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

By DMG 08 Jun 2021

1 June 

• The Thandwe Township military council ordered people in Thandwe to submit overnight guest lists, according to residents.
• U Hla Thein, a spokesperson and attorney-general for the Arakan State Administration Council, said 17 cases of minors arrested on suspicion of illicit ties to the Arakan Army (AA) were dropped in May.
• Three more men who returned from Bangladesh to Sittwe tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Public Health Department in Arakan State.
• A total of 358,931 students were reported to be attending school in Arakan State as of June 1, when basic education schools reopened.
• More than 400 Buddhist monks and nuns took the Dhammacariya examination (a religious exam) in Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships.

2 June 

• A terrorism case brought against eight people including Ko Aung Mrat Kyaw, the younger brother of Arakan Army (AA) leader Major-Gen Twan Mrat Naing, moved toward being dropped at a court hearing in Yangon.
• At least nine children died from diarrhoea in Minbya Township’s Pauk Taw (Muslim) village, with the number of people affected by the disease exceeding 200.
• Developers in Arakan State said they have faced difficulties due to the country’s faltering financial system and rising construction materials costs. 

 3 June 

• Cargo trucks have been temporarily relocated to a bus terminal under construction in the Arakan State capital Sittwe’s Shwepyuthar ward, according to a member of the Arakan State Administration Council.
• A person allegedly involved in a kidnapping case in the town of Maungdaw was arrested, according to local authorities.

 4 June 

• Four wild elephants nearly drowned in a lake but were rescued by local people in Aung Zeya village, Maungdaw Township, according to a former village administrator.
• A 9-year-old girl taking shelter at Pi Pin Yin camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mrauk-U Township was raped, allegedly by a fellow resident of the camp.
• Four men were killed in a bomb blast at about 1 a.m. in Sanpya ward, Ponnagyun town, according to the ward’s 100-household head. 

5 June 

• Seven people including Ko Aung Hlaing Win, chairman of the Moe Pyinnyar Dana Philanthropic Association in Taungup, were arrested by security forces at the Phon Nyo checkpoint on the Taungup-Thandwe road, according to family members.
• Six Muslims from a family who returned from Bangladesh illegally were arrested in Buthidaung Township.
• Between 2018 and 2020, more than 60,000 acres of monsoon paddy fields in Arakan State could not be cultivated due to fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, the Arakan Farmers’ Union said.
• A kinship gathering was held in Konbaung village, Ramree Township, with some 5,000 people participating in the event.
• Green Sittwe, a local civil society group, organised an awareness campaign near Sittwe Waterfront New City in the Arakan State capital, collecting rubbish to mark World Environment Day.    

6 June 

• Family members said they are hoping for the release of nine locals from Taungup Township who were arrested more than a year ago and charged for their alleged affiliation with the Arakan Army (AA).
• The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) issued a statement saying the stance of the National Unity Government (NUG) on Muslims in Arakan State was unacceptable.

7 June 

• Cyclone Yaas, which formed over the Bay of Bengal in May, destroyed more than 1,000 mangrove trees planted in Arakan State as part of conservation efforts.
• Vehicles were permitted to cross the new Rar Maung Bridge in Minbya Township, which was built at a cost of about K12 billion.
• Recognising that skills must be built around the information age and technologies of the 21^st century, civil society organisations and volunteer groups in Arakan State are providing training and courses to Arakanese youths on topics such as computer literacy, English language, human and women’s rights, and federalism.