Arakanese Elites Face a Choice: For Whom Do You Fight?

By Admin 15 Oct 2024

Written by Moe Pauk

Renewed fighting that began in Arakan State on November 13, 2023, with the Arakkha Army (AA) seizing control of large swaths of territory from Myanmar's military regime in the months since, is rightly seen as perhaps the greatest success story in the history of the Arakanese revolution.

It can be said that a sense of revolutionary triumph, which was envisioned from the days of Bo Chun Pyan to Khaing Razar and into the present moment, is now more strongly felt than ever, and the path to historic change for the Arakanese people appears to be getting closer every day under the leadership of the AA.

During the latest campaign in the fight for freedom that began with "Operation 1027" in late October of last year, the AA has not only achieved battlefield success, but also the support of ethnic allies and the people of Myanmar more broadly, who are fighting the military dictatorship in their own ways and for their own reasons.

In other words, the people of Myanmar have come to better understand and appreciate the historical struggle of the Arakanese people, who have been oppressed since 1784. It would not be wrong to say that the political hopes of the Arakanese people have become clearer for all.

On the other hand, however, there are many Arakanese people who are loyal to the military regime and are working to promote conspiracy theories that are detrimental to the abovementioned aims of the Arakan project.

If we look at them separately and critically, we will see that the latter are Arakanese people from various sectors who are serving the Myanmar junta's administrative mechanism and those who are directly supporting the attitudes and policies of the regime.

Among the most prominent Arakanese people who support the Myanmar regime are Saw Mra Razar Lin, Daw Aye Nu Sein, Dr. Aye Maung, Dr. Ba Shwe, Dr. Aung Kyaw Min, U Zaw Aye Maung, Daw Nu Mya Zan, U Hla Thein and U San Shwe Maung.

Since the February 2021 military coup, they have held positions in the Myanmar regime's administrative mechanism in a variety of capacities, from the union level to the state level.

As some of them have received honorary titles conferred by the junta, it would not be wrong to say that they are silent on the issue of Arakan.

Dr. Ba Shwe, Dr. Aung Kyaw Min and U Hla Thein have had good relations with the Myanmar military regime in the past; others have come to power purportedly based on the national needs and support of the Arakanese people.

In any case, these individuals all come from different backgrounds, but they are understood by the Arakanese people as the most important people at the top of the current Myanmar regime's administrative mechanism.

Some may have assumptions that they want power for their own interests, and others say they have accepted the positions they now hold in the national Arakanese interest, but only they can know their innermost thoughts.

Regardless, for the Arakanese people, Daw Aye Nu Sein, Dr. Ba Shwe and Dr. Aung Kyaw Min are understood to be members of the State Administration Council (SAC) of the Myanmar military regime.

Junta-appointed deputy minister for ethnic affairs U Zaw Aung Maung, deputy minister for religious affairs and culture Daw Nu Mya Zan, Arakan State Minister for Commerce U San Shwe Maung, Arakan State Advocate-General U Hla Thein, Daw Saw Mra Razar Lin and Dr. Aye Maung are considered by most Arakanese people to have good relations with the military regime.

With the ongoing, fierce fighting in Arakan State and attendant civilian casualties, and the four-cut strategy practiced by the Myanmar military regime in the present day and for decades prior, the people are suffering from food and medicine shortages.

A total of 268 civilians died and 640 others were injured at the hands of the regime over the six months from November 13 to May 13, according to the Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office of the United League of Arakan/AA (ULA/AA).

The number of people displaced by the fighting in Arakan State has increased to more than 600,000, and the need for humanitarian assistance remains high.

Local social workers, activists and politicians, as well as domestic and foreign media, are aware of the fact that there are people facing famine due to food shortages, as well as the matter of war crimes committed by Myanmar's military regime against its people.

Those Arakanese people who are enjoying positions under the regime's administrative mechanism turn a blind eye to the war crimes committed by the military and remain silent, presumably because of their titles and status.

Daw Aye Nu Sein, who once bravely stood up for the Arakanese people, is silent as is Saw Mra Razar Lin, who took up arms for the revolution but now claims fealty to the all but meaningless Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

Just as the deputy minister for ethnic affairs U Zaw Aung Maung has treated the Arakanese people as foreigners, the deputy minister for religious affairs and culture Daw Nu Mya Zan also ostensibly did not see or hear the shooting up of the Mrauk-U Cultural Museum.

Arakan State Minister for Commerce U San Shwe Maung is silent about the people who are facing economic recession and famine. Arakan State Advocate-General U Hla Thein and Chairman of the Arakan Front Party (AFP) Dr. Aye Maung have just been watching with folded hands.

The Arakanese people have played an important role in the history of Burma (later Myanmar) with great positions and responsibilities since independence from British colonial rule. But over the course of Arakan history, apart from Nga Than Dway and San Ra Phyay, no matter how many Arakanese people have been involved with dictators, they have not faced as much criticism as those involved in the current Myanmar regime's administrative mechanism.

The story of the Arakanese people is amidst an important chapter, and those who are involved in the regime's administrative mechanism are facing a situation in which they will be left with a bad name in the pages of that history if they do not reverse course.