Arakan State News Summary (November 16-23, 2021)

By DMG 23 Nov 2021

16 November

• The chairman of the Nippon Foundation and Japan’s special envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar, Yohei Sasakawa, said he would meet with relevant leaders, including leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), to overcome the challenges Myanmar is facing.
• Financial aid is required for a 4-year-old boy from Abay village, Taungup Township, who is suffering from bone cancer.
• The Rakhine Women Network (RWN) donated more than 1,000 warm clothes for over 280 children at Ahtet Myet Hle IDP camp in Ponnagyun Township.
• Arrangements will be made to help displaced Tinma villagers in Kyauktaw Township who have repeatedly sought their own return, but only once their security is guaranteed, said U Hla Thein, a spokesman and attorney-general for the Arakan State Administration Council.
• The freedom of expression advocacy group Athan said at least 129 journalists have been arrested in Myanmar and 27 more have had arrest warrants issued against them since the coup on February 1.
• The Arakan Army said it had released 15 prisoners of war earlier in the week due to the intervention of Yohei Sasakawa, Japan’s special envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar. 

17 November

• South Korea-based Posco International reportedly began work on Phase II of the Shwe gas field project A-1 off the Arakan coast.
• Civil society organisations in Arakan State donated K8.7 million for fire victims from Thantlang town, Chin State, where several houses were torched on October 29.
• Authorities said three border trade centres in Arakan State handled trade volume worth almost US$2 million from October 16 to November 3.
• About 10,000 people participated in the well-known Bae Ngar Yar Taung Pagoda festival near Yoe Ta Yoke village in Ponnagyun Township. 

18 November

• Elephant foot yams cannot be sold in 2021 due to lack of buyers from other regions and states, said farmers and traders of the tuber.
• The number of winter crop acres under cultivation in 2020 and 2021 in Arakan State has slightly increased compared with the acreage in 2018 and 2019, according to the Arakan Farmers’ Union.
• A Dyna car carrying pilgrims to Ponnagyun town overturned at the top of Kan Sauk Hill in Kyauktaw Township, injuring 12 people; three of them severely. 

19 November

• The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is considering increasing funding for internally displaced people (IDPs) as basic food prices in Arakan State rise, the resident representative of the agency in Myanmar told DMG. 
• Manaung Public Company reportedly submitted a proposal to the government to extend the runway at Manaung Airport in Arakan State. 
• The case of more than 20 Lekka villagers in Mrauk-U Township, who have been detained for more than two years, was delayed again even as they appeared in court on November 19.
• A memorial event marking the seven-year anniversary of the killing of eight Arakan Army cadets was held in Sittwe. 

20   November

• More than 200 houses from Pharpyo village, Minbya Township, and Lekka village, Mrauk-U Township, that were destroyed by fire during armed conflict in the region have been rebuilt, but the affected villagers said they had yet to receive full financial aid from the regime council.
• Several Tabebuia trees planted by the Myebon Youth Association along the entrance road to Myebon town were destroyed for a second time, said Ko Si Thu Win, the association’s external relations officer.
• A female high school teacher who is said to have been part of the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in Taungup since its earliest days was arrested, according to witnesses.
• Reporters from Arakan State-based Western News went into hiding after junta forces attempted to find the location of its office in Sittwe. 

21 November

• Dried prawn and dried fish in Arakan State have fetched higher prices in 2021, but sales have been sluggish, vendors said.
• The Ministry of Health said relevant health departments would test for Covid-19 among domestic flight passengers within 48 hours of boarding.
• The public is allowed to visit Kyain Taung Pagoda in Minbya Township on limited days, but they are still prohibited from visiting the pagoda freely.
• Local administration officials are investigating an illegal quarry at Lin Mway mountain range in Mrauk-U Township, township administration officials said. 

22 November

• Ko Sein Chit and Ko Ye Naing Oo, who were arrested last month on suspicion of having links to the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF) and charged under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared before a court in Thandwe Township.
• The Sittwe District Court rejected the appeal of former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, who was sentenced last month to two years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
• Despite the arrival of the 2021-22 tourism season, visitor numbers to Arakan State remain stubbornly low, according to the state’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.
• Almost 10 months since the military seized power in a February 1 coup, bank users and businesses in Arakan State continue to struggle with limited or nonexistent cash withdrawals and other banking services, customers said.
• The number of travellers along the Lemro River in Mrauk-U Township is on the rise, according to the Isana travel agency.
• The Khami traditional new harvest feast was held at Laung Shay Chaung village in Mrauk-U Township. 

23 November

• Myanmar’s military regime is reportedly looking to take legal action against civil servants involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) by targeting them for “misuse of funds” if they received a Covid-19 loan, which the previous government provided to alleviate the impacts of the pandemic.
• Despite efforts being made for more than a year to electrify 11 villages in Mrauk-U Township and four villages in Ponnagyun Township, grid power has not yet been made available, residents said.
• Extraneous pieces of a Chinese spacecraft crashed into the sea off the coast of Thandwe, Manung and Sittwe townships.
• A 17-year-old girl, one of three females in Thandwe Township who were arrested early this month and accused of providing financial support to the anti-junta People’s Defence Force  (PDF), was released on November 19. Her aunt, however, was arrested instead as she is the owner of the handset allegedly used to transfer money to the PDF, according to Thandwe Township police.
• An official from the Arakan State Police Chief’s Office insisted that police are not investigating Arakan State-based media outlets, nor have any cases been opened against reporters in the state.