Village administrators unsettled by junta arrests of peers in Buthidaung Twsp

13 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
13 September 2022, Sittwe

Village administrators in Arakan State are concerned about their safety following the Myanmar’s regime’s detention of administrators from areas that have seen heightened military tensions between the military and the Arakan Army (AA).

The junta detained village administrators of Mee Kyaung Zay Village-tract and Tetminchaung Village in Buthidaung Township on September 3, when the two men went together with 10 other village administrators to attend a meeting for which they were summoned by the tactical commander of Light Infantry Battalion No. 234, based in Buthidaung.

Other administrators are concerned that they might also be arrested by the regime, an administrator from Buthidaung Township told DMG on condition of anonymity.

“We have to attend their meetings when we are summoned. We are serving as administrators, but no one will take responsibility for us if something bad happens to us,” he said.

It has become increasingly difficult to manage local administrative functions due to rising military tensions in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, according to administrators.

Another administrator who asked not to be named said: “For now, I don’t have a plan to submit my resignation. But if there are more arrests, I will consider resigning. We administrators are stuck between two sides. There are a lot of difficulties.”

Family members of the Mee Kyaung Zay and Tetminchaung village administrators said they have not yet been able to contact the detainees.

An administrator from Buthidaung Township who attended the September 3 meeting said: “We think the detained administrators are innocent. If [the military] treats us with suspicion and finds fault with us, we will have to submit our resignations.”

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Thura.

The Myanmar military’s arrest of village administrators undermines public trust, and corrodes its administrative mechanism, said former Buthidaung Township lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe.

“The regime has lost trust in its administrators. Previously, administrators resigned [due to arrests by the military]. There could be resignations now,” said U Aung Thaung Shwe.

On July 19, the administrators of Tharyargone (Taungpyo) and Thinbawhla villages in northern Maungdaw Township were arrested by the regime when they attended a meeting of the local border guard police force.

Following the arrests, the administrators of Min Khamaung and Tamanthar villages submitted their resignations in early August.

Village administrators also resigned en masse in Kyauktaw Township when the Myanmar military detained and prosecuted some of their colleagues during two years of fighting with the Arakan Army between late 2018 and November 2020.