Many universities in Myanmar have been closed for almost two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the military coup on February 1, 2021. DMG recently interviewed several students in Arakan State to find out how they have been affected by the extended disruption to their education, and what they have lost.

Junta chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing said last week that his regime would push for implementation of a law requiring all Myanmar citizens to serve in the military. The announcement said enforcement of legislation that was passed more than a decade ago would be a priority of his administration this year. 

February 1, 2022, was the one-year anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar. Over the past year, hundreds of people have been killed across the country, thousands have been imprisoned for their opposition to the junta, and Myanmar’s economy has been devastated. To mark the occasion, DMG interviewed people from all walks of life in Arakan State, asking them to reflect on the one-year anniversary of the coup. 

Electricity consumers in Arakan State complain of facing regular power outages while at the same time having to pay regular electricity fees. Some of these outages are prolonged, affecting small businesses, local industries and the broader Arakan State economy. DMG asked a cross-section of state residents about the problems caused by frequent electricity disruptions.

The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) announced on January 6 that it would join forces with other Arakanese armed groups and political parties that are working to create a better future for the Arakanese people. Following the ALP statement, DMG compiled a selection of views and opinions from local stakeholders.

Amid the post-coup confusion, DMG interviewed Padoh Saw Taw Nee, head of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Karen National Union (KNU), one of the most powerful NCA signatories, even as the accord increasingly looks like an historical document of waning relevance. 

The state’s political situation has not significantly changed now. All are peaceful under the control of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA). So, if the situation is not changed in 2022, the state will be peaceful. However, the situation in 2022 will be decided according to the military situation, I think.

In a statement on December 17, the United League of Arakan (ULA) — the Arakan Army’s political wing — said that some townships in Arakan State had experienced a “series of extraordinary events” this month that it warned could lead to sectarian conflict. How do the different ethnic groups in Arakan State view the ULA’s statement? To find out, DMG interviewed people in Arakan State from both the Arakanese and Muslim communities, which have been in conflict in the past.

Thirty-seven people tested positive for Covid-19 from November 30 to December 16 in Arakan State, and one person succumbed to the virus. Most of the cases were airline passengers or people involved in the border trade with Bangladesh. 

In a statement on December 10, the Arakan Army (AA) said tensions were rising between the ethnic armed group and junta (Tatmadaw) forces as the latter were travelling from one village to another in Arakan State and frequently repositioning their troops, citing a variety of pretexts. On the ground, residents have raised concerns about the possibility of fresh clashes. 

Myanmar’s military regime has announced that basic education and Grade 10 students will sit their final exams in March and April of next year. Schools were temporarily closed in July due to the third wave of Covid-19, with students only returning to the classroom last month and facing a compressed academic calendar. DMG interviewed students, parents and teachers about the difficulties they are facing amid a tumultuous year. 

The planned construction of a Buddhist religious edifice, known as a dhammayon, on the Sittwe University grounds has prompted debate over the role of religion on campuses in Myanmar. DMG recently spoke to a variety of stakeholders about the matter.

Reporters from Arakan State-based Western News went into hiding earlier this month after junta forces attempted to find the location of the news outlet’s office in Sittwe. DMG recently spoke to the chief editor of Western News, Wunna Khwar Nyo, about the incident and its implications for press freedom in Arakan State and beyond.

DMG recently interviewed U Aung Khin, a Muslim teacher of English whose students attend classes at the Mratazaung monastic education school in Mrauk-U Township. The interfaith classroom dynamics are not to be taken for granted in Arakan State, where a history of sometimes fraught relations between Buddhists and Muslims is well documented. 

It had been about a year without hostilities between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) when the informal ceasefire appeared to crack on November 9, with the two sides clashing briefly in northern Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township. While tens of thousands of people internally displaced by the conflict (IDPs) have returned home since the fighting stopped in November 2020, many more remain displaced. By and large, they have viewed the relative peace of the past year with cautious optimism, but are still fearful of going back to their hometowns and villages for a variety of reasons. 

The junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) on November 1 promulgated the Second Amendment Law to the Television and Radio Broadcasting Law. For a variety of offences, the amended law stipulates harsher penalties, including prison sentences that did not exist under the previous iteration of the legislation. It also broadens the scope of the law’s remit so that its provisions can be applied to media made available via the internet or “any other technology”. DMG interviewed six media professionals about the recently amended law.

Under Myanmar’s military regime, the prices of basic foodstuffs and commodities have risen sharply amid a significant weakening of the kyat against the US dollar and rising gold prices. DMG spoke to a cross-section of voices in Arakan State about the challenges presented by the rising prices.  

The Burmese soldiers told the visitors to get out of the crowd. After I got out of the crowd, the Burmese soldiers ordered me to stay in the hot sun for two or three hours. The Burmese soldiers tortured me many times, leaving me in the hot sun. Then, they tied my hands behind my back and a Burmese soldier asked me, ‘Did you see Arakan Army (AA) fighters entering the village?’ I replied that I had never seen Arakan Army fighters, and he said that I was lying. The Burmese soldier told me not to lie.  

Dr. Khin Khin Gyi, director of the Public Health Awareness Division of the Department of Public Health under the Ministry of Health, recently spoke to Development Media Group (DMG) about the state of the pandemic’s ongoing third wave in Myanmar and the threat posed by the highly contagious Delta variant.