Arakan State News Summary (July 1-7, 2022)

By DMG 07 Jul 2022

1 July

• U Tin Aung Oo, chairman of the Rakhine State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RSCCI), said efforts were being made to establish direct trade with Bangladesh through Arakan State this year.
• More than 20,000 Myanmar citizens have been detained by Thai authorities for illegally crossing the border into Thailand since last year’s coup, according to migrant workers’ rights activists.
• Ethnic language teachers in Arakan State complained that they had not yet received their June salaries.
• A local man from Wethmine village in Kyauktaw Township was reportedly receiving medical treatment after he was severely injured in a landmine blast.
• The Rathedaung-Ponnagyun road has been closed by the Myanmar military for two weeks, forcing locals to use a waterway to travel to Sittwe that can be dangerous during the rainy season.

2 July

• Ferryboats and cargo vessels that had been barred from leaving the Arakan State capital Sittwe for a week were allowed to resume operations, according to the Shwe Pyi Tan ferryboat service.
• Politicians called for a prisoner swap to defuse rising military tensions between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army.
• The Arakan Front Party (AFP) called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) special envoy to Myanmar to mediate peace talks between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army.
• A local man from Wethmine village in Kyauktaw Township who was severely injured in a landmine blast on July 1 succumbed to his injuries while undergoing medical treatment at Sittwe General Hospital, according to a family member.
• Four houses and a car workshop were destroyed in a landslide in Guta ward, Taungup Township.

3 July

• Farmers in Arakan State displaced by past fighting between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military said they have been unable to farm for up to three years, and are suffering numerous hardships.
• Internally displaced people (IDPs) living in displacement camps in Arakan State are suffering from diarrhoea, skin diseases and seasonal influenza, and are in need of better medical care, according to IDPs.
• A local man from Ahtet Khacheemyaung village in Minbya Township was receiving emergency medical treatment in hospital after losing his right leg stepping on a landmine.
• A Myanmar military contingent arrived in Pauktaw Township, prompting local alarm as they were patrolling the villages.

4 July

• Fifty-five border trade cargo vessel crew who returned from Bangladesh to the Arakan State capital Sittwe were screened for coronavirus, with three of them testing positive, according to the Arakan State Public Health Department.
• Developing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is key to reducing brain drain and boosting the economy of Arakan State, entrepreneurs in the state say.
• Myanmar military airstrikes on an Arakan Army camp near the Myanmar-Thailand border killed six AA members and injured others.
• In its meeting with the ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, the Arakan National Party (ANP) suggested that armed groups should not impose barriers on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar people affected by conflict.
• A man from Myarlikan village in Kyauktaw Township was grievously wounded in a landmine blast and later died in hospital, becoming the township’s second landmine fatality in less than a week.

5 July

• The Arakan Army said it would retaliate for the killing of six of its soldiers in airstrikes by the Myanmar military on its camp near the Myanmar-Thailand border.
• Myanmar’s military regime, which plans to hold a general election next year, is conducting training on proportional representation (PR) electoral systems for members of the election subcommissions in Arakan State, according to U Thurein Htut, secretary of the Arakan State election subcommission.
• The number of local farmers in Arakan State who have access to agricultural loans provided by the state-owned Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank has declined year after year since 2020, according to a bank official.
• Three people including the political and social activist Ko Zaw Win aka Ludu Zaw Win, who were detained by the Myanmar military last month, were reportedly transferred to Kyauktaw Myoma police station on Tuesday afternoon.
• A male porpoise was found dead on Sittwe Beach in the Arakan State capital, according to the head of the Sittwe District Fisheries Department.
• As of July 4, 2022, the number of displaced people in Myanmar had risen to 1,116,000, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
• During a meeting with junta Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked his Myanmar counterpart to ensure the smooth operation of the Sino-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines.

6 July

• Young betel nuts from Arakan State are fetching good prices thanks to high demand from China, Malaysia and Thailand, according to residents.
• The Sittwe District Court sentenced five men from Kyaukseik village, Ponnagyun Township, and its vicinity to three years in prison with hard labour under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
• Weavers in Sittwe Township are facing difficulties due to declining demand in the market for Arakan looms.
• The Myanmar Navy conducted military exercises, involving two submarines and other warships and helicopters, off the coast of Arakan State.

7 July

• Arakan Army spokesman U Khaing Thukha described recent Myanmar military exercises off the coast of Arakan State as a threat to the ethnic armed group and Arakanese people.
• A court postponed a hearing in the case of a man and woman in Kyaukphyu who have been charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code.
• The junta-controlled committee supervising import, storage and distribution of fuel in Myanmar instructed filling stations to sell at fixed prices, and also threatened legal action against those that fail to do so.
• An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale struck at around 5 p.m. and centred about 10 miles north-northeast of Gwa town in Arakan State.
• The Arakan State military council was said to have resettled more than 700 displaced people in Ann Township to their original villages, where explosive remnants of war (ERWs) have not yet been cleared.