military tradition for many years.
Baddandah behaves as if he is
superior to Christian pastors. He would rebuke the pastors whenever he
is not in a good mood. He be
haves superior not only to the pastors and the villagers, but also to
the Burmese soldiers, based at
Rihkhuadar. The villagers are required to take permits from him to
collect firewood and for cultivation.
He has the priority and favor of higher authorities is such a measure
that the authorities order private
cars to stand by at the camp of the monk. The authorities never paid
money or oil for using the car.
This is the practice of the military regimes in Burma for more than 35
years. The monk, Baddandah,
also involves even in case of forced labors and porters. He plays a role
in religious leader as well as
the military regime's political (intelligent)leader. 

He works with the armies and does whatever he wishes. He talks a lot
like a comedian, but he has
great powers in many places and influenced up on the armies. The
villagers as well as the soldiers
hate him for his filthy behaviors, actions and wrong doings,but no one
is dare to correct him. It is
predictable that he will do more bad things to the Chin Christians as
long as the SPDC have powers in
Myanmar and as long as he is in the Chinland. On his request the monk is
sometimes supplied with
young women by villagers and traders in exchange with some privileges.
Some familiesare exempted
forced labors and porters, for instance.(His practice indicates that he
is not a true monk). 

Traditionally,there has never been prostitution among the Chins.
However, the prostitution,which the
SPDC promoted in major cities like Rangoon and Mandalay, has spread also
to the Chin people after
the army officers lure young Chin women for something. The career of
many young ladies is destroyed
in this way.) 

                      MEETING FOR VARIOUS KINDS OF WORKS 

Captain Min Zaw, Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 55 (Ngapali battalion),
No.3 company commander,
based in Arakan State, took a position as camp commander of Shinletwa,
Paletwa Township, Chin
State on July 25 1999. On Sunday of 1st August 1999 he summoned a
meeting of 9-village tracts in
the area. Knowing the fact that Chin people are Christian and observe
the Sundays, the army
personnel intentionally summoned a meeting and forced the villagers to
serve as porters on Sundays.
In the meeting, they ordered villagers to build a house for the army at
the center of every village
around Shinletwa. The 9-village tracts to be completed within one month.
In addition, they ordered
villagers to deliver(4' by 2') mat and 8-pieces (18' by 6') of woods to
build woodenboxes to the army
camp before the end of September without fail. The commander fixed the
price of chicken at 300 kyats
per viss (about1.5 kg, actual price for one viss of chicken is Kyat
750). They ordered the villagers to
deliver only hens since those are tastier than cocks.Capt. Zaw Min also
restricted the villagers not to
sell rice anywhere except to Sinbowah and Sinletwa villages where there
are army camps. Rice is the
sole commodity of the farmers for their earnings. He also made a
restriction that no household in the
village should sell rice more than three times ayear. The soldiers
depend freely on the rice of the
villages whenever they go for patrolling. Capt. Min Zaw made an order
that 18 people, two each from
the 9villages, must be reserved to serve the soldiers. Six villages have
to serve, in a routine-wise, in
the army camp for 7-days a week for emergency needs and to serve as
porters. The villagers who
serve in the camp have to bring their own food. The commander announced
that anyone missing in the
camp would cause a fine of 1500 kyats. Since the villagers were busy
with their farm work they had to
arrange the money by selling rice or cattle and pay the money to the
commander. Now it is said that
the commander is in full pocket with the money he took from the
villagers. The commander also
ordered the villagers to reconstruct the roads and clean even dried
leaves and branches on the roads
between villages. All the VPDC's Presidents are forced to attend the
meeting everymonth. The place of
the meetings is 5-day walk (to and fro) from their own villageand all
the expenses(including foods) are
also incurred by themselves. 

                           VILLAGES HEADMEN ARRESTED 

Burmese soldiers arrested Salai Van Peng (25) and another member of Chin
National Army, on August
25, 1999. It was after the two activists crossed the village of
Bungkhua, Thantlang Township, Chin
State that the Infantry No.226 of Burmese army, Lungler Post, made the
arrest.The village council
members of the nearby villages were also arrested on the same day in
suspicion to have helped the
CNA activists. Among those whowere arrested, Pu Zamang, 46, Pu Chum
Ling, 55, Pu Lawm Ceu, 35,
and Pu Lengkam, 40 were detained in Thantlang. They were the chairmen of
the village of Fungkah,
Bungkhua, Saikah and Ruakhua respectively. The Burmese soldiers also
shot down two cows as the
owner Pu Than Rawl escaped the arrest. Six families of Bungkhua and two
of Saikah had to flee to
Thingsai, Mizoram State of India, as they were informed that the
soldiers were searching them in
suspicion to help the activists. 

                          EXTORT MONEY FROM VILLAGERS 

A troop led by Capt. Myo Kyaw and Corporal Tin Ohn of company 2, LIB 268
regularly patrol in and
around Khaikhan, Thuklai and Nginte villages in Tonzang Township, Chin
State. Paupi said: Hoping to
solve our hard living life I borrowed an amount of money with a high
rate of interest and went down
with friends to Khaikhan village to buy cattle (for reselling). On our
half way of journey we met a
patrolling troop led by Corp. Tin Ohn, the commander. There was a dump
person among our group.
He did not know how to answer in Burmese language the questions that the
soldiers asked him. The
soldier alleged a member of CNF and started beating him with their gun
(G-3) butt, and took 10,000
kyats from him. Pu Suan was unable to walkor eat due to the beating. He
was treated at home since
they were too poor totake him to the hospital. He used to feed his
family by a small amount of money
he made by buying and selling cattle. Now he is unable to work or eat.Pa
pau, a farmer, is 50 years
old, and a father of 5 children and live in Kabalah village, Tonzang
township.