Junta resumes provision of relief items to IDPs in Sittwe displacement camps

By Admin 09 May 2023

DMG Newsroom
9 May 2023, Sittwe

The junta-appointed Arakan State chief minister U Htein Lin and his entourage provided relief supplies to internally displaced people (IDPs) from two displacement camps at monasteries in Sittwe on Monday.

The chief minister supplied the IDPs at the two displacement camps, which are set up in monastery compounds in the Arakan State capital, with rice, school uniforms, textbooks, mosquito nets, blankets and clothes.

“We received rice and other items. We have not received support from the government for a long time. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement has provided us with relief items in the past,” said Daw Thein Nu, an IDP woman from the Buddhawmaw Monastery IDP camp.

The junta officials donated 76 bags of rice and other household items to 395 IDPs from 109 households taking shelter at the Buddhawmaw camp.

“The junta’s provisioning is not enough for us. Anyway, I would like to express thanks to the regime. We were told that the junta would provide more assistance to IDPs ahead of the rainy season,” said U Maung Aye Kyaw, an IDP man from the Buddhawmaw camp.

The junta-controlled Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement had suspended the provision of relief items to IDPs in Arakan State since 2022.

“The ministry has not provided us with relief supplies since May last year. This is the first time the junta provided us with relief items in 2023. We were not told about the return of IDPs,” said an IDP from the Alotawpyae Monastery IDP camp, which currently accommodates about 230 IDPs from 79 households.

“The provision of relief items by the military junta to the IDPs in Sittwe is a pretence to gain international recognition,” said U Nandatharya, an IDP activist monk from Mrauk-U.

“The junta provided relief items to IDPs from Sittwe displacement camps when a new port in Sittwe that is part of the US$500 million Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project was opened on May 9. Relief items should not be provided only to IDPs from these two displacement camps in Arakan State,” the monk added.

Indian officials and junta ministers opened the Indian-funded Sittwe Port on the morning of May 9.

The total number of IDPs in Arakan State, including those who remained at displacement camps due to the 2018-2020 fighting between the military and Arakan Army, and Chin State stood at about 78,000, according to a May 2 report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

IDPs are struggling to make ends meet as support from the military regime and donations from donors are dwindling, but many are unable to return home due to lack of security guarantee and the risks of landmines.