Arakan State News Summary (September 23-30, 2021)

By DMG 30 Sep 2021

23 September 

• The price of coconuts in Manaung Township has plummeted since last year, according to coconut dealers in Manaung. A coconut sold for K500 ($0.27) last year, but is only selling for K100 this year, say those involved in the trade, a price drop made more stark by the depreciation of the kyat since Myanmar’s February 1 coup.
• The Kyauktaw-based Future Target Education Foundation is offering computer and English-language proficiency courses to provide free educational opportunities to young people in Arakan State.
• Oyster sellers in Arakan State are reportedly facing difficulties due to lower prices. Previously, an oyster sold for more than K1,000, but the price of an oyster is now around K700 due to political unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic in Myanmar.
• U Nyi Pu, a 42-year-old resident of Ann Township who was charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law after the military arrested him, has required medical treatment at hospital for internal injuries he suffered from being beaten in detention, his family members said.
• Family members continue to demand justice for those who have gone missing and remain incommunicado after being arrested during armed conflict between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Arakan State from 2018-20. Eighteen men from Tinmagyi and Tinma (new) villages in Kyauktaw Township have been missing for more than 18 months after they were arrested by the military in March 2020.
• The Sittwe District Court dismissed the appeal of four Arakanese students — Ko Kyaw Naing Htay, Ko Oo Than Naing, Ko Mrat Soe Win, and Ko Kaung Tun — recently sentenced to two years and six months in prison, according to a lawyer representing the defendants.  

24 September 

• More than 390,000 replacement seedlings are planted annually to prevent mangrove and other deforestation in Arakan State, according to the state’s Forest Department.
• Locals struggled to access information due to internet blackouts in eight Chin State townships, some of which have seen clashes take place recently between junta troops and local militias under the People’s Defense Force (PDF) banner. Internet access was reportedly cut off in Matupi, Kanpet, Paletwa, Thantlang, Falam, Tedim, Mindat and Tonzang townships of Chin State, according to locals.
• A 13-year-old blind girl from Barya village in Taungup Township needs financial assistance to pay for eye surgery to restore her sight, her family said.
• The National-Level Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of Covid-19 announced that primary schools would be closed for another month, from September 27 to October 24. 

25 September 

• In order to ensure the safety of students when schooling resumes, the Covid-19 vaccine would be administered to students over 12 years old, regime council chairperson Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying in the state-owned Myanma Alinn
• Construction materials costs in Arakan State have risen by as much as a third due to a sharp rise in the value of the US dollar, according to industry stakeholders.
• Construction of the pillars of the Maha Myatmuni Pagoda in Arakan State is about 20% complete, according to the pagoda’s board of trustees. 

26 September 

• The cost of transporting fuel from Yangon to Arakan State is among the rising prices attributed to the recent appreciation of the US dollar against the kyat, leading to higher overall fuel prices in Arakan State.
• Flowers from Japan, Tabebuia and Robel trees were recently planted along the roads in Kyaukphyu town, according to people involved. 
• The Ministry of Commerce has announced that the public can buy petrol at affordable prices at designated petrol stations in various states and regions in Myanmar.
• Those engaged in pottery in Arakan State say they are finding it difficult to keep their businesses afloat due to a shortage of customers.
• According to the Arakan State Department of Fisheries, the production of farmed fish and shrimp in Arakan State is not enough for domestic consumption, and needs to be reformed. 

27 September 

• Clam catchers and clam breeders in Taungup Township are uneasy as clam prices have fallen this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Myanmar’s current political situation.
• The prices of gold and the US dollar in Myanmar continued to increase, hitting record levels this week, following the military coup in February.
• An official from the Myanmar Archaeology Association said Mrauk-U must be kept clean in order for the historical site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• The ongoing depreciation of the kyat has caused a price hike in the prawn market in Arakan State, according to prawn traders.
• A court in Gwa Township sentenced three men to prison for staging an anti-coup protest earlier this year. The three men were identified as U Ye Khaung, U Lu Ni and Ko Aung Soe Moe, and the trio were arrested on February 11 for protesting against the February 1 military coup.
• The caseload of Covid-19 infections in most Arakan State townships is decreasing, but new cases are still elevated in Buthidaung Township, according to figures from the Arakan State regime council.
• The military council announced that a five-month ceasefire would be in place from October 1 to February 28, 2022, except for national defense and administrative issues, as well as attacks on the security and administrative machinery of the government. 

28 September 

• Residents of Mrauk-U, where an effort to list the ancient city as a UNESCO World Heritage site is ongoing, have criticised the town’s municipality for using only crushed stones and sand to repair roads in downtown areas.
• Officials say the completion of a new bridge crossing Gwa Creek and linking Gwa Township with Magyingu, which is currently under construction, could greatly benefit trade and tourism in Arakan State.
• Former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, who has been charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, appeared via video link for a court hearing in Sittwe.
• Burma News International (BNI), an alliance of independent Myanmar media organisations that includes DMG, called for the immediate release of 47 detained journalists after more than 100 journalists were arrested in the seven months since the military coup on February 1.
• Cassava egg, locally known as kapali egg in Arakan State, is being processed into wheat and can be used as a substitute for wheat.
• The Arakan State Department of Social Welfare Office has returned more than K1,000 million to be provided to pregnant women and children under the age of 2 in Arakan State to the Department of Social Welfare head office in Nay Pyi Taw. 

29 September 

• Out of 100 hotels, motels and guesthouses in Arakan State that have closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 57 have been allowed to resume operations so far, according to the state’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.
• The Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine Sinovac has been administered to Arakanese and Muslim IDPs in 12 Arakan State townships, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
• Local businesspeople say Arakan State’s economy has contracted dramatically due to the third wave of Covid-19 and political instability in Myanmar.
• Myanmar plans to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to six million people ages 13 to 17 years old, Dr. Khin Khin Gyi, director of the Public Health Awareness division of the Department of Public Health, wrote on social media.
• A gallon of fuel oil sold for K10,000 on the morning of September 29 in Manaung Township, according to petrol dealers.
• Sea turtles in Myanmar are facing extinction due to the consumption of turtle eggs and reckless fishing, Dr. Kalyar Platt, director of the Turtle Survival Alliance, told DMG.
• A committee was formed to protect the Wunbaik reserve mangrove forest (WRMF), Asia’s second-largest mangrove forest, in Ramree Township.
• Illicit drugs worth about K19 million were seized at a house in Maungni village, Maungdaw Township. 

30 September 

• The Arakan State Administration Council has twice this month called for internally displaced people (IDPs) to return to their homes at various IDP camps in Paletwa Township, Chin State.
• The military council has said it will reopen primary schools across the country if the number of Covid-19 cases in Myanmar drops below 5%.
• Hotels and guesthouses will be provided Covid-19 ‘Safe Service’ certificates if they meet two criteria, said the Arakan State Directorate of Hotels and Tourism.
• Five Marrla villagers in Kyauktaw Township who were released after being charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law are currently facing difficulties in finding food and shelter as displacement camps did not accept them.
• Imported food and consumer prices continue to rise in Arakan State from a minimum of 50% to a maximum of 100% due to the rising US dollar.
• Residents of Myebon Muslim IDP camp say that there have been shortages of food and shelter during the Covid-19 period.