Political forces urge President to deal with Arakan affairs

28 Jun 2019

Khin Tharaphy Oo | DMG

28 June, Sittwe

Political forces including a delegation that observed situations in Arakan State sent an open letter to President Win Myint on 27 June suggesting the President to deal with situations occurring in Arakan State. 

Since the impact of the ongoing conflicts in the region have required the intervention of the President, political forces requested the President to deal with Arakan affairs, said U Ngwe Linn, central executive committee member of the Democratic Party for a New Society.

A delegation including representatives of nine political parties and CSOs visited Arakan State from 17 to 21 June.  During the trip, the team found that people face great hardships and are scared they will be arrested under the suspicion of being AA members, U Ngwe Linn said.

 “They are facing great adversities in their daily lives. Their shelter is a meager piece tarpaulin that is not sufficient for the rainy season.  They are provided relief aid from the WFP and ICRC; however, the government cannot help them. Local resident and relatives provide aid for them. So, they have to live on paltry amounts of food,” he said.

 “And they are concerned about their safety. They are worried they may be arrested, shot or tortured. Their future is uncertain and that makes them apprehensive. The situation could lead to harsher conditions,” he added.

The delegation team addressed its 11 findings in the open letter; some are about the requirements of IDPs in Arakan State including lack of food, shelter health care service and children’s education.

The team also said that they found villagers fled homes due to gunfire and artillery directed at villages and significant cultural icons in Mrauk-U. The team also addressed the issue of suspects being unlawfully detained and questioned.

We found that the scenarios could not be settled by the regional government and parliament and submitted their findings to the union government, U Ngwe Linn Said.

 “The regional government is trying as much as it can to broker a cease fire in the region. And, State parliament submitted a proposal to end the war. The proposal was submitted at the union level, but nothing has transpired yet. The problem is bigger now, that’s why we requested the union government to help solve the problem,” he said.

In the open letter, political forces also urged the Tatmadaw to stop its transgressions across Myanmar. U Ngwe Linn said that he hopes the government will respond to their request.

The team also urged the government, parliament, Tatmadaw and all stakeholders through the President to recognize all situations in Arakan State as political issues and negotiate to find a solution to the problems.