Arakan State News Summary (August 23-31, 2021)

By DMG 31 Aug 2021

23 August 

• Although Arakan State had seen less rain of late, floods might occur again if the Kaladan and Lemro rivers’ waters were to exceed critical levels, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) said.

• Construction and repairs were reportedly completed on six of seven inter-village bridges in northern Maungdaw Township that were damaged or destroyed by recent flooding.
• A mourning ceremony was held for two men killed during a night of fire and gunfire amid the Tatmadaw-Arakan Army conflict in Kyauktaw Township about one year ago.
• 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, appeared in court, but his hearing was postponed again due to the extended public holiday resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

24 August 

• Family members and lawyers said the dismissal of cases involving those charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law in Arakan State had not been significant to date.
• The Arakan Army spokesperson said the ethnic armed group was closely monitoring the situation as the Myanmar military strengthened its forces in some parts of Arakan State.
• The Department of Archaeology and National Museum said it is ready to submit a draft proposal for the designation of Mrauk-U as a World Heritage site, which is slated for submission in September.
• Arakan Army (AA) spokesman Khaing Thukha said the Myanmar military should not summon ward and village administrators in Kyaukphyu to inform on  judicial matters and Covid-19 control letters posted by the ethnic armed group. 

25 August 

• Despite a decline in Covid-19 infections in many Arakan State townships, a local order was issued in Gwa Township stating that locals should not go out after 12 noon as virus infections were still on the rise in the area.
• At a time when Covid-19 has led charitable organisations in Arakan State to address greater need with greater fundraising efforts, fraud schemes and con artists had reportedly sought to take advantage of people’s generosity.
• The price of a ferryboat ride from Manaung to Taungup was up to K50,000 per person, more than five times the normal rate, according to locals. 

26 August 

• The United League of Arakan (ULA) announced that a stay-at-home order amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic was lifted in Arakan State.
• The Justice Department of the United League of Arakan, the political wing of the Arakan Army, said it had received many complaints regarding legal disputes and was working to bring justice to the people.
• The local military government said that a Covid-19 call centre was established in Sittwe for coronavirus patients in Arakan State.
• Mangrove deforestation in four coastal Arakan State townships — Kyaukphyu, Taungup, Ann and Myebon — has risen to 79%, according to mangrove conservation groups in Arakan State.

 27    August 

• The Gandaryi camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Buthidaung Township was locked down after a woman from the camp tested positive for Covid-19, with IDPs from the camp in need of rice and kitchen items.
• Members of a local charity group looking to provide food aid to more than 200 households in Darlat Chaung village-tract facing livelihood hardships amid the Covid-19 pandemic were not allowed to pass a military checkpoint in Ann Township, according to the charity.
• A large haul of drugs was seized from an oil truck at Kyee Kan Pyin checkpoint in Maungdaw town.
• Residents of Thaing Chaung village in Kyaukphyu Township are worried about a recent Tatmadaw troop deployment in the village, and some have fled to other areas, villagers said. 

28    August 

• Internally displaced people (IDPs) from Thet Kal Pyin Muslim IDP camp in Sittwe began receiving the Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday, but media coverage of the inoculation campaign at the camp was reportedly prohibited.
• A local philanthropic group is providing more than K10 million to over 200 families of people sentenced to prison in Arakan State after being charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, or who went missing during clashes between the military and Arakan Army.
• Authorities in Gwa Township arranged to take action against three people under the Natural Disaster Management Law for breaching a local stay-at-home order, an official of the Gwa Township General Administration Department (GAD) told DMG. 

29    August 

• U Win Zaw and his wife, Daw Phyu Phyu Than, a married couple in Kyaukphyu, left home with their family along with a total of more than K2.5 million contributed by others to operate a fishery business.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) redistributed food supplies to Muslim IDP camps in Arakan State.
• The Arakan State Administration Council announced that no Covid-19 patients had been found in 11 of the 17 townships in Arakan State. 

30 August 

• A food support plan for more than 200 households that have faced difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic in Darlat Chaung village-tract, Ann Township, was suspended indefinitely due to lack of permission, according to the Myittar Shin volunteer group.
• Residents of Tinma village in Kyauktaw Township, who fled their homes amid conflict in March 2020, said they likely will not be able to return home in October as was originally planned.
• Schools suspended due to the third wave of Covid-19 will be reopened in line with pandemic-related regulations, Arakan State education officer U Tin Thein told DMG.
• A man was stabbed to death with a scissor at the Vibhagwadi Monastery IDP camp in Mingan ward, Sittwe, and the perpetrator fled with his family, according to camp officials.
• Because the killing and selling of turtles has been reported at markets in Mrauk-U town, authorities warned over loudspeakers at the markets that those found to be illegally poaching turtles would be sentenced to three to 10 years in prison. 

31    August 

• U Hla Thein, the information officer and attorney-general of the Arakan State military government, wrote on his Facebook page that the government is working to drop some cases filed under the Counter-Terrorism Law in Arakan State.
• Construction work on an oxygen plant in Ramree town was suspended due to objections over use of the land on which the facility is located.
• The Arakan National Council and Arakan Army (ANC/AA) issued a statement urging Arakanese political leaders, social leaders and town elders to reconsider the management of land owned by ethnic Kaman people in Ramree Township, and to consider implementing these projects at other appropriate locations.
• U Rawbi Ar Long, 32, an administrator of U Shay Kya Muslim village in Maungdaw Township was arrested by agents of the Defence Service Military Intelligence (Sa Ya Pha) while visiting the Maungdaw District General Administration Office on the evening of August 29. His body was taken to the Maungdaw People’s Hospital on the morning of August 31, according to village administrators.