AA spokesman hits back at junta counterpart’s chastising remarks

By DMG 20 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
20 May 2022, Thandwe

A war of words between Myanmar’s military regime and the Arakan Army (AA) intensified this week, with the AA spokesman calling his regime counterpart’s latest remarks “a direct threat” to Arakanese people. 

At a junta press conference on Thursday, regime spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun challenged the AA, saying the ethnic armed group’s recent statements seemed intended to provoke a fight. He said the regime was exercising restraint because it did not want Arakanese people to get into trouble. But the military’s patience has limits, Zaw Min Tun said, telling the AA not to blame the military when it responds to the AA’s provocations. 

No civilian will believe the junta spokesman’s claim that Myanmar’s military is avoiding war for the sake of the people, said AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha. The regime has never taken people into consideration and the regime spokesman’s statement is absolute nonsense, he added. 

“To make an overall assessment of what Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun said, it is a direct threat to Arakanese people. He said, ‘Don’t blame Myanmar’s military if something [bad] happens,’” he said. 

Sittwe resident U Khaing Kaung San urged the regime to be careful about what it says at press conferences. 

“Such statements hamper peace talks. My view is that clashes can erupt at any time in Arakan State,” he said. 

After two years of armed conflict fighting, Myanmar’s military and the AA entered an unofficial ceasefire in November 2020. The United League of Arakan (ULA), the political wing of the AA, has since expanded a parallel administrative apparatus in Arakan State, including a judiciary, revenue department and public security offices. Much of the ULA/AA administration was built while the regime has been busy fighting resistance forces across the country in the wake of the February 2021 military coup. 

Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun said the regime has tolerated the AA replacing and disrupting its administrative mechanism since the ceasefire. 

In what appears to be a move to counter the AA’s increasing control over the region, the regime has been conducting searches of villages for AA affiliates and telling villagers to steer clear of the ethnic armed group. The regime has also tightened security checks on roads, according to residents. Regime arrests of civilians over alleged ties to the AA are also reportedly rising once again. 

The AA has acknowledged that military tensions have been running high in Arakan State for months, and has warned that clashes could break out at any time.