Rice mill owner in Ponnagyun Twsp charged with aiding Arakan Army 

By Aung Htein 01 Oct 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
1 October 2020, Sittwe 

A rice mill owner from Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, who was arrested for allegedly storing rice for the Arakan Army, was charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law by a court in Sittwe on October 1, according to family members of the accused. 

“He was sued under the Counter-Terrorism Law for storing rice for the terrorist organisation and funding the group,” said the defendant’s lawyer, Daw Pan Aye Zan, who added that her client would be charged under Section 50(j) and 52(a) of the law, which carries with it a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. 

U Ye Kyaw Tun was arrested by the Tatmadaw on August 31 after a naval vessel arriving from Sittwe docked near Ponnagyun Township’s Sabarhtar village. Security personnel from the ship entered the village and conducted interrogations of households in the village. U Ye Kyaw Tun, 48, was detained and taken in for questioning after dozens of rice sacks were found at his rice mill. 

Following a lengthy interrogation, the Tatmadaw transferred U Ye Kyaw Tun to Sittwe’s No. 1 police station on September 2 and opened a case against him under the Counter-Terrorism Law. 

He was brought back by the military for additional questioning on September 10, and was transferred to a police station in Sittwe for a second time on September 12. 

The Tatmadaw True News Information Team released a statement on September 1 saying the military had confiscated 80 rice sacks from U Ye Kyaw Tun’s property, adding that the rice was allegedly being stored for the Arakan Army. 

“My father has no links to any organisations and he never commits acts of terrorism. He earns his living running a rice mill,” said Ma Su Hlaing Oo, the defendant’s daughter. 

Family members were unable to meet with the detainee for a full month after his arrest and had an opportunity to meet with him for the first time at his hearing on Thursday. The court fixed the next hearing date for October 15. 

The number of people arrested by the Myanmar army on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army has climbed steadily over the past two years amid ongoing conflict between the two sides in Arakan State.