NGOs providing aid to storm victims in Arakan reportedly allowed to resume operations

By Admin 11 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
11 June 2023, Sittwe

A letter dated June 11 and purportedly signed by Arakan State Minister of Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura has circulated online that local and international nongovernmental organisations providing relief items in Arakan State have been allowed to resume operations.

The letter comes after the Arakan State military council last week notified local and international organisations providing humanitarian aid in Arakan State to halt operations until further notice. The order, effective as of June 8, was signed by Colonel Kyaw Thura.

The travel ban prompted swift and widespread criticism, given Arakan State’s sizable storm-affected population and the importance of timely delivery of humanitarian aid supplies to those in need.

On Twitter on June 9, AA chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing asked the people of Arakan State to overcome the suffering caused by the storm with patience and unity.

The spokesperson and attorney-general for the Arakan State military council, U Hla Thein, wrote on his Facebook page on June 10 that organisations supporting storm victims should notify the relevant local authorities of their planned activities rather than being barred from operating.

“Organisation needs to inform local authorities in advance when providing relief items to locals in Arakan State. Some storm victims received relief supplies several times. If the storm victims do not receive relief items, they will point the finger at the government, so if NGOs donate and support the storm victims, they need to cooperate by reporting to the relevant authorities,” he wrote.

An official from a civil society organisation in Arakan State said that if permission is requested from the Arakan State military council to provide humanitarian aid in Arakan State, there may be delays.

“If we ask for permission from the state military council to provide relief items to storm victims, will we get permission?” he said.

In a bulletin earlier this month, the UNDP said: “Some 1.6 million people in Rakhine [Arakan], Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Kachin states are in dire need of assistance after Mocha’s 250 kilometre per hour wind gusts destroyed homes, farmland and livestock.”