Families fret over nine men taken from Sittwe monasteries 

By DMG 21 Nov 2022

DMG Newsroom
21 November 2022, Sittwe 

Family members are worried about the fate of nine civilians who were detained by junta soldiers in Sittwe’s Danyawaddy Ward during nighttime raids on two Buddhist monasteries more than a week ago. 

The nine men were abducted on November 11, with some university students among those arrested. The wife of one of the detained men said she had been sending food for the detainees, who were being held at Sittwe’s Myoma police station until recently. 

“I have sent food to the detainees since their arrest, but I have not been allowed to meet them. I was told by the police on Friday that they were reportedly taken by junta soldiers and I no longer need to send food for them,” she explained. 

Three autorickshaw drivers living at the Asoka Rama Monastery were detained on November 11, along with five university students and a mechanic who were taken from the Gandaryone Monastery in the Arakan State capital. 

Their family members are concerned for the safety of the detainees, and say the reason for the arrests is still unknown. 

U Maung Hla Tun, one of the detainees, has three children including a daughter who is in the 10th grade, said his wife, adding that she is struggling to make ends meet as the family relies on U Maung Hla Tun as the breadwinner. 

“They have been detained for 10 days and they could bring nothing with them when they were abducted from the monastery,” she added. “I am worried about their safety. My husband and my brother were taken by the junta soldiers.” 

The military has detained scores of residents, businessmen and government employees in Arakan State on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA), charging many of the detainees under a variety of criminal statutes amid renewed hostilities with the ethnic armed group. 

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura regarding the matter.