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THE VIEW FROM MT. KENNEDY: AN UPDATE ON REVOLUTION IN CHIN STATE Project Maje
CONTENTS Introduction Abbreviations used in this report: Click on photos to expand.
This report, "The View from Mt. Kennedy" is an update on the situation in Chin State since Project Maje's January 2023 report "Under the Hornbill Flag: Chin State Resistance Continues" and October 2021 report "Hornbills and Powder Horns: Chin State Resists." The previous reports contain extensive background information on the revolution in a mountainous region of western Burma (Myanmar.) This report includes links to news articles and reports from mid-January 2023 through January 2024 regarding the revolution in Chin State and related issues, as well as responses to an interview question about changes in 2023.
"Chin resistance forces have seized the towns of Rezua, Waibula, Hnaring, Surkhua, Mkuimnu, Lailenpi and Rihkawdar in the state," announced The Irrawaddy news magazine on January 17, 2024. While Chin resistance forces had already established land dominance over much of rural Chin State, nearly all of the towns remained occupied by Myanmar coup regime troops until late in 2023. The gains made in resistance guerrilla warfare from mid-2021 to mid-2023 have now expanded to include taking towns and the bases of occupying coup forces. As if a long-awaited "D-Day" signal flag had been hoisted, the stunning offensive launched in northern Shan State on October 27, 2023 by Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army's northern fighters (called Operation 1027) immediately spurred resistance forces of other regions to overrun bases and seize towns. In Chin State, Rihkawdar (also spelled Rihkhawdar) on the India border was declared liberated by Chin National Army (CNA) and Chinland Defense Force (CDF) on November 13. CNA and CDF took control of Lailenpi town on November 25. Salai Htet Ni, a spokesperson for Chin National Front/Chin National Army told Democratic Voice of Burma in early December 2023, "We attacked the strategic towns for military purposes, to gain access to trade, and for refugee issues." Coordinated Chin State resistance forces' capability to take towns had existed prior to October 2023, but the coup regime's proclivity for aerial and artillery bombardment of civilian population centers had been a deterrent. Indeed, the regime met Operation 1027 and other successful resistance moves with stepped-up air raids. Evacuation and bunker construction have mitigated some of the risk but civilian casualties remain tragically common under attack by the Myanmar Air Force's jets and helicopters. In March 2023, Chin Human Rights Organization announced its estimate that the regime had inflicted an airstrike on Chin State nearly every day during the first two months of the year.
Although enormous amounts of weaponry and equipment have been captured by resistance forces since October, the only resistance air capability has remained highly effective targeted drone bombing. Anti-aircraft weapons like MANPADs have been slow to appear and nonlethal assistance (which could include airstrike warning systems) from the US government's BURMA Act has yet to materialize. Self-sufficient by necessity, Chin State's resistance forces have now captured substantial arms and ammunition, previously in very short supply. These mountain fighters have come a long way from "tumee" hunting rifles. Burma's "strike" installation art of flowers, dolls and candles left in deserted streets has been supplanted on social media by carefully stacked arrangements showing off revolutionary hauls of rockets, mortars, grenades and even armored vehicles. In addition to liberating towns, in late 2023 Chin State resistance fighters wrested bases on strategic high ground from occupying coup forces. These hard-fought victories included Mt. Kennedy which is the second highest peak in Chin State and the Ft. White ("Wuthering Heights") Thangmual base at a major road junction connecting Chin State with Kalay in Sagaing. A "Joint Position Statement by Allied Organisations Engaged in Revolutionary Struggle towards Annihilation of Military Dictatorship and Establishment of a Federal Democratic Union" was issued of January 31, 2024 by Chin National Front, National Unity Government, Karenni National Progressive Party and Karen National Union. These major organizations pledged "to ensure that all armed forces operate solely under the command of a civilian government elected through democratic processes" and agreed on a goal of a new "federal democratic union" with a new Constitution.
South by Southwest Southern Chin State continued to be a conflict zone in 2023 with fighting around Mindat and Paletwa. In early 2024 Arakan Army began to match its northern Burma gains with new momentum in and near its Rakhine State (Arakan) homeland. Arakan Army action included Chin State's Paletwa Township in the state's southwest, which borders India and Bangladesh. When Arakan Army first began operating in Paletwa region in 2015 it had abused local Khumi (Chin ethnic) civilians, which was ongoing since then. Chin National Front objected to Arakan Army's presence in Chin State. After the 2021 coup there was a detente in relations between Chin armed organizations and Arakan Army, which trained and armed anti-coup resistance groups from southern Chin State. In mid-January 2024 Arakan Army seized Paletwa town and nearby strategic bases from the coup regime, whose besieged troops fled en masse. If Arakan Army remains in the township questions of local administration will arise for Paletwa, where the anti-coup resistance had formed a Paletwa Autonomous District Council in early 2023 as part of the Interim Chin National Consultative Council. Late in January Chinland Defense Forces and CNA fought remaining coup regime troops in villages of Paletwa Township. Securing the entire district requires a joint effort by Arakan Army and Chin resistance forces.
Hard Times While considerable rural control by anti-coup forces prevented or mitigated coup regime human rights violations other than airstrikes in much of Chin State during 2023, serious on-the-ground abuses by regime soldiers occurred in and around still-occupied towns including Mindat and the state's capitol Hakha. Additionally, people of Chin State related ethnic groups living in adjacent Sagaing Region were subjected to severe human rights abuse by the regime, including mass killing, rape, abduction (including health care staff and religious leaders), village destruction as well as the horrendous violence of airstrikes on civilian targets, including churches and schools. In October 2023 a Universal Jurisdiction criminal complaint was filed with the Philippines Department of Justice by persons from Chin State, in an effort to hold the Myanmar coup regime internationally accountable for war crimes, particularly those associated with the destruction of Thantlang town in 2021. Chris Gunness, Executive Director of Myanmar Accountability Project which supported the formal complaint, commented in Myanmar Now that such legal action "promotes the concept of 'no safe havens' such that Min Aung Hlaing and his criminal clique will think twice before they swan around the region with their families, doing their shopping and dealing with their healthcare." Cyclone Mocha, a category 5 Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm storm, struck Burma from the Bay of Bengal on May 14, causing flooding and landslides in Chin State, especially in the south. According to Human Rights Watch, the Myanmar coup regime blocked relief aid from reaching affected areas: "Villagers from Matupi, Kanpetlet, and Mindat townships in Chin State, all under martial law, reported that the junta closed major roads after the cyclone hit." Chin State, which had been on the edge of food insecurity even before the coup, dependent on rice trucked up to the mountains from lowland Burma, somehow managed to avoid a severe food crisis during 2023. The extent of resistance control in Chin State's rural areas, the dispersal to India of an estimated 40,000 refugees, continued food imports despite infrastructure and financial constraints and the extraordinary resilience and mutual aid in neighboring Sagaing's agricultural sector may have been factors preventing mass hunger. In this report's Interview section, food security researcher Salai Diiksa mentions "reintroducing traditional rotating cultivation in response to a regional rice shortage." Also, locally grown maize has been a traditional staple food (often consumed as a soup called sabuti or vaimim ciim) which may be relied on when rice imports are impossible. It's noticeable that Chin resistance fighters look strong and healthy in contrast to the gaunt, haggard coup regime soldiers who have been photographed as they've surrendered or fled their bases. Revolutionary Governance
Since 2021 conditions in Chin State have evolved from scattered but resolute resistance to a full scale revolution which extends to civil government in its vital functions. Despite large scale displacement of civilians during the war, governing functions have been restored in liberated areas, often in cooperation with Burma's National Unity Government (NUG), a legitimate national governing body formed in response to the coup. As reported in articles by Diiksa Thang and Emily Fishbein, students from Chin State, including IDPs and refugees, took online exams under the improved curriculum of the NUG. Healthcare has been provided in liberated Chin State by civilian medical staff and armed resistance medical personnel. Fundraising and other support from people of Chin State who are living in other countries remained crucial in 2023. Civilian aid distribution in Chin State was handled by Chin Human Rights Organization and networks of other groups, often small local mutual aid providers. Local civilian administrations have been prioritized and encouraged in Chin State's liberated areas, including newly taken towns, during 2023. Civil functions for most Chin State regions were codified under a new draft "Chinland Constitution" ratified December 6 by, according to The Irrawaddy, "235 representatives from the Chin National Front (CNF), local administration organizations (both township and area-based), elected members of parliament and special invitees from other Chin stakeholders." While it was broad in stakeholder inclusion, participation in the Constitutional conference was rejected by key resistance groups from three townships: Tedim, Falam and Mindat. These groups believed in particular that the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC founded in 2021) should not be discarded. CNF/CNA had withdrawn from ICNCC in April 2023. The intrinsic role of CNF/CNA in the subsequent new Chinland Council was objected to by groups which opted out. While CNF/CNA, as an armed organization predating the coup with its own military base, has been crucial to the success of armed resistance in Chin State, including training and arming other groups, it has often had to take on tasks beyond a military mandate. Accusations of dominance and favoritism arose from some smaller armed groups and from some political groups. In December 2023 the Chin Civic Movement was established to urge mediation aimed towards unifying the revolutionary governance organizations. Further negotiation and fair power-sharing among all organizations is needed: solutions to these serious divisions and perceived inequities can't wait until after the coup regime is driven out or overthrown. Chin State Chinland efforts to realize a better civil society are impressive in the midst of a full scale war for survival under the most difficult conditions. But there is more work to be done as Burma finds its way toward a federal future. Political unity has long been elusive in Chin State (as in other regions of Burma) so serious governance challenges will remain, despite the people's common purpose in opposing the Myanmar coup regime and impressive military cooperation among resistance forces. Like many mountainous lands, Chin State has a long-ago history of inter-group raiding and a legacy of linguistic diversity. Distinctive traditional woven textile patterns tell a story of peoples with deeply localized identities but also with common bonds and goals. Going forward, inclusive unity will be a necessity and respect for diversity will be just as crucial. The Neighborhood During 2023, a new challenge emerged on the NE India side of the border. While most of Chin State borders friendly Mizoram State, the north of Chin State shares a border with Manipur State. In contrast to Mizoram, Manipur has not been welcoming to refugees from Burma. Manipur has for decades suffered severe strife among its people of different ethnicities and grievances against India's central government. In May 2023 political friction between the state's Meitei and Kuki peoples flared into an outbreak of severe violence. Armed groups of both ethnicities were involved and accused as instigators. The intensified ethnic conflict in Manipur created a hazardous situation there for refugees and border traders from neighboring Burma's Chin State and Sagaing Region.
An influx of Kuki ethnic people fleeing the strife in Manipur added another element to Mizoram's provision of safe haven for refugees from Chin State and elsewhere in Burma. In both cases, ethnic and religious (Christian) affinities of Mizoram's Mizo people have encouraged a more positive welcome than meets refugees in many other places. Mizoram's tolerance for refugees from Chin State hit some bumps during 2023 (perceptions of undue privilege, crime.) But when the Mizoram State government changed parties in a November 2023 election, new Chief Minister Lalduhoma pledged that Mizoram would continue offering humanitarian assistance and safe haven for refugees from Burma. Although Mizoram State has shown its staunch opposition to Burma's coup regime, India's national government has conspicuously been a supporter of Gen. Min Aung Hlaing's brutal junta. India's government has shown where it stands in ways ranging from diplomatic enabling to Indian state-owned companies exporting military equipment as well as "navy grade diesel" and other fuel to Burma's coup regime. As hundreds of coup regime soldiers have fled across the border to India they'e been allowed by Indian border units to keep their weapons and put on flights back to Burma rather than being disarmed and detained. However, the Indian government should now understand that Chin State revolutionary forces and civil government, plus Arakan Army, now control border regions, trading towns and regional infrastructure access. Regional expert Angshuman Choudhury observed on Twitter (January 14, 2024) "For India, the significance of Paletwa's capture by AA can't be understated. Paletwa river terminal is a key node in the Kaladan project. It is from Paletwa that goods are to be ferried into Mizoram's Zorinpui overland. Delhi absolutely needs to confront the new ground reality." Indian Assam Rifles border officers paid an apparently friendly visit to Chin State's liberated Rihkawdar town in mid-January. June N. S. has commented in The Irrawaddy "Chin groups have taken over almost all of Chinland's area bordering India, including the international border trade point. This is a good opportunity for India to reconsider its approach to resistance groups particularly the Chinland Council if it truly seeks stability in the border region." Facing the Changes 2023 was eventful for Chin State and 2024 is likely to bring even more momentous changes. This year may be the start of a transformative, post-coup era for Burma and the time when the region so many know and love as Chinland can turn its attention to repair of war trauma, political representation, cultural rebirth, sustainable development and environmental preservation.
Note: Previous Project Maje reports regarding Chin State include: Many thanks to the interviewees. Thanks "momo alliance." Remembering "India Traveler" Margie Kircher, who always read these reports with keen interest and esteemed friend Wolfgang Trost, a true supporter of freedom for Burma. As ever, grateful to Bruce for this website.
This section contains news articles and reports from mid-January 2023 through January 2024 regarding the revolution in Chin State and related issues. Some of this news coverage is flawed, including the use of "Government" to describe a usurping coup regime which play-acts at governing functions while prioritizing village-burning and treasury-looting or the use of "rebel" or "insurgent" to describe a broad-based civil and military resistance movement representing the will of the people. But overall the articles and reports present a thorough and nuanced picture of the evolving situation during 2023. The local and citizen journalists covering this war are to be commended for their bravery and resourcefulness. The few intrepid foreign journalists who have entered the Chin State war zone have also been essential for bringing news of the conflict to the outside world. In this extremely difficult time for journalists (including freelancers) those who work as war correspondents are especially important. International press coverage rarely depicts the diverse peoples of Burma as anything but victims, so the story of their indefatigable and remarkably effective resistance still needs to be told, in addition to the price Chin State has paid in blood and ashes. January 2023 In Mizoram, voices grow against Centre's silence on Myanmar 'bombing' Why the Myanmar Junta Bombed the Chin National Front Headquarters and Why Delhi Should Care Fears of escalation after Myanmar air raids near India border Panic in Mizoram villages as Myanmar junta bombs insurgents 'need show of strength from Delhi' In Myanmar, Resistance Forces Pursue Home Rule February 2023 As Chin families flow into Mizoram, a tale of hope & fear in refugee camps near Myanmar border Myanmar Regime Bombs Chin State Town After Resistance Fighters Capture Police Station 'Our victory is close... We must win': CNF Chin Resistance: Myanmar Junta Trying to Retake Thantlang Myanmar junta demands lists of churchgoers in Chin State Myanmar Regime Helicopter 'Hit' in Fierce Battle for Chin Town Meet the bird saviour of Myanmar March 2023 Resistance and the Cost of the Coup in Chin State, Myanmar Townships in Myanmar's Chin state hit by one airstrike per day over last two months In India's Mizoram, ethnic ties drive response to Chin conflict Escaping persecution in Myanmar, a Chin rock star finds refuge in Mizoram 'Now this is home for us': Chin refugees from Myanmar find a welcoming sanctuary in Mizoram The Chin welcome in Mizoram, India but for how much longer? Myanmar Regime Airstrike Kills Children in Chin State Blurred Lines: Mizoram's uncertain efforts to provide sanctuary to Chin refugees April 2023 Myanmar's western Chin state pummeled by junta's air force in April Myanmar's border midwives deliver hope to refugees Chin armed group attacks, disables junta vehicles on road to Hakha Chin Resistance Destroys Myanmar Junta Reinforcement Convoy Myanmar Junta Airstrike Kills Three Chin Civilians The Ghost Town of Thantlang in Myanmar's Chin State India shutters borders to Myanmar's Chin state after killing of three nationals Fighting Continues After Myanmar Junta Convoy Crushed in Chin State After Chin resistance destroys military convoy, stranded junta soldiers occupy nearby village Myanmar military launches lethal airstrike on Chin village near ethnic armed May 2023 Myanmar Junta's Airstrikes: Strike Back Where It Hurts Six Chin Fighters Killed in Clashes With Myanmar Junta Chin National Front Leader: Myanmar Military Regime Will Fall in 3 Years Myanmar troops raid Chin state hospital, arresting doctor and nurses June 2023 In Mizoram, a refugee crisis highlights Mizo tribal affinities and hostility Myanmar Needs Full Political Rights and Accountability, Not Food Handouts 'We have a common enemy': Paletwa dispute on hold but unresolved The Chin against the Junta July 2023
Chin groups want help for Myanmar refugees in India We all feel the music together': Singers bridge differences across borders Chin Rebels Open New Front with Myanmar Junta on Rakhine Border Junta Bombing Raid Kills Child and Nursing Mother in Myanmar's Chin State Myanmar's 'alternative' exams a major test amid bombs, blackouts Junta deploys multiple aircraft to attack southern Chin State village Myanmar army seizes CDF base near Thantlang August 2023 Christian deacons presumed dead after abduction by Myanmar military in Chin state Chin resistance forces seize control of junta outpost in Thantlang India needs to start taking the Chin resistance more seriously A Chin Village's Unique Protest Against the Military Junta in Myanmar Chin Resistance Kills 2 Myanmar Junta Soldiers Guarding Chinese Pipeline Resistance Medical Teams Brave Bombs and Bullets to Provide Healthcare in Myanmar's Chin State 'Self-help' schools thrive in Myanmar's Chin state despite military attacks Myanmar's striking civil servants: Displaced, forgotten, but holding on September 2023 With nearly 200 destroyed, religious buildings targeted by Myanmar's junta India-based Zomi armed group raids Chin resistance camps in northwestern Myanmar Myanmar's Christians: As Our Churches Burn and People Flee, We Need the US's Help 'Still my people': Myanmar diaspora supports democracy struggle back home Chinland Council Forms Coordination Team to Rally All Chin Groups October 2023 The Burning of Thantlang, 2 Years On Chin refugees request criminal investigation of Myanmar junta officials by Philippine authorities Myanmar Nationals Ask Philippines to Probe Alleged War Crimes November 2023 Myanmar rebels, battling junta, seek to control border with India Chin Resistance Seizes Indian Border Town From Myanmar Junta Eight Children Among 11 Civilians Killed in Myanmar Junta Air Strike in Chin With drones and dawn assault, Myanmar's Chin rebels open new front Military post on Chin State's second-highest mountain outpost seized by PDF Another town on the India-Myanmar border falls to the resistance Success on Myanmar-India Border a Turning Point for Chin Resistance Chin allied resistance claims big junta losses in western Myanmar December 2023 Mizoram's stance on refugees from Myanmar, Manipur will not change, says CM-elect Lalduhoma Chin rebel leader lauds India's help to Myanmar civilians, bats for political solution to end strife Chin communities establish local administrations across the state 'Whom to trust?' people of Myanmar's border towns caught between military and an armed resistance Myanmar's Buddhists and Christians join fight against junta Interview with Salai Htet Ni, 1st Joint Secretary of Chinland Council Resistance forces seize control of strategic highway base, limiting junta access to Chin State from Magway Escaping war in Myanmar for prison in India The First Chin-Written Constitution: A New Template For Self-Determination? Chin Civic Movement campaign launched to gather people's desire to stop bloodshed between the Chin nationals Myanmar Soldiers Seek Refuge in Mizoram January 2024 India repatriates 151 junta soldiers who fled fighting Recent Developments in Chin State Raise More Questions on New Delhi's Approach Towards Myanmar AA 'Days' From Taking Myanmar's South Chin State as Another Junta Outpost Falls Eight Children Among Civilians Killed on Sunday as Myanmar Military Bombs Ethnic Villages Interview with Salai Htet Ni (Spokesperson, CNF/CNA) Chinland Council Established in Myanmar Thousands flee fighting in northern Rakhine, southern Chin states Arakan Army Declares Victory in Paletwa, Myanmar's Chin State Around 30 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed in Chin State: Resistance What Is The Chinland Council? Another 278 Myanmar Junta Troops Flee to India Ethnic Chin Mara defence force accuses another resistance group of detaining its members Clashes displace 50,000 from Myanmar's Paletwa township 'We killed many ... drones are our air force': Myanmar's rebels take on the junta from above In dealing with matters such as the structure of the entire Chin nation, urging the relevant groups to coordinate and find solutions in order to avoid bloodshed between the Chin nationals. Conflict-stricken Churches Battle of Paletwa Loss Turns Tide Against Myanmar Junta on Western Front New Chinland Government to Finalize Prime Minister and Cabinet Appointments Chin Resistance Battles Military Council Troops in Paletwa Township Understanding India's Interests in Myanmar's Paletwa That Pro-Democracy Forces Snatched from Junta Resistance Sets up the Chin People's Administrative Committee to Govern Chinland Seven Civilians Killed by Bombs as Junta Avenges Humiliation in Myanmar's Chin State Myanmar's NUG, Three Revolutionary Groups Issue Joint Position Statement
This report section includes some new voices and is a window into the complexity of the politics of people from Chin State. Interviewees 1-5 responded directly to Project Maje's question "What has changed in Chin State (Chinland) during 2023, compared to 2021-2022?" Additionally, an excerpt from a January 10, 2024 Khonumthung Media Group interview with Salai Htet Ni, Joint Secretary 1 of Chinland Council and CNF spokesperson, answering similar questions has been added to represent the CC viewpoint. The responses show some significant political fractures and animosities. The Chin State resistance participants are not the only members of the Burma resistance movement who have deep sociopolitical divides to overcome ethnic and/or ideological frictions are evident to varying extents in Rakhine State, Shan State, Karen State and even Kachin State. But in a sense, the current debate in Chin State shows that the revolution has evolved there from purely military concerns to visions and objectives for the future. With careful negotiation and consideration, that future can be inclusive, sustainable and respectful of an array of different opinions. Al Jazeera's February 1, 2024 profile of resistance fighters in Chin State and elsewhere featured this meaningful quote from Capt. Nehemiah of CNA: "When it comes to our strengths and challenges, my response is very simple: unity and disunity." The opinions voiced by the interviewees are their own, not Project Maje's. 1. Chin observer One key political development will be the influence of the 1027 national operation, which strengthened the morale of the Chin resistance while weakening the regime's military. All Indo-Burma entrance points from Chin area have been captured by Chin resistance organizations and the AA.
2. Salai Diiksa, Local educator of community based education Since early 2022, I've focused on three key concerns in Chin State: food security, education, and state-level governance or coordination body and I always tried to contribute in these three main concerns. Firstly, despite facing the Military's State Administration Council's (SAC) four-cut strategies, the Chin people have shown resilience by reintroducing traditional rotating cultivation in response to a regional rice shortage. Support from family members abroad strengthened their security efforts. I find this is the very basic foundation of the strong resistance in Chin. Second, in education, the prolonged political crisis and the impact of COVID-19 left Chin State vulnerable because children in Chin state have not been able to access any education since the Covid pandemic in 2020. Resource scarcity, including qualified teachers and funding, still persists as the main constraints so it is hard to provide quality education to children in Chin. The lack of alternative platforms for higher education has led many youths aged from 16 to 23 to migrate for work, posing potential consequences for the state's development in the future. Thirdly, notable state-level governance changes occurred in 2023 with the establishment of the Chinland Council by Chin National Front, elected members of parliament, and 14 township and regional/tribal administration groups, reducing the ICNCC's legitimacy. Despite three key actors not participating due to disparities, liberated areas expanded as stakeholders seek common ground for a more unified understanding for building a future federated Chin state.
3. Liani, CDMer and a Chin Revolutionary Compared to 2021-2022, Chinland achieved and occupied so many SAC camps in 2023 by different armed force organizations in different areas across Chin-land. But there are conflicts occurring among armed groups in Chinland. Because the most senior armed organization apply the divide and rule among the township armed groups across chinland instead of uniting them so that it can rule the whole Chin by its own power and ignoring a democratic way. That action is very obvious that they give money supply, arms supply and human resources supply to different small groups in different townships without giving notice to the main township representatives. That's why the conflicts rising up in 2023. Most of the townships representatives and Member of parliament, ICNCC realized that this armed forces are being divided by that largest organization.
4. Victor Khen Sang, Director, Chin Community of Canada In 2023, armed revolution movement improved significantly as the combined forces of CDF and CNA successfully destroyed large military convoy involving over 80 military trucks and tanks heading into Hakha, capital of Chin State. Many military camps and outposts were taken in Chin state. As the battles intensified everywhere and more people are fleeing wars, there are now over thirty thousand Chin civilians stuck in Indian and Burma border plus thousands more landed in New Delhi to seek asylum under UN High Commissioner for Refugees. I recently visited Malaysia (December 2023) and saw over ten thousand Chin asylum seekers landed there just in 2023 alone. Although there are already more than twenty thousand Chin refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, by the end of 2023, it is estimated at least forty thousand Chin people are now in Malaysia and more than half are undocumented or not registered with UNHCR. as UNHCR does not allow new asylum registration. Since October 2023, coup regime are defeated in Shan state and Karenni state as Operation 1027 swept them like the storm. The Chin arm revolutionary arm group also intensified their attack and took over not just camps and outposts but some towns close to the border. Chinland Council is successfully established in December 2023 who will take interim Chinland governmental responsibility. I don't think coup regime could stand militarily to control Myanmar anymore as civilian arm groups are growing stronger every day and in Chin state, Chinland Council will function very soon to unify Chin state stronger.
5. Chin Civic Movement respondent The 2023 has been a tough year for Chin state. The new year in January 2023 was open by airstrike bombings on Camp Victoria, the military headquarter of CNF and the event was followed by intensified fights between the military and ethnic armed groups in Chin State. Until end of 2023, it was reported to be over 300 airstrikes bombings carried by the military in Chin state, resulting in 370 civilian deaths up to end of the year. The SAC extended issuing martial law in eight townships out of nine townships in Chin state, further restricting mobility and increasing security threats. We would say that 2023 has been politically the toughest year for Chin state, due to the disagreements and potential divides among significantly diverse Chin's revolutionary forces. In April, CNF/CNA announced their dissolution from ICNCC and initiated preparation to form the Chinland Government along with some MPs from ICNCC. This process led by CNF has been critically disagreed by many particularly major groups in the Chin revolutionary forces. As a response, Mindat township announced formation of Chin National Council of Mindat (CNC Mindat) in August. Two days before the commencement of controversial conference at Camp Victoria, CDF Mindat/CNC Mindat, Zomi Federal Union (ZFU)/ PDF Zoland, and Chin National Organization (CNO)/Chin National Defense Force (CNDF) which are some of major groups in Chin state issued statements individually that they will not join the conference. Regardless, the important Chin conference was hold on December 7 at Camp Victoria by participation of 18 groups and a total of 235 participants. And most importantly, the conference officially founded the Chinland Council and enacted the first Chinland Constitution. This news shocked not only opposing groups but also members of the Chin civil society because of controversial process, unfair representation in the Chinland Council (CC) including woman's participation, and arrangements in the Constitution, all of which will affect the whole Chin Community. This process and the new structures caused internal disagreements and weak engagements as official political divides among Chin. According to the new Chinland Council and Constitution, existing bodies such as the Chinland Joint Defense Committee (CJDC), and ICNCC will be dissolved. ICDJC which is at least participated my almost all of Chin armed groups, was dissolved a week after the formation of CC. However, as ICNCC split into two groups, one joining CNF led new structures, another group continued to stand as ICNCC and expressed their disagreements. On the other hand, the three major groups that did not attend the conference also formed Chin Brotherhood Alliance among them to express their concerns together and collaborate. As the CNF led new structures continued their process, instead of listening to concerns and hold meaningful dialogue to reach a better political agreement among Chin, officially form the Chinland Government in January 2024, two other groups as most of CDF Kanpetlet and Maraland Defense Force (MDF) joined the Chin Brotherhood Alliance officially. There are many individual and organizations raising their concerns over the hastily carrying out the new structures of Chin State. As this divide could affect the unity of Chin, reaching the goal of current revolution, ability to deal effectively with affairs such as Paletwa and others, and mostly importantly public's participation in the political decisions, Chin Civic Movement CCM was initiated in late 2023 by members of civil society organizations, women's organizations, students' unions, Chin scholars and experts, etc. to increase civic spaces and to encourage inclusive political platforms and dialogues to restore existing divides and trusts. To conclude, the end of 2023 and the continually the 2024 will be challenging years for Chin state due to the political divides, dire humanitarian needs, and other affairs.
6. Excerpt from a January 10, 2024 Khonumthung Media Group interview with Salai Htet Ni, Joint Secretary 1 of Chinland Council and CNF spokesperson Khonumthung Q: What successes did the CNF/CNA and the Chin revolutionary forces achieve in 2023? And to what extent were you all able to practically implement the military and political goals that were set? Khonumthung Q: What challenges did the Chin revolutionary forces have to overcome in the fight against the military dictatorship in 2023? Khonumthung Q: So how would you define the year 2023 for the Chin revolutionary forces?
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