U Ottama Day commemorations subdued or nonexistent this year in Arakan State

By Admin 09 Sep 2023

DMG Newsroom
9 September 2023, Sittwe

The 84th anniversary of U Ottama Day on Saturday was not commemorated in many parts of Arakan State due to security concerns, according to residents.

A memorial was not held in Mrauk-U due to security concerns, said U Aung Than Tun, chairman of the Garuna Hline blood donors association.

“We held a commemorative event last year. But we didn’t organise this year because of concerns for our safety after people who participated in the rice crisis day event were arrested,” he said. 

Daw Nyo Aye, chairwoman of the Rakhine Women’s Network, was arrested and charged with incitement after she attended an event to mark the 56th anniversary of “rice crisis day” in Arakan State on August 13. Some members of the Arakan Students Union who organised the event have been forced into hiding.

No commemoration was held Friday in Maungdaw either.

“You are aware of the current political situation. Even the participants are not safe, not to mention organisers,” said a social activist from Maungdaw.

Most activities to mark U Ottama Day were limited to laying wreaths and paying obeisance at the various U Ottama statues erected across Arakan State. 

“There was no memorial, but students laid wreaths,” said Kyaukphyu resident Ko Aung Saw Thein.

A commemoration was held on a small scale in Sittwe, attended by the junta-appointed Arakan State chief minister, subordinate ministers, students and some locals.

A spokesman for the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), U Myat Tun, said: “Some dare not join because of fear for their personal safety. Organisers were also reluctant.”

Under previous military regimes, authorities did not allow commemorations, and several organisers were arrested. Since the U Thein Sein government came to power in 2011, U Ottama Day was largely observed freely for the next several years. But for the past four years, memorials have not been allowed on a large scale due to a combination of factors including armed conflict, political instability and the Covid-19 pandemic.
U Ottama was born in 1879 in Sittwe, and was a prominent Buddhist monk known across Asia. Revered as one of the architects of Myanmar’s independence struggle against British colonial rule, the monk died on September 9, 1939. The anniversary of his death is marked by Arakanese communities every year as U Ottama Day.