Arakan State News Summary (August 8-15, 2021)

By DMG 16 Aug 2021

8 August 

• The Charity Youths Organization, a local philanthropic group in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, provided food assistance to 200 families who are facing livelihood hardships during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Some IDP camps in Arakan State are facing food shortages as they have not been provided food supplies regularly amid concern about Covid-19 infections, according to managers of the camp.
• Six Chin civil society groups issued a joint statement saying U Tin Hla should not accept the post of Arakan State Minister for Ethnic Affairs, after he was appointed by the military council.
• A burglary took place at a house in Kanpai ward, Taungup Township, and gold items worth more than K40 million ($24,000) were stolen, according to the victim’s family.
• Police raided a restaurant on Kyaung Gyi Road in Ye Nwe Su Ward, Sittwe Township, at around 11 p.m. for non-compliance with Covid-19 rules and regulations. 

9 August 

• The ABC Foundation in the Arakan State capital Sittwe is struggling to provide enough food and healthcare for orphans as the number of donors has decreased during the ongoing third wave of Covid-19, according to foundation officials.
• An undocumented Muslim woman and seven men who entered Arakan State by car from mainland Myanmar were arrested at the Pelpadon Joint Security Checkpoint in Ann Township on August 8 and 9, respectively.
• Six pregnant women have so far died with Covid-19 in Arakan State during the pandemic’s ongoing third wave, with some having passed before delivering their babies, according to a DMG tally of the death toll.
• Two lawsuits have been filed against Ko Aung Win Naing, chair of the Moe Pyinnyar Dana Philanthropic Association in Arakan State’s Taungup town, as he appeared in court for the first time.
• A magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook northern Arakan State at around 10:18 p.m.

10 August

• More than 12,800 acres of farmland in Arakan State’s Taungup, Thandwe, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Pauktaw, Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships were damaged by floodwaters during the rainy season this year, according to the Arakan Farmers’ Union.
• The Arakan National Party (ANP) sent an open letter to the Arakan State government urging the Tatmadaw not to carry out security checks on people affected by food insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Social welfare associations in Arakan State that are providing help to Covid-19 patients and funeral services for fatalities of the virus are in need of hazmat aka PPE suits.
• The Wet Hla camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mrauk-U Township is in dire need of food, the manager of the camp said.

11 August 

• Two children living in Mingan Block 9 in Sittwe died of food poisoning after eating puffer fish.
• Due to the increasing number of government holidays, there are delays and grievances for defendants facing trial without bail, according to lawyers and family members of the defendants.
• Widely used medicines in Arakan State remain in short supply and are being sold on a quota basis amid the ongoing third wave of Covid-19, according to pharmaceutical companies.
• Kaman people in Myanmar are facing livelihood challenges during the ongoing third wave of Covid-19, according to members of the predominantly Muslim ethnic group.
• The military council instructed courts to close cases if prosecutors do not apply by September 30 to continue the respective trials.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which provides monthly rice rations and other food supplies to camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State, suspended food deliveries indefinitely.
• A recently constructed oxygen plant in Sittwe began operating. 

12 August 

• Police in Taungup arrested a man who allegedly stole more than K40 million worth of gold jewelry from a house in Kanpai Ward.
• Former Arakan State Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Mining U Kyaw Lwin was arrested at a house in Ramree Township.
• MDF-Sittway, a local philanthropic group, donated food and medicine to more than 300 households in Sittwe’s Setyon ward.
• The ANP Youth Wing urged the Arakan National Party (ANP) to work hard to establish clear principles for the overthrow of Myanmar’s dictatorship, and for achieving national equality and self-determination.
• Agricultural loans are being disbursed to farmers in Arakan State, according to the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) in Arakan State.
• Former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu; former Minister of Municipal Affairs U Min Aung; former Minister of Planning and Finance U Kyaw Aye Thein; former Minister of Electricity and Road Transportation U Aung Kyaw Zan; and former Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Mining U Kyaw Lwin were charged under the Anti-Corruption Law, the military council announced. 

13    August

• Two cottage hospitals in Ramree Township’s Saku and Lay Taung towns currently do not have doctors, posing difficulties for residents seeking medical treatment.
• People held a memorial service by lighting a lamp at the site of the 1967 rice riots in Sittwe, where many people were shot dead.
• Muslim IDP camps in Sittwe Township have been facing starvation for a long time due to a lack of food items supplied by the World Food Programme (WFP), camp officials told DMG. 

14   August 

• Local youth development schools in Arakan State are facing difficulties due to the current political situation and the Covid-19 pandemic’s ongoing third wave.
• Thefts of mobile phones and electronics shops during the Covid-19 period have been on the rise in Minbya, according to locals.
• Civil society organisations are planning to provide food aid to displaced people in the IDP camps in Mrauk-U Township.
• U Aung Thein Hla, a 36-year-old man, was arrested in possession of 114,000 stimulant tablets worth K228 million in Aung Thar Yar village in Maungdaw Township.
• Some Arakanese political parties say they are ready to cooperate with the Union Election Commission (UEC), which has announced its intention to scrutinise records related to political parties’ funds and assets.
• The 31st anniversary of the death of Sayargyi U Thar Tun, who died in prison after being arrested and tortured by the previous military dictatorship, could not be celebrated due to the Covid-19 pandemic but his followers paid homage at Sayar Gyi’s tomb in Mrauk-U by laying flowers and lighting candles.
• Some government employees from respective departments, including the Health Department, inspected 10 pharmacies at Myoma Market in Ponnagyun. 

15 August 

• Muslims in Arakan State are scheduled to join United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) administrative positions and the police force, AA chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing said in an interview with Arakkha Media.
• The late Maniya Sayadaw Bhaddanta Thawma, a prominent Buddhist monk in Ywar Gyi Taung Ward, Sittwe, was cremated.
• Plans are being made to pay salaries to those working in the justice department created by the Arakan Army (AA) in order to provide a fair trial for injustices in Arakan State, said AA chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing.
• The Arakan Army (AA) says it has instructed its commanders on the ground to avoid military problems in Arakan State at a time when the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the rainy season are making life difficult for the people.
• Prices are falling due to a lack of markets for marine products from Arakan State while the border trade is suspended, some people engaged in the fishery sector said.