The recent arrest of seven Taungup Township youths, reportedly over alleged ties to the Arakan Army, served to highlight the legal ambiguity that surrounds the ethnic armed group, and raised anew questions about whether there are legal consequences for affiliating with it. After the military regime removed the Arakan Army from its list of terrorist groups in March, it was hoped that the dozens of court cases accusing defendants of illegal AA links would be dismissed, but acquittals and dropped charges have occurred in a piecemeal fashion to date.  

The imposition of a nighttime curfew over recent days in some Arakan State townships has prompted questioning among locals, coming at a time when an informal ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army has brought a peace to the region not seen in more than two years. DMG interviewed residents, civil society organisations and the Arakan State military council to glean their thoughts on the curfew orders, which have been applied selectively across Arakan State’s 17 townships.

DMG recently interviewed farmers and civil society organisations to find out the challenges they  are facing in Arakan State during the current monsoon paddy-growing season.

Fierce fighting between the Myanmar military and a People’s Defense Force has been ongoing in Kayah State since May 20. The fighting is taking place in cities and villages, forcing more than 50,000 locals to flee. Due to a lack of camps for internally displaced people (IDPs), civilians are fleeing to the mountains and border areas. Local civil society groups say the refugees are in dire need of shelter and food, as well as medical care because pregnant women are among those fleeing. DMG spoke to a local woman in Loikaw, Kayah State, about these problems.

With more than 100 days having passed since the military coup on February 1, DMG spoke to civil society and political leaders, activists and businesspeople about the toll that the new reality under Tatmadaw rule has taken on an Arakan State economy already badly bruised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residents of Tinma village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, were displaced by fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army in March of last year. Hundreds of houses in the village were burnt to the ground after the villagers fled the hostilities. For more than a year, the village sat deserted. 

With COVID-19 infection rates and related fatalities on the rise in neighbouring India and Bangladesh, DMG interviewed Sittwe-based civil society organisations to discuss what can be done to mitigate the risk of the coronavirus case rise spilling across the border into Arakan State. The discussion comes against the backdrop of recently rebooted border trade in the region, which had been suspended for more than 10 months due to the pandemic.  

China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) won contracts for deep-sea port and special economic zone (SEZ) projects in 2015. According to the initial agreement signed with the U Thein Sein administration, CITIC took an 85% stake in the deep-sea port and a 51% stake in the SEZ. But amid political sensitivity surrounding Chinese investment in Myanmar and concerns over China’s reported “debt-trap diplomacy,” CITIC agreed to lower its ownership stake in the deep-sea port project from 85% to 70%.  

Dr. Naing Swe Oo, executive director at the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a think-tank formed by ex-military officers, says there is little chance of fresh clashes erupting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State, responding to local media reports about increased troop presence in the state. Dr. Naing Swe Oo recently discussed increased Tatmadaw troop deployments in Arakan State with DMG.

Known as Kalar Chaung or Myolel Creek, a small stream contaminated by bitumen and plagued by silting passes through several downtown Sittwe wards, causing headaches for residents of the Arakan State capital. 

The previous government declared the Arakan Army (AA) to be a terrorist group and unlawful association on March 23, 2020. But with the military-run State Administration Council (SAC) announcing a rescission of the AA’s terrorist designation on Thursday, DMG interviewed a variety of local stakeholders to get a sense of what this development might mean for Arakan State and its people. 

As you know, I was arrested over a talk on the topic of the fall of the Arakan Kingdom. Those who arrested me and the author [Wai Hun Aung] at the time were irrational to have arrested us over a talk. They failed to notice that the event was allowed for years under the U Thein Sein government. So, those who imprisoned me will not be happy if I say that I thank Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing for releasing me.

Thank you to all the people. The people had to suffer mentally and physically for us. The people also suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic, which was unprecedented in the world. [Due to conflict,] local people have been forced to flee their homes; some people were arrested and imprisoned. Some people became amputees due to landmines. I don’t want to say that these troubles are over, but I want to say that we are moving in a positive direction. We will lead Arakan State with all our strength and intelligence. I would like to say that we will stand firm with the Arakanese people.

Given the latest developments, DMG reporters Hnin Nwe and Nyan Hein talked to politicians, civil society leaders and other stakeholders about prospects for peace in Arakan State, including whether and when the state’s people displaced by conflict might return home.

Earlier this month, the Chinese company China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group submitted a project proposal and signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct feasibility studies for construction of a railway linking Kyaukphyu in Arakan State with Mandalay in central Myanmar, part of a larger rail network connecting with China’s Yunnan province.

"If we return to our communities from the IDP camps and stay in the villages for a day or two, we will all be in trouble."

U Tun Aung Kyaw, a member of the ANP’s policy leadership committee, recently sat down with DMG senior reporter Min Tun and talked about the ANP’s prospects for participating in the state government.

DMG’s senior reporter Thiha recently reached out to civil society organisations and a lawmaker representing Kyaukphyu to glean their views on the SEZ. 

Three members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and three Tatmadaw soldiers who were abducted and had been detained by the Arakan Army were released on January 1. The Tatmadaw True News Information Team on Friday said the NLD trio were freed following discussions between the military and the Arakan Army.