Two detained Sittwe men charged with unlawful association

By Admin 07 Jan 2024

DMG Newsroom
7 January 2024, Sittwe

Two local men in the Arakan State capital Sittwe have been charged under the Unlawful Associations Act on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA), according to Rakhine Daily, a mouthpiece of the Arakan State military council.

Ko Maung Maung Than, a ferry boatman from Sittwe’s Shwepyitha Ward, and Ko Naing Thu aka Kyaw Thein Hlaing, a resident of Kontan Ward, were sued under Sections 17(1) and (2) of the Unlawful Associations Act over news about the AA allegedly discovered on their mobile phones on January 3 and 4.

Ko Maung Maung Than has been earning a living as a ferry boatman in Sittwe for a decade and he has no links with any armed organisations, said a source close to the accused.

“We, Ko Maung Maung Than among us, are the grassroots and we have no ties to any organisations. Family members of Ko Maung Maung Than are struggling to make ends meet since his arrest,” the source added.

Ko Maung Maung Than is among 53 ferry boatmen, vendors, travellers and students arrested by the regime at BXT port in Sittwe on December 12.

The regime has made a series of civilian arrests in Sittwe since renewed fighting in Arakan State began on November 13.

“I think that the military regime puts more pressure on the grassroots and bullies them more,”  said a Sittwe resident. “I think that if the military regime does this to the grassroots, it will threaten other local people into thinking that they will not dare to work anymore.”

Some 400 locals in Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Pauktaw, Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Ramree, Manaung, Kyaukphyu and Thandwe townships have been arrested by the regime since renewed fighting in Arakan State began last month, according to a DMG tally.

The vast majority have not yet been formally charged, while some have been prosecuted under Sections 505(a) and (b) of the Penal Code and or Section 17(1) and (2) of the Unlawful Associations Act.