Statement on the Burning the 135 Residences in Thantlang, Chin State, Burma
June 3, 2022

Ellicott City, Maryland, USA ——- On May 24 and 26, 2022, the Burmese military, also known Tatmadaw, based in Thantlang Town, Chin State, burned down 135 residences in Thantlang. This is the 8th time that the residences have been turned down. The entire population of the town has been displaced. The Thanlang Placement Committee (TPC) has confirmed that as of this statement, the Tatmadaw has burned 1,314 residences in Thantlang since September 2021.

CAM issues the following statement.

  1. CAM strongly condemns the burning of 135 homes in Thantlang Town, Chin State.
  2. CAM urges the Biden administration, the U.S. Congress, the international community, and especially the UN Security Council to put more pressure on the Burmese military to cease its atrocities, and allow the UN agencies and the international communities unhindered access, especially to Chin State to provide protection and deliver humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced persons.
  3. CAM’s recent Report (https://chinmd.org/2021/11/05/myanmar-burma-challenges-displaced-persons-refugees/) and the continued burning of buildings in Chin State have further proved that the State Administration Council’s (SAC) actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity and therefore, the Min Aung Hlaing-led SAC must be brought to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
Contact:
Zo Tum Hmung
Tel. 443-936-8616
zotumhmung@chinmd.org
The Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization based in Ellicott City, Maryland.  CAM empowers the Chin communities in Maryland to be successfully integrated into American society. CAM also advocates for durable solutions for Chin and other refugees and internally displaced persons, and religious freedom and human rights in Burma.

Chins, virtually all of whom are Christians, are an ethnic nationality from Burma. They became Christians primarily due to the missionary efforts of the American Baptist Churches USA. They are a major recent U.S. refugee group that fled from Burma to neighboring countries to escape ethnic, political and religious persecution by the Burmese military since 1962. In 2001, about 1000 Chin asylees came to the U.S through Guam, resettling largely in Maryland, Indiana, Florida, and Texas. Since 2002, the U.S. has resettled many more Chin refugees coming through Malaysia and India. Chins now number 70,000 across the United States, with about 5,000 making Maryland their home.