Statement of the Chin Freedom Coali

[suantak@xxxxxx]

Subject: Statement of the Chin Freedom Coalition

October 10, 1999

Statement of the Chin Freedom Coalition
On
The Arrest of Nine Villagers by the SPDC
Army Due to One Army Deserter

The SPDC Army has done it again. Because
one soldier deserted his unit in
Thanthlang district, the SPDC Army
arrested nine Tlangpi villagers and two
pastors from Thanthlang. Desertion is a
common phenomenon of the SPDC Army
because the government fails to clothe,
feed, or discipline its soldiers. It is
also a habit of the SPDC Army
contingents to accuse the innocent
villagers for the desertion. In Phaileng
village in 1997 the Church Pastor and
three other people were tortured to
death because of the desertion of a
soldier.

The SPDC Army contingent blames the
villagers for desertion for several
advantages:

1. They seek to make the non-Burman, in
this case the Chin, hate the Burman by
making unjustified arrests and
inflicting extreme cruelty on the
innocent victims.  When the Chin hate
the Burman, the SPDC believes that more
Chin will join the armed resistance
movement of the Chin National Front,
which justifies the Army?s existence in
the Chin Hills.
2. The SPDC Army accuses the villagers
and the village Christian institution of
buying the guns and ammunition of the
deserter so that they can justify
confiscating the Church funds of the
village.  The SPDC Army accuses the
villagers of turning the guns over to
the Chin National Front.
4. To be able to hold on to power, the
SPDC must have an enemy.  Having an
enemy justifies the military build up
that allows keeping control of the
civilian street demonstrations.

The Chin Freedom Coalition finds it very
difficult to believe that the SPDC
really wants peace and development in
the Union of Burma. Desertion of Burman
soldiers has been rampant and in some
jails, Army deserters make up the
majority of the inmates.  The Chin
villagers are not at fault for the
desertions.  Instead, the shortage of
food, clothing, low pay, and poor living
conditions for the soldiers cause the
high rate of desertion.  If the SPDC and
its high ranking Burman officers believe
in peace and development, they should
use different methods than arresting
villagers and Church leaders without
common sense.

The breeding of insurgency since
independence has caused enough ethnic
hatred. It is time to think about ethnic
reconciliation and not in terrorizing
the weak and the helpless.

Central Committee
Chin Freedom Coalition

Any question? call Vum Son 301 499 0499