Arakan State News Summary (May 22-31, 2021)

By DMG 31 May 2021

May 22 

• The Arakan State Administration Council says a dumpsite at Akyeittawkone hill in the state capital Sittwe will be relocated to Hmansi Cemetery from June 1. 

• A suspect was arrested in connection with the rape of a 27-year-old woman sheltering at the Gandhari camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Buthidaung Township on May 20, according to Taungbazar police station. 

• A resident of Sane village, Ann Township, who is facing trial under the Counter-Terrorism Law at the Kyaukphyu District Court, was admitted to Kyaukphyu District People’s Hospital on May 22 due to injuries after being beaten during a hearing. 

• A meeting was held at the Mrauk-U District General Administration Department office to explain rules and regulations regarding the World Heritage listing of Mrauk-U Archaeological Site, according to state media. 

• The Ann Township Department of Immigration carried out a field trip to issue identity cards and household lists to the people of Aukrwa village-tract under the Pankhin Project. 

May 23 

• A factory paid K1 million to an Arakanese woman who was injured while working at the Fukuyama garment factory in Shwepyithar Township, Yangon Region, but her family reportedly refused to accept the compensation. 

• A ceremony to honour Bhadanta (Venerable) Thawma, presiding monk of the Dhamma Thukha Monastery and chairman of the Arakan State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee who was conferred Agga Maha Saddhama Jotika Dhaja Maha Pandita (a religious title) was held in Sittwe. 

• Staff from the Department of Rural Development disbursed K3.7 million to 117 members of the Emerald Green Project in Myetthauk village, Ponnagyun Township, and the event was the sixth of its kind in the township. 

May 24 

• With a depression in the Bay of Bengal intensifying into a deep depression, the Shwe Pyi Tan express boat line in Arakan State suspended services for two days. 

• Five people were arrested in Manaung town, Arakan State, for allegedly dealing fake gold at multiple local pawn shops, according to the Manaung Township police station.   

May 25 

• In Mrauk-U, the so-called floating Thingyan boat race area, known as “the Laungsee Pwe,” was held from the full moon day of Kason to May 29. 

• Residents of Hsin Tat Maw village in Arakan State’s Pauktaw Township say their retaining wall, built at a cost of about K150 million, was badly damaged by strong winds. 

• The 6th National Day of the Maramargyi ethnic people was celebrated at Maramargyi Monastery in Sittwe’s Kyaungtetlan ward. 

May 26 

• The 8th Arakan National Day was commemorated at the Dwaravati Hall in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, but could not be celebrated in other Arakan State townships. 

• On the first day of school enrolment for the 2021-22 academic year, there were 54,687 students enrolled in Arakan State, according to the State Education Officer’s office, which is housed under the auspices of the Ministry of Education’s Department of Basic Education. 

• Ah Maw village on Pan Tin Island, located about 13 nautical miles west of Taungup town, is hard-hit by erosion and was divided into two parts by tidal currents. 

• Many temporary shelters at IDP camps in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, were destroyed by Cyclone Yaas, which formed over the Bay of Bengal days earlier, according to IDP camp managers. 

• A court hearing for eight people including Ko Aung Mrat Kyaw, the younger brother of Arakan Army Chief Maj-General Twan Mrat Naing, who has been charged under Counter-Terrorism Law, was rescheduled for June 2 despite widespread reports that he would be released. 

• The Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank, which is part of the Ministry of Planning and Finance in Sittwe, disbursed monsoon agricultural loans to local farmers. 

May 27 

• Although residents of Tin Ma village in Kyauktaw Township submitted a letter to the Arakan State Administration Council for a second time seeking to resettle in their home village, the council has not yet replied, according to the villagers. 

• The Rammarwadi traditional rowing competition, having been suspended for three years, was held again in Ramree Township from May 27-30, with 20 participating teams. 

• The Arakan State Farmers’ Union estimated that this year’s acreage of monsoon paddy would be higher than last year, as there have been no recent clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State. 

May 28 

• A two-day meeting of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) held May 27-28 will result in the reconstitution of the federal Constitution Drafting Working Group, which will be approved at a future meeting, according to remarks by General Yawd Serk, the PPST’s interim leader. 

• Former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu was arraigned at the Sittwe Township Court for a video conference hearing, but his case was postponed to June 11 due to a lack of evidence. 

• Three youths were temporarily detained by a military column stationed at Thayet Cho Monastery in Laytaung town, Ramree Township. The detainees have been identified as Ko Htoo Htoo Kyaw and Ko Win Thet Kyaw, who have passed their matriculation examinations, and Ko Lu Tar Chay, a third-year student of Sittwe University from Ngapyichaung village. 

• No one was injured when two bombs exploded in Paletwa town, Chin State, at around 7:30 a.m., according to local police. 

May 30 

• The Tatmadaw regime announced that it would suspend all military activities from June 1-30, “except the period when security and administrative machinery of the government in addition to State defence and administrative measures are attacked and encroached on,” as the junta prepares to reopen basic education schools on June 1. 

• Seven children are reported to have died from diarrhoea in Pauk Taw (Muslim) village of Nagara village-tract in Minbya Township, according to residents.   

May 31 

• A court hearing in the case of four students from the Arakan State Students’ Union who were arrested and prosecuted for protesting military human rights abuses in Arakan State was postponed until May 31 due to lack of evidence.