Regime arrests at least 30 university students in Arakan State since Nov. 13

By Admin 28 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
28 December 2023, Sittwe

Myanmar’s military regime has detained at least 30 university students from Sittwe, Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Pauktaw townships in Arakan State since the latest fighting between the military and Arakan Army (AA) broke out on November 13, according to the Arakan Students Union.

“The regime’s targeted arrests of students has become significant,” said Ko Oo Than Naing, information officer for the Arakan Students Union. “The regime has arrested at least 30 university students in Arakan State since November 13. The regime is arresting and physically threatening students who arrive at the port from other townships to study.”

Junta soldiers also arrested eight correspondent students near Lawkananda Pagoda in Sittwe on November 16. University student Maung Myat Htoo Naing was taken from his home in Sittwe’s Kandawgyi Ward by junta soldiers on November 17. Maung Myat Htoo Naing had uploaded a video on his Facebook account that showed dozens of fully armed junta soldiers in five military trucks arresting four residents in Sittwe’s Mingan Ward on the evening of November 15.

Regime soldiers arrested two female university students near a golf course in Buthidaung on December 24 while they were returning home to Arkarpyin Village.

“The military regime’s targeting and arresting of students is a deliberate attempt to make young people not interested in politics,” said a social activist in Sittwe.

A group of students who returned from an exam at Sittwe University were also verbally abused and threatened by junta soldiers stationed near the university on November 15.

“I think that the regime’s targeting of and threatening to arrest students shows their failure. No people will support the regime with these actions. The regime’s image and ability to function will gradually decline,” said a university student in Ponnagyun Township.

The Arakan Students Union released a statement on December 11 in opposition to Myanmar’s education system under military rule. The union said it does not want what it calls an “education system implemented by fascists and designed to enslave people.”

An unknown group of people posted letters and threatened students at BEHS 2 and nearby streets in Sittwe on December 24.

“The Arakan Students Union has said that it will continue along the Rakhita Way with the students, so the regime is afraid that the students will join the AA,” said Ko Oo Than Naing.

Universities are being kept open in Arakan State despite ongoing fighting, but few if any students are attending due to the lack of safety guarantees, road blockades and fuel shortages.

The regime has detained at least 150 students and women in Arakan State since renewed hostilities between the military and AA began on November 13, according to a DMG tally.