The following is the full-text translation of the message sent by Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing to the ceremony to mark the 76th Anniversary of Chin State Day, today.
Esteemed ethnic national brethren in Chin State,
Today is the 76th Anniversary of Chin State Day which falls on 20 February 2024. On that significant occasion, I make the best wishes for Chin ethnic people in Myanmar and all over the world and all ethnic people to have auspiciousness and well-being.
All ethnic people of the Union, including Chin ethnicities, have been living in Myanmar in unison as a single family through thick and thin sharing a same fortune for many years and prestigeously standing tall in the international community. Forging the Union spirit, they could regain independence which lost for various reasons.
Chin ethnic leaders Bo Khai Kam, Bo Con Bik, Bo Larl Lwel and Bo Thong Ling who fought against British colonialists, U Hlur Hmong, U Thong Za Khup, Thiri Pyanchi U Thong Cin Thang and U Kio Mang, and Independence Mawgun (First Class) award winner Thadoe Maha Sithu U Vammatumong who participated in the independence struggle, Lt-Col Hrang Thio and Captain Thura Aung San Thuria Taik Chun who assaulted internal insurgencies in the post-independence era were China ethnic patriotic heroes who are honorable for the State and Tatmadaw forever for their sacrifice of life, blood and sweat in order to ensure perpetuation of the State and the Union as well as sovereignty.
February 20 designated as Chin National Day was a historical day when Chin ethnic leaders and Chin ethnic people drove out British colonialist administrative officials from Kanpetlet. Moreover, it was also the day when a rally revoked the feudal administrative system and initiated the regional democratic administrative system in Falam in 1948.
It is a significant day for Chin ethnic people together with all ethnic national brethren of the Union to launch the fighting against colonialists, battles for independence, revocation of feudalism, solidarity between all ethnic people from hilly and plain regions, and change of administrative mechanism from station head administration to the democratic administration system through the national unity and the Union spirit.
At present, violence and unrests, violation of rule of law, and destructive acts to disintegrate the nation occuring in all parts of the nation, including in some areas of Chin State, are very dangerous for the State. Everybody needs to notice that armed attacks against each other in disunity, wrong attitudes, selfishness can cause collapse of all and lose sovereignty. The Union spirit is only a need for avoiding such occurrence.
Everybody needs to notice and prevent instigations and narrow-minded concept to cause hate among all committed by internal and external destructive elements which are crushing down the century-old attachment and fraternity among national brethren of the Union. It is necessary to differentiate between right and wrong things by considering the cause and effect and wrongs and rights based on constructive and destructive measures.
The State Administration Council is implementing two political visions: strengthening the genuine, disciplined multiparty democratic system and building a Union based on democratic and federal system and two national visions: ensuring prosperity of the nation and food security. In order to achieve success in these visions, the government is implementing nine objectives and five-point roadmap. The ultimate aim of the State Administration Council is to hand over the State responsibilities to the elected government after holding a free and fair multiparty democratic general election in accord with the aspiration of the people on completion of the measures taken in the State of Emergency. As such, it is necessary to implement the plan for the State to be peaceful and stable and return to the normalcy.
If the country is peaceful and stable, all ethnic people will enjoy peace and prosperity with improvement of socioeconomic life. So, their offspring will be able to peacefully learn education. In building the Union based on modern, developed democratic and federal system, all ethnic people must have capacities of knowledge, technology, personality and critical thinking.
However, it is obvious that ethnic people in remote areas and rural areas are facing low grade of education and lack of learning due to language barriers, weakness in encouraging education and other challenges. At present, armed terrorism, destructions and threats in some parts of the nation, including Chin State, hinder to opening the schools for ethnic students facing much loss.
Education plays a key role in shaping the future of the country. Everybody needs to prevent the attempts of hindering to learning education for degrading with destructive acts. I would like to urge all that at a time when the government is implementing the comprehensive education sector for emergence of the new generation youths with five capacities of strength in order to catch up the developing era, to uplift education qualification and to maintain national characters, so, ethnic people have to cooperate with the government in aforesaid measures.
Currently, the government is implementing socioeconomic development tasks including education, health, communications and electricity sectors under the relevant plans in order to improve human resources of Chin State. With regard to education sector, new basic education schools were opened and some schools upgraded and educational buildings were repaired with establishment of new technical and vocational education schools and appointment of teachers for relevant subjects. Assistant teachers and ethnic language teachers were appointed in ethnic areas. The government is implementing the KG+9 scheme of the compulsory education system. If efforts are made for increasing the learning rate of students in basic education sector and raising the rate of learning grades and development of human resources in Chin State, it is sure that Chin State will be a developed state in all sectors.
In the health sector, efforts are being made to open new hospitals and dispensaries with appointment of medical doctors in order to provice healthcare services to the people. Moreover, highways and interal state roads are built in Chin State to have smooth transport and communication with the mainland. Moreover, Kaladan Multi-model Transit Transport Project is being impemented for enabling the people to make trips to overseas countries from Chin State along the waterway in addition to construciton of the port in Paletwa.
In the electric power sector, efforts are being made to supply electricity to all parts of Chin State through national grid. Moreover, local people need to systematically carry out development of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises based on domestic products and agriculture and livestock farming tasks for improvement of their socioeconomic life.
Due to cyclone Mocha which entered Myanmar on 14 May 2023, some townships of Chin State faced loss and damange. The government made arrangements to mitigate loss and waste in the areas where the storm crossed. Moreover, foods were stored in advance for local people, and storm warnings and directives were released for relevant areas where the storm might cross. As such, although the storm was extremely severe, it left least loss and damage.
In the aftermath of the storm, the government has been leading rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures with momentum with public participation under the close supervsion of Tatmadaw and Chin State government through contributions of local and foreign well-wishers, and during a two-month period, the state has returned into normalcy. All strived for possessing a better situation they anticipated. The government provided K1,002.02 million for maintenance, emergency response, rehabilitation and reconstruction tasks in Mocha-hit areas of Chin State. It showed family spirit, genuine patriotic spirit and Union spirit to national brethren of Chin State and Chin ethnicities.
Moreover, the government formed Tiddim and Paletwa districts in Chin State in order to ensure smooth process of carrying out regional development and administrative measures. I request the entire ethnic people including all Chin ethnics to join hands with the government to forge peace and stability and cease armed conflicts for developent of the nation as peace and stability and rule of law is of great importance for development of the nation and nation-building tasks.
I send this message in honour of the 76th Anniversary of Chin State Day with my best wishes for Chin ethnics to have capacity for serving the interests of Chin State and the Union based on Union spirit and national spirit and for enjoying peace and prosperity forever.
Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu
Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing
Prime Minister
Chairman, State Administration Council
