Family demands release of Paletwa Twsp municipal committeeman

By Khin Tharaphy Oo 21 Dec 2020

Khin Tharaphy Oo | DMG
21 December 2020, Sittwe

Family members have demanded the immediate release of U Myint Maung, a member of the Paletwa Township Development Affairs Committee in Chin State, who was arrested by the Arakan Army (AA) more than eight months ago.

U Myint Maung was reportedly detained by a group of 20 men in AA uniforms for questioning on April 12, family members said. The family is concerned for his safety as it has been over eight months without any information about him, said the daughter of the detainee, Ma Thant Zin Yamin Khaing.

“We are worried about my father’s safety because no information has yet been received as to his whereabouts or situation. We want to know the location where he is detained,” she added.

U Myint Maung, 50, a former military intelligence officer, contested the 2015 general election in Paletwa for the township’s Lower House seat as a member of the United Democratic Party, according to family members.

Salai Kyaw Aung, secretary of the Chin IDP Support Committee (CISC), said about 19 civilians including U Myint Maung have gone missing in Paletwa Township from 2018 to 2020, when armed conflict has plagued much of the region.

“Some family members of the detainees speculated that the AA may have arrested U Myint Maung, because family members think that the Arakan Army is active in the vicinity where the detainee was arrested,” he added.

Four Chin men including Salai Aung Soe were arrested by the Arakan Army near Nga Tha Raine village on July 29 while travelling to Paletwa town from Kyauktaw Township in neighbouring Arakan State. Three of the detainees were released about a month later, on August 25, but Salai Aung Soe was only just freed on December 14.

In a statement on September 30, the Arakan Army acknowledged that it had detained some “suspects” during its conflict with the Myanmar military, but said it had released anyone who was found to be innocent following questioning. The ethnic armed group broadly denied accusations that it was behind the civilian disappearances in Paletwa Township.

The military, which has itself detained scores of people over the course of the conflict, has said that if innocent civilians are arrested, their families can file a complaint with the relevant authorities. Several people have died in military custody since the beginning of hostilities between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army in Arakan and Chin states in late 2018.

Some people from Arakan State townships are also still missing, with little to no information as to their whereabouts or status since being detained.