More than 40 village administrators resign in Kyauktaw Township

By Thet Naing 08 Jun 2019

Thet Naing | DMG

8 June, Kyauktaw

Forty-six ward/village administrators from Kyauktaw Township resigned for reasons of personal safety because the Tatmadaw detained their peers for questioning.

“Some ward/ village administrators have been detained by the Tatmadaw for questioning. The Tatmadaw detained people for interrogations. We are concerned for our safety. That’s why we submitted our resignations. We do not want to keep on working as administrators whether we are allowed to quit or not,” said U Maung Than Hlaing, administrator for Myothit village.

Before they handed in their resignations, they requested the regional government stop the Tatmadaw from detaining administrators and to conduct interrogations according to the law through hierarchical officials. The Arakan State government however refused to meet their demand, so they tendered their resignations, said ward/village administrators.

The DMG contacted U Win Myint, spokesperson of the Arakan State government about the resignation of ward/village administrators, he said that he did not know all the details about the case.

They demanded the Tatmadaw to release two detained ward/village administrators from Kyauktaw Township and to conduct their interrogation through township administrators and to stop their direct detentions of local officials, U Maung Than Hlaing said.

There are 84 ward/village administrators in Kyauktaw Township that consists of 5 wards and 79 village tracts with 284 villages.

In March, 98 ward/village administrators from Mrauk-U Township resigned for safety reasons after their peers were detained. Some of them are now back at their jobs.