Arakan State News Summary (December 1-7, 2021)

By DMG 07 Dec 2021

1 December

• The number of visitors to Point Beach in Sittwe has reportedly been increasing on weekends, with the Arakan State regime council reminding beachgoers that they are expected to adhere to Covid-19 preventive regulations.
• Five former Arakan State ministers, including former Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, were formally charged under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law.
• A total of 573 members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), including several senior party figures, were arrested and 13 were killed in the 10 months between when Myanmar’s military seized power on February 1 and November 30, the NLD Central Working Committee said in a statement.
• With swine breeding in decline in Arakan State, the price of young pigs has increased nearly fivefold compared with two years ago, swine breeders said.
• At least 1,300 people have been killed in Myanmar since the February coup, according to a press release from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). 

2 December

• The Arakan State regime council said it was keeping a watchful eye on motorways, waterways and air travel to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 as concerns continued to grow over the global rise of a new coronavirus variant, Omicron.          
• A 58-year-old man who was attacked by a wild elephant in Maungdaw Township required medical treatment, family members said.
• A local man was arrested because his brother unwittingly transported a defecting member of the Border Guard Police in Maungdaw Township, the detained man’s family said. 

3 December

• An event marking the 90^th anniversary of the death of Ashin Sanda Marlae Linkara, the Ramree monastery abbot who compiled Arakan New Chronicle (Rakhine Yazawinthit Kyan), was held in Ramree town, organised by the Ramree Youth Network.
• More than 20 residents of Lekka village in Mrauk-U Township who were arrested on suspicion of having links to the Arakan Army (AA) appeared in court, and a second appeal was presented to the court as the presiding judge did not rule in the case, according to a lawyer involved.
• Local farmers whose farmlands are involved in the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project in Kyaukphyu Township say they are worried that they will become occupiers.
• International Day of Disabiled Persons was celebrated at Yuzana Aung Hotel in Sittwe, headed by the Sittwe branch office of Myanmar Independent Living Initiative. 

4 December

• A Khami New Year event was observed at Khaymar Mandaing Monastery in Sittwe. A similar event was held at Aye Tharyar Monastery in Yangon Region’s Mingaladon Township.
• A total of K597 million ($334,645) in loans have not been repaid in the eight years since the Emerald Green Project was launched for rural populations in 2014-15, according to the state’s Department of Rural Development.
• A series of thefts and robberies have taken place in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, with residents in some wards feeling compelled to hire nighttime guards to protect their neighbourhoods.
• The Union minister for Education announced that the matriculation exam for the 2021-22 academic year will be held from March 30 to April 9. 

5 December

• As there is no basic education school at Kone Dan Muslim village in Pauktaw Township, where there are about 300 households, children have lost access to education, according to villagers and teachers.
• The regime council violently dispersed a peaceful protest march in Kyimyindaing Township, Yangon Region, by ramming a military vehicle into the group of demonstrators.
• More than 40 pythons and boas were reportedly caught in the Arakan State capital Sittwe in 2021.
• Housing at Nghet Chaung Muslim IDP camp (1) in Pauktaw Township is reportedly in need of repair.
• Rice transportation is banned at Yaw Chaung Ywar Tharyar village in Myebon Township, where several people returning from IDP camps are currently living. 

6 December

• At least eight people in Arakan State — six from Thandwe District and one each from Mrauk-U and Kyaukphyu districts — have been arrested on suspicion of People’s Defence Force (PDF) affiliations and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, according to the latest reports.
• Pilgrims and locals expressed concern as the Myanmar military and police conducted security checks along the historical Sandawshin Pagoda Road in Pauktaw Township.
• The local administration in Mya Yeik Kyun village-tract, Mrauk-U Township, is reportedly charging people K1,500 to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, with the money ostensibly going to pay for the needs of healthcare staff administering the shots.
• Ko Nay Win Soe, 23, from Kyauk Nga Nwar village, Myebon Township, has been missing and incommunicado for about a month, according to his family, after he was arrested on suspicion of being a member of the Arakan Army. 

7 December

• The Arakan State High Court will decide at an upcoming hearing whether to reduce the sentences of four students in the state who are facing more than two years in prison for an October 2020 anti-war protest.
• The initial trial of a freshwater shrimp hatchery in Arakan State was a resounding success, said the state’s Department of Fisheries, with preparations being made to proceed with more freshwater shrimp breeding in the coming year.
• The current conduct of Myanmar’s military regime could lead to difficulties in attaining a resolution to the country’s political crisis, said Nai Aung Ma Ngay, acting leader of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST).
• Seven boatmen who returned from trading in Bangladesh tested positive for Covid-19.
• A total of 159,423 students who are above 12 years old in Arakan State were reported as fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
• The owner of the Kyi Shwin Company donated more than 2,100 warm clothing items for females, which were distributed among nine IDP camps in Arakan State.