Locals face administrative delays after village administrators in Arakan State resign en masse

30 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
30 December 2022, Rathedaung

Because some 100 village administrators in Arakan State’s Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships have recently submitted their resignation letters, residents living in the affected townships are reportedly facing difficulties in administrative matters involving everything from travel to ID cards to simply going to work.

More than 70 out of approximately 90 junta-appointed ward and village administrators in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, where the military and Arakan Army (AA) exchanged fire with deadly effect earlier this year, reportedly tendered resignation letters in November.

“We have to seek a recommendation letter from the township General Administration Department office as the village administrator in our village has tendered his resignation letter. We are facing many difficulties in applying for household certificates or ID cards due to the lack of the village administrator’s recommendation letter,” said a resident of Pelsinan Village in Ponnagyun Township.

Ma Khin Than Soe, a university student from Pelsinan Village, told DMG that university students are also having difficulty enrolling in school because they have not received a recommendation letter from the village administrator.

“I passed the matriculation examination last year. I need to have a recommendation letter from the village administrator for university enrolment. I have yet to apply for an ID card due to lack of the village administrator’s recommendation letter. I haven’t applied for an ID card yet, so I haven’t enrolled in university yet,” she explained.

U Saw Maung Thein, a resident of Hngetgyikyun village in Ponnagyun Township, told DMG that some locals do not have ID cards and are facing difficulties at junta security checkpoints when travelling.

“We face difficulties at the junta’s security checkpoints due to lack of ID cards and recommendation letters. We can be arrested at security checkpoints at any time and we are not allowed to visit even Sittwe,” he added.

Locals are facing difficulties in applying for household certificates as 19 ward and village administrators from the Kutaung area, located in the southern part of Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township, reportedly tendered resignation letters to the township administrator’s office on December 16.

“We need to have a recommendation letter for the village administrator to apply for a household certificate. We cannot apply for a household certificate due to the lack of the village administrator’s recommendation letter,” said a resident of Kutaung Village.

Junta troops have frequently entered villages unannounced in recent months, in many cases not communicating their arrival because they suspect the local administrator of having ties or loyalty to the Arakan Army. At the same time, their status as junta-appointed administrators has put them in a difficult position vis-a-vis the Arakan Army.

Arakanese politicians have suggested that the military regime should understand and organise the village administrators in Arakan State without threatening or prosecuting them.

“Ward and village administrators have to deal with both sides comfortably,” said U Pe Than, a veteran political analyst. “The ward and village administrators are worried about their safety because the military council accuses them of supporting the ULA/AA and opening cases against them. When the ward and village administrators resigned, the residents also suffered a lot.” 

He added: “Ward and village administrators have to cooperate with the military council on local development projects, support for pregnant women, and medical issues, so the people may suffer.”

DMG attempted to contact Ponnagyun Township Administrator U Maung San Win and Rathedaung Township Administrator U Naing Lin Htet regarding difficulties faced by local people, but they could not be reached.

Dozens of ward and village administrators in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Rathedaung, and Minbya townships also previously resigned amid the Myanmar military’s arrests of their peers during the 2018-2020 fighting between the military and Arakan Army.