Regime-allied female Arakanese politician conferred honorary titles

By Admin 03 Jul 2025

DMG Newsroom

3 July 2025, Sittwe

Saw Mra Razar Lin, chairperson of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), a regular attendee at peace forums organised by Myanmar's military regime, has been awarded honorary titles by junta boss Min Aung Hlaing.

Junta-controlled dailies reported that the honorary titles were conferred on women who have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields in honor of Myanmar Women's Day, which falls on July 3.

Saw Mra Razar Lin wrote on her social media Facebook page, "I would like to congratulate all the female heroes who have done outstanding work in various fields."

The military regime awarded the title of "Wunna Kyaw Htin" to Saw Mra Razar Lin, the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (Peace Council) Vice Chair Naw Ka Pao Htoo, and Dr. Daw Po, Professor/Dean (retd) from the Ministry of Education.

On November 17, 2023, Saw Mra Razar Lin received the Zeya Kyaw Thu title, an honorary title awarded by the military leader, for her services.

The military regime says it confers such titles in recognition of awardees' participation in the peace process and efforts for national reconciliation.

Veteran politician U Pe Than took a less charitable view.

"The honorary medal that Saw Mra Razar Lin received was given to those who did what the military regime wanted. The people do not take these awards seriously. But if they stand on the side of the people, choose the revolutionary path, and resist the military regime, these awards will be revoked. In previous generations, many such awards were given to those who collaborated with the military," he added.

The ALP opened its headquarters in the Arakan State capital with the junta's blessing. The group is a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and is engaged in peace talks with the regime.

Residents in Sittwe say the ALP is collaborating with the military regime to arrest and recruit locals.

"The ALP mainly relies on the military regime to operate in Sittwe. The ALP cooperates with the military regime to patrol, arrest residents, recruit new members, and extort money from them."

"Residents are afraid of the military regime and the ALP, which has created a real crisis," said a Sittwe man.

Villagers say ALP troops were involved in the Byaing Phyu massacre, a mass killing in Sittwe Township, along with junta soldiers.

The three main Arakanese armed groups that were formed to represent the Arakanese people are the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), the Arakan Liberation Party/Arakan Liberation Army (ALP/ALA), and the Arakan National Council/Arakan Army (ANC/AA).