Arakan State News Summary (October 1-7, 2021)

By DMG 08 Oct 2021

1 October 

• Ferryboats plying between Kyauktaw town in Arakan State and Paletwa town, Chin State, are operating on a rotating basis, according to boat operators.
• Paddy prices in Arakan State are falling due to declining purchases from mainland Myanmar, paddy merchants said.
• A burglar broke into a staff building at the high school in Yan Aung Pyin village, Rathedaung Township, and stole food from some teachers, according to a teacher at the high school.
• A man on trial in the Arakan State capital Sittwe for last year observing the anniversary of the 2014 deaths of eight fallen Arakan Army cadets in northern Myanmar was released from those charges.
• Due to the skyrocketing price of petrol, bus fares have almost doubled in Arakan State, and some passenger buses and trucks have ceased operations, according to drivers. 

2 October 

• A Muslim preacher was abducted and his home was robbed in Maungdaw Township’s Ngan Chaung village in the early hours of October 2.
• Experts from the Department of Archeology and National Museum say the expansion of squatter settlements, roads, buildings and other land uses in the Mrauk-U cultural area could be detrimental to its ongoing bid to gain UNESCO World Heritage status.
• A court is set to rule in an Arms Act case against 22 Lekka villagers in Mrauk-U Township who were arrested and charged for alleged affiliation with the Arakan Army (AA), according to a local law firm involved in the case.
• A bridge used by people from 14 villages in Minbya Township is broken, significantly disrupting the local transportation network.
• A section of road connecting Tin Nyo San Pya and Shwe Kyin Pyin villages in Mrauk-U Township is in need of immediate repair, residents say.
• A civil society peace committee was set up in Sittwe to strengthen the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the peacemaking process in Arakan State.
• The Arakan State Administration Council said the situation at shuttered border trade camps in Arakan State, which normally does significant trade with Bangladesh, was reported in September due to a decrease in Covid-19 infections, and would be reopened if approved at the Union level. 

3 October 

• A landslide destroyed six houses in Guta ward, Taungup Township.
• The Arakan State Administration Council said it plans to release 36 people charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law during two years of fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Tatmadaw in Arakan State.
• Clam catchers and clam breeders in Taungup Township are reportedly uneasy as clam prices have fallen this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the country’s current political situation. 

4 October 

• The rapidly rising US dollar has made it difficult in Arakan State to publish the Rakhita calendar, which has faced high-profile legal action in recent years, potentially forcing the enterprise to stop publishing.
• With the waning of the monsoon season in Myanmar, the country needs to pay special attention to the risk of the development of thunderclouds, the deputy director of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology told DMG.
• The Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) should not summon ward and village administrators to warn them about administrative matters involving the Arakan Army (AA), U Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the ethnic armed group, told DMG.
• The case of four Arakanese students who were recently sentenced to two years and six months in prison was appealed to the Arakan State High Court, according to a lawyer representing the defendants.
• Locals in Maungdaw Township are facing difficulties due to restrictions on the transportation of some consumer goods in about 40 villages near the local Border Guard Police headquarters (Kyee Kan Pyin). 

5 October 

• A trial run to establish a freshwater shrimp hatchery has been arranged in Arakan State, according to U Thet Oo, director of the Department of Fisheries.
• If people file complaints to the Arakan Army about theft, robbery and dacoity occurring in Arakan State, the ethnic armed group and its United League of Arakan (ULA) political wing will seek to bring them justice, said AA information officer U Khaing Thukha.
• There has been no fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military in Arakan State for about a year, but locals say the Tatmadaw has not withdrawn its positions.
• Thousands of locals welcomed a doctor who arrived in Nga Mauk Chaung village to work at a rural station hospital in Taungup Township that had been without a doctor for two years.
• An ethnic language teacher from Sai Toke village in Pauktaw Township was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to rape a 7-year-old girl. 

6 October 

• Oxygen plants in 10 Arakan State townships that were built on a self-reliant basis are expected to be able to produce more than 27,100 oxygen cylinders per month starting next month.
• With fuel oil prices rising, auto-rickshaw drivers in the Arakan State capital Sittwe are finding it difficult to do business, with the downturn also affecting the families for whom many of the drivers are breadwinners.
• The volatile price of gold has resulted in high supply and low demand in the local market, according to sources from jewelry shops.
• Arakan State’s Department of Public Health says it is arranging to vaccinate middle and high school students against Covid-19.
• A plaintiff and prosecution witness in the case of Ko Aung Win Hlaing, chair of the Moe Pyinnyar Dana Philanthropic Association in Taungup town who was charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, were sworn in at the Taungup Township Court, according to a lawyer involved in the case.
• Two out of four family members from Ywar Shay village in Kanyingon village-tract, Thandwe Township, were killed by a lightning strike. 

7 October 

• The basic paddy price set by the State Administration Council (SAC) is a loss-making rate for farmers, they said. 
• Prices for cosmetics such as facial foam, lotion, tonor and makeup are up by 30% this month, according to cosmetics shops.
• An official from Green Network Sittwe said the city municipality has confiscated garbage bins donated by the group in order to properly dispose of garbage in Sittwe.
• During the nearly three-month closure of trade with Bangladesh due to the Covid-19 pandemic, lost trade value at the Maungdaw border trade camp and the Kanyin Chaung economic zone was estimated at $5 million.
• Although the Ministry of Commerce and the Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers Association previously announced that palm oil would be sold at K3,700 per viss, the price was reported to have risen to K5,500 per viss in Sittwe.