ALP faction cooperates with junta in Sittwe policing

By Admin 25 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
25 July 2023, Sittwe

The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) faction led by Saw Mra Raza Lin is cooperating with local regime authorities in promoting the rule of law in Arakan State, according to a spokesman for the ethnic armed group.

The ALP has detained and interrogated suspects in relation to the apparent assassination of its members. It has arrested and handed over other criminals to the regime, ALP spokesman Khine Thurein told DMG. The spokesman, however, declined to provide details on how many alleged criminals were arrested.

“Regarding the rule of law, we are only cooperating [with the regime], and we don’t act independently. There are local authorities, so we only cooperate with them. We also provide security for the public,” said the ALP spokesman.

Around 10 fully armed ALP members arrested Ko Kyaw Naing Soe, 26, and Ko Kyaw Soe, 30, at their homes in Sittwe’s Setyonesu Ward on June 17, family members told DMG.

The ALP office in Setyonesu Ward has repeatedly denied family members’ requests to meet with the detainees.

“Whenever we went to the ALP office, those at the office said their higher-ups were not present,” said a family member of Ko Kyaw Soe. “When we asked about Ko Kyaw Soe a week ago, they said they had a man with that name. But they denied our request to meet with him. We don’t know why the two were detained, or their current whereabouts.”

The ALP on June 27 denied the arrest of the two, saying that it was fabricated news designed to make the ALP misunderstood.

Ko Kyaw Naing Oo, 33, was also detained from the Shwe Pyi Thit automobile workshop, where he worked on Minbargyi Street on July 3. His whereabouts are still unknown, and family members are concerned about his safety.

A family member of Ko Kyaw Naing Oo said: “It appears Ko Kyaw Naing Oo has been handed over to the military. We have concerns for him as he has been held in captivity for more than 20 days.”

Three ALP members were killed and three others were injured in a shootout on July 1 near Mingan Ward in Sittwe.

The ALP accused the AA of assassinating its members, but AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha has denied AA involvement in the killings. The ALP subsequently detained some civilians following the assassinations, according to family members.

“We didn’t detain them. We only questioned them about things that we wanted to know. We interrogated some on suspicion of crimes. We didn’t even hold them overnight,” said ALP Major Khine Thurein.

“We have to accept that Sittwe is not peaceful. ALP members have been assassinated twice,” said political analyst U Pe Than. “While they are being killed, it is impossible to provide security for people. The ALP is a political organisation, but it is now doing the smaller job of policing, helping the regime to fill the gap,” he said.

The ALP is a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. Following internal frictions, the party has split into two factions — one led by Saw Mra Raza Lin and the other led by Khine Ye Khine. The former is based in Sittwe, and has engaged in peace talks with the regime. The latter is based in the border area where Myanmar, India and Bangladesh meet.