Committee urges political solution to end conflict in Arakan State

By Aung Htein 16 Mar 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
March 16, Sittwe

The Arakan National Policy Coordination Committee (ANPCC) has urged the respective warring parties to quickly find a political solution to political issues in order to stem the repercussions of civil war.

The ANPCC held an Arakan National Policy Review and Integration Workshop from March 12-15 at the Thai-Myanmar border and followed up those discussions with a statement at its conclusion.

“As it [the warring parties] cannot find a solution peacefully, innocent people have faced hardships and are being killed. We don’t want this situation,” U Twan Zaw, coordinator of ANPCC, told DMG.

The ANPCC said it denounced innocent people being killed in Arakan State and also called on the international community to urge responsible people to seek justice for people with responsibility and accountability regarding potential war crimes committed.

The intensifying civil war in Arakan State has brought related social hardships and suffering, said the statement, asserting that they are the consequences of an inability to deal with political issues politically. The statement added that the result was an unruly situation unbecoming of the 21st century’s technology-driven age.

The Arakan Army (AA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) have announced an extension of unilateral ceasefires from March 1-25, saying this was done pragmatically in order to carrying out negotiation processes with the aim of signing a more enduring ceasefire with the ultimate goal of creating a peaceful environment ahead of Myanmar’s 2020 general election.

Fighting between the military and the AA persists across several townships in Arakan State.

Some political observers have said that if a bilateral agreement is not inked between the government and the AA, fighting will continue. AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha told DMG that difficulties related to the signing of a bilateral agreement related to differences over the positioning of troops.

More than 130 civilians have been killed and over 360 people injured due to the fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA in Arakan State, according to the Arakan Students Union (Universities - Yangon). Moreover, upwards of 130,000 civilians have been displaced by the conflict.