Student Sports Festival (r)

[suantak@xxxxxx]

In preparation of the Sports Festival the Burmese military astrologers
predicted that three men had to be killed at the stadium for the festival to
be successful. We learned that one man was killed by the military just
before Chrisma 1997. In January 1998 a Mr. Kong Lwe was abducted while
walking at dusk in Haka.  A white cloth was thrown over him and wrapped by
the white cloth he was taken to the stadium.  Having known the story of the
first man killed at the stadium Mr. Kong Lwe pleaded with the soldiers to
allowed him to pray. When he prayed and the white cloth was removed the
Burmese military soldiers realized that they had abducted the Head Master of
the Haka High School, and they released him.


In preparation for the ceremony, the people of the Chin State were barred
from cultivating their fields, they were not allowed to leave their
villages, not even to their fields.  Rice import from Burma was not allowed.
The Chin were not allowed to fire their fields which was necessary for slash
and burn method of farming. The expalnation was that the smoke was going to
disturb the view of the Festival. The Chin are very worried now that they
will not harvest any food this year. Their trade roads to their relatives in
India were sealed by threats of shoot-on-sight by the Burmese military.

Since the start of the Festival the soldiers stood guard at one furlong
intervals on the way to Hakha from Kalemyo, which is 75 miles long.
The soldiers standing on guard numbered over twenty thousand as they had to
change shifts.  Chin villages along the road were forced at gun point to
feed these soldiers.  This had been going on since 28th of March and will
continue until April 8th, 1998.




-----Original Message-----
To: Recipients of burmanet-l <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, April 02, 1998 1:52 AM
Subject: Student Sports Festival


>------------
>Student Sports Festival
>Perspectives, the NLM, Tuesday, 17 March 1998
>
>In the endeavours being made for all-round national development, the State
>Peace and Development Council is paying serious attention to moulding the
>young minds to possess determination to preserve cultural heritage and
>promote national prestige and nurturing them to be physically strong,
>morally straight and mentally awake to meet their challenges when their
>time comes.
>
>The Student Sports Festival is one of the government's ambitious plans to
>promote morale and morality of the youth and train students to be fit and
>healthy, contributing toward materialization of the fourth social objective
>"Uplift of health, fitness and education standard of the entire nation".
>
>The festival being held in the states and divisions in turn is aimed at
>achieving targets other than sports.  The objectives are: to help implement
>the aim of the State "Myanmar Sports - the World to Conquer", to turn out
>more fit and healthy students, to turn out more students with sporting
>spirit, to contribute to sporting movements of the State, to promote the
>standard of Myanmar sports and to turn out brilliant, selected Myanmar
>athletes, and to further strengthen Union Spirit and patriotism.
>
>This year, student athletes are to meet and compete in Haka, Chin State,
>from 28 March to 8 April and preparations are now in full swing.
>
>The government is today providing unprecedented support for promotion of
>sports standard encouraging promising athletes.  Meanwhile, athletes are
>reminded constantly that success in sports contributes toward upholding
>national pride and honour and that maturity of nationalism and patriotism,
>physical and spiritual steadfastness, and firm determination to win would
>serve as the driving force to raise national prestige.
>
>The current leadership, fully realizing the vital role of the youth in
>national construction, is working very seriously for their all-round
>development.  At the same time, youths are being nurtured with nationalism
>etched in their hearts and fully equipped with physical and spiritual
calibre.
>
>As the Student Sports Festival is held with these expectations, it will
>really turn out to be a national sports festival as part of today's
>endeavours of the government to turn out intellectuals and intelligentsia
>as the most basic means for human resources development.
>
>Thinzar Khine, <Thinzar@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
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>
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