Chin rebels supply rice for opium eradicators

The Chin National Front (CNF) says that it will provide bags of rice to villagers affected by a drug eradication activity conducted in Tonzang Township and Cikha Sub-township in Chin State.

It said that the rice contribution would be made this month with the assistance of the Nippon Foundation, a Japanese government programme that has been supporting the ethnic peace process through development aid.

The government claimed that it had destroyed more than 600 acres of opium poppy field over the past few months in Burma’s least developed State, where the cultivation has been reported to be increasing.

According to media reports, the recent operations have left many Chin families in a difficult situation after destruction of the poppy plantations which had served as their main source of income.

Burma Army battalions stationed in northern parts of Chin State and nearby areas in Sagaing Region have been reported active in drug-related trade in collaboration with the Meitei rebel armed groups from Manipur State in India.

The 2012 peace agreements between the Union Peace-Making Work Committee and the CNF include eradication of opium poppy cultivation in Chin State.

This article was first published in Chinland Guardian on 5 March 2014.