Minbya: People in Min Bya Township in Arakan have raised their voice regarding their daily hardships in the township at a public meeting that was held on Wednesday as part of the founding day of the township's Rakhine National Development Party, said party leader U Tha Kyaw.

"We held a public meeting during the founding ceremony of the RNDP in Min Bya where over 100 people attended and shared their problems and bitter difficulties. They also demanded we present their difficulties and problems on a daily basis to the state and central government," U Tha Kyaw said.

Most of the people were from rural villages and gathered in the meeting to raise their voice about their daily difficulties in their respective villages in Min Bya Township.

"The people especially presented to us to get more fertilizer and loans from the government for their farming because the government-provided fertilizers and loans are insufficient. We promised to submit their demand to the government authority step by step," said U Tha.

A young farmer who attended the ceremony said that he submitted two points in the meeting - first to form village administrations in accordance with the present constitution, and second to inquire with the high authority about the issue of leasing creeks and rivers in Arakan State.

He said, "Now the current government authority has appointed village administrators in the villages across our township against the present constitution. In the constitution, the village administration must be appointed with respectable gentlemen in the village, but the government authority in our township has appointed the former village chairman, who were appointed by the military government in 2006, to be the village administrators. All of the people in our township want the village administrator to be appointed in accordance with the present constitution, so we revealed this in the meeting."

Many people who attended the meeting from rural areas demanded they eliminate the system of leasing creeks and rivers out to businessmen because the system is very challenging for the survival of Arakanese people throughout the state.

"Many people presented the issue of creek, river, and ocean leasing to private businesses by the government. Most Arakanese people have not been able to carry out their daily livelihoods in the creeks and rivers since the government began leasing them to businessmen," he said.

The RNDP won a majority of elected seats in Arakan State in the last election but was unable to form as a majority in the Arakanese state because the government reserved more seats for former military personnel who are aligned with the government-backed USDP.

RNDP leaders will present the people's difficulties to the Arakan State government as well as the central government during the next parliamentary sessions, said U Tha Kyaw.

Nava Thakuria
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New Delhi: Burma (Myanmar) may be trying to show a democratic face to the international community, but the country still maintains the same old practice of dictatorship. The Southeast Asian nation stage-managed an election in the last year and a kind of democratic regime is set up at Nay Pyi Daw, but the influence of armed forces on the government remains intact. The new government is yet to make any concrete decision to release thousands of political prisoners of Burma.


Raising voice for a real democracy nearly two hundred India-based Burmese activists staged a protest rally in New Delhi on August 8 and called for immediate release of all political prisoners, including the 8888 generation student leaders who have been sentenced for 65 years imprisonment in the country.

“8th August 2011 is the 23rd Anniversary of the Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests in Burma known as ‘8888 Uprising’. The 8888 uprising was started by students in Rangoon on August 8, 1988. Students’ protests spread throughout the country,” said M. Kim, a young Burmese exile who has been living in India for many years.

The movement involved hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, including young school children, demonstrated against the regime and demanded to stop one-party authoritarian state and reform to multi-party democracy government in Burma.

The regime responded by military killings on un-armed peaceful demonstrators. Thousands of deaths and displacement have been attributed to the brutal military crack down during this uprising with more than 3000 people killed and hundreds of students were thrown into jail and many thousands have been forced to leave the country.

“I feel like it happened yesterday, those tragedies and fallen heroes can never be forgotten, the spirit of 8888 movement lives on in the generation that has been carried forwarded ” said Thin Thin Aung, another Burmese exile, who was involved in the 8888 movement and later fled to India in 1988 with hundreds of Burmese youths.

She also added that the military controlled government still rules in Burma with civilian clothes. More than 2000 political prisoners including 8888 generation student leaders are being detained under harsh condition in different jails throughout the country. The military regime continues to commit gross human rights violations including extra judicial killings and rape by military personnel.

Similarly, massive militarization, armed conflicts and displacement of ethnic people remain a major issue for Burma. The regime has not shown sincerity to resolve the issue engaging in political dialogue, rather it has intensified attacks on the ethnic armed groups.

“If Thein Sein government really wants genuine peace and reconciliation in the country, it must show the political will and creates the environment conducive to the political change in Burma that has to start with the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners”, asserted Ms Thin Thin.

The India based Burmese democracy activists also called on the Thein Sein led Burmese government on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the 8888 people’s uprising, to declare nationwide ceasefire and to commence inclusive political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other stake holders.

Maungdaw: The General Administrator for Maungdaw Township in northern Arakan State has been under investigation by a special judicial body after his alleged affair with a Muslim girl became the talk of the township.


An official from the district administrative office, under a condition of anonymity, told Narinjara that the township administrator U Aung Kyaw Oo has been under investigation by authorities since last Wednesday.

“Higher authorities came to know about the matter after an exile media source reported [it], and now an authority team is looking into the matter and questioning U Aung Kyaw Oo,” said the official.

He said the judicial authority team is led by the Maungdaw District Administrator and included another two administrators of Buthidaung and Rathidaung Townships.

The judicial team first examined U Aung Kyaw Oo in the afternoon and his alleged lover Samira ( alias) Sandar Win later in the evening last Wednesday in district administration office. The team is still continuing their investigation and interviewing some town’s people including the girl’s father U Mohammad Shah.

A local resident also said U Aung Kyaw Oo’s unlawful love affair with the girl first became the talk of the township long ago, sparking anger among the Muslim community in the area. However the judicial team would not be able to investigate this easily.

“Their love affair has been a well known talk in our township and has sparked anger, especially amongst the Muslim community in our area, but it would not be possible for the judicial team to get much truth about their affair because no one would dare to give true statements as the members of the judicial team are U Aung Kyaw Oo’s colleagues and friends”, he said.

According to the local sources, Samira’s family had to move their residence from Bomhu Ward in the town to Alaethan kyaw village in southern Maungdaw Township since last month as some people in the ward had threatened to attack their house due to the ongoing unlawful and anti-social love affair, and the fact that she was living together with U Aung Kyaw Oo.

U Aung Kyaw Oo has allegedly been living with Samira in her house, as well as taking her in his official car to his residence for a week or a month at a time.

“Their love affair has sparked anger among the Muslim community because living together without official marriage is an anti-social act as well as a punishable offense according to the local marriage laws [that are] imposed for the Muslims by the authorities here”, the resident said.

Sittwe: The book written and published by the Maung Kauk San (Pray Rakhine), also known as Kyaunthar Ngamann, a well known Arakanese writer and a candidate for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the last election, has had the lowest sales known in western Burma’s Arakan State.


Maung Kauk San (Pray Rakhine) had published the book, entitled “Socio-Economy and the Geography of Arakan State Today” in July, but there is the lower sale of the book, a book seller from the Arakan capital of Sittwe said.

“I have put number of copies of his book on sale in my stall since it was published because he is one of the most popular authors in our state, but so far I have sold a few copies of his book. Many readers turned away after seeing his name on the book,” said the seller.

He said it is likely because he had competed in the last election as a candidate for the USDP, the military proxy, and leading party in the present regime.

According to reader circles in Arakan State, as there have been very few books published on Arakanese issues readers usually rush to buy a copy whenever a new book on this topic is coming out.

A reader who lives in Rangoon said the newly published Maung Kauk San book is the lowest selling, because he is no longer popular among his audience after he has joining the USDP party.

“Maung Kauk San is popular among his audiences no more, ever since he joined the military backed USDP party. Because of that his book is at the lowest sale point, despite being a fresh publication”, said the reader.

It is learnt that Maung Kauk San (Rakhine Pray) has written the detailed account of the geography of the Arakan State with many insights into the location, population, living density, climate, environment, natural resources and products, crops, infrastructure and economy of each of the township in the state.

He has also written about the state’s flag, seal, national dresses, ancient history and archaeology of the state, along with the broader issues of religion, culture, traditional customs and ethnic races in his book.

According to the sources, his popularity among the Arakanese audience has fallen drastically due to his association with the military backed USDP party. He competed as a USDP candidate for a seat in the peoples’ parliament in the constituency of Sittwe in the last election, but was defeated by his rival U Maung Nyo from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.

Gwa: The torrential rains that have been triggering floods and landslides have hit Gwa Township in southeastern Arakan State again, after the township had been already affected twice since the start of this year’s rainy season. A resident of the township said the downpour had started last Saturday and is still continuing, triggering landslides and floods and causing more difficulties for the already troubled local peoples in the township.


“It has already been three days of heavy rains in our area, now the roads are damaged and impassable due to the flooding and landslides, many paddy fields are flooded again and the people here are now facing greater troubles because they have been already affected by the recent rains in our township ”, said the resident.

He said Gwa-Thandwe road, the main transportation link in the township, is totally impassable as the road is being blocked by a massive landslide from the hill near the Sat Twar Rwa village twenty miles away from Gwa and a number of bridges on the road are also damaged due to flooding.

He also said that the prices of commodities and edibles including rice are skyrocketing in the township as the roads are broken and the traffic and transportation to other townships has been cut off.

A farmer from the area also said most of the farmers in the area are having to abandon their paddy farms as they have no seed left for re-cultivating their farms after being damaged by the floods generated by the continual heavy rains.

“Most of us have to abandon our paddy farming because we have no more seeds left and no money to sow and replant our farms. Our first cultivation from the start of the rainy season had already gone in the recent flood and now our paddy seedlings that we re-cultivated have been washed away and are still being submerged in the flood in the current rains, so we will not be able to do our farming again”, said the farmer.

He said that the President U Thein Sein has recently visited the flood affected villages in their township, but provided nothing except a CDMA phone to each of the village as government relief.

According to the sources, there is still no governmental organizations or NGO’s doing any rehabiliation work, or rendering assistance or relief to the flood victims in the township. Some well-wishing local people are collecting rice and other donations from more able people and households in the area and helping the victims. But their help is not enough for the victims and many of those have been suffering from lack of regular meals and famine.

"We, the townspeople, were alerted after government officers escorted by the police and firemen entered the monastery where the statues and artifacts are being kept, so we went and besieged the monastery and protested against the officers taking our devotional and cultural heritage from our native town, and then the officials gave up their plan and left the monastery without taking our heritage," said the resident.

He said the township administrator has told the elders that they came to take the artifacts on orders from the president and chief minister, and they would later plan to take them through the trustees of the pagoda.

The golden Buddha statue, along with many other kinds of statues and artifacts, was found on 30 May, 2011, from the shrines of Lokamezu Pagoda that is situated at the Bawdi Shwe Gu Hills two furlongs north of Mrauk U Town and is currently under renovation.

On 3 June, 2011, the authorities tried to take the golden statue to Naypyidaw for the first time but were unsuccessful after many townspeople blocked their vehicles and demanded they leave the statue in its native town. Since then, the golden statue, along with other statues and artifacts, has been kept for devotional offerings in the Ratana Man Aung Monastery.

A town elder who is a trustee of the pagoda also said the authorities are attempting to take the artifacts, especially the golden statue, by any means.

"They may take away the golden statue in particular some day by force or any way they can. They have been forcing us to hand over the statue and other artifacts to the local archaeological department because they are antiques and related to the department. Now the abbot of the monastery is on travel and he will be back on 24 July. After discussion with the abbot and townspeople we have to reply and tell them if we can hand over the statues and artifacts to the department," he said.

He said no one in the town will agree to hand over the statues and artifacts, which are their invaluable heritage, to the department, as they understand the authorities will take the objects to Naypyidaw.

According to other sources, the Burmese regime often takes historical heritage objects that are found in the town and other ancient places in Arakan State to mainland Burma in order to eliminate Arakanese heritage.

Last year, 70 golden coins and one ruby ring that were found at the Phara Paw Pagoda in Mrauk U were taken from the local archaeological department to Naypyidaw under the pretense of examining their authenticity, but those antiques were never returned to the department in Mrauk U and no one knows their whereabouts.

The artifacts found in the repositories of the Lokamezu Pagoda that are now being stored at the Ratana Man Aung Monastery include one gold statue, 23 bronze statues, 200 statues of relics repository, two marble statues, two stone statues, one votive tablet, golden containers for relics, a foot-high bronze showcase, two golden artifacts, two bronze artifacts, and one glazed mud artifact.

The golden Buddha statue is nearly a foot high and weighs 4.64 viss, and the local archaeologists believe the statue was cast in the early 8th century CE in Arakan.

By Takaloo
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Sittwe: Local people in coastal Arakan State in western Burma have been suffering from the enormous rise in fares and decline in service for riverine travels after the Inland Water Transport Department recently privatized the most significant and essential shipping lines in the state.

A commuter from the capital Sittwe said the private companies have raised ship fares by two to six times as much as the fares that were being charged during implementation of the IWT.

"Now we have to pay 1,500 Kyat for a ticket from Sittwe to Mrauk U, 3,000 Kyat to Buthidaung, 8,000 Kyat to Taunggok, and and extra 50 Kyat for filling out the form to buy tickets for a particular journey. Before privatization, we had to pay only 300 Kyat for Mrauk U, 500 Kyat for Buthidaung, and 3,000 Kyat for Taunggok," the commuter said.

However, he added that those fares are just for sitting on the bare floors of the vessels, and passengers have to pay an additional 1,000 to 3,000 Kyat for a chair, and 3,000 to 6,000 Kyat for a special room on the vessels.

Narinjara has contacted the regional head office of the department in Sittwe for more information about the hiring of the ships to private companies, but the department declined to give any comments on the move.

According to local residents, the riverine itineraries from the capital Sittwe to Buthidaung, a distance of 80 miles, and to Taunggok, a distance of 224 miles, are essential because there are no road links between the capital and those and a number of intermediate towns. Only Mrauk U, 40 miles away, can be reached by road from Sittwe.

The department of Inland Water Transport has hired out nine passenger-cum-cargo ships to the private companies under a six-month agreement that started 12 July, 2011. The three ships sailing between Sittwe and Taunggok have been hired out to the U Kyauk Taung Company, while the three ships sailing between Sittwe and Buthidaung have been hired to the Thiha Raza Company, and the remaining ships sailing between Sittwe and Mrauk U have been hired to the U Thein Soe Company.

The owners of the companies that have taken leases on the public vessels are local businessmen who are also senior members of the regional Union Solidarity and Development Party, the military proxy party that is leading the current government in Burma.

A sailor from Dyanyawaddy-1, one of the three vessels plying between Sittwe and Buthidaung, said apart from the fare hikes, the services for passengers have declined in quality, as the companies are using the vessels in large part for the transport of their own cargo.

"Not only have fares risen, services for passengers on the ships are also becoming poorer than before, because the companies are especially hiring the ships for transporting their own cargo for their own profit, and they are not thinking about the well-being of the passengers traveling on the ships," said the sailor.

He added that the companies are able to increase their profits because they are being sold the oil to operate the ships at the government rate, which is far below the market rate in Burma.

According to the sources, the authorities of the Inland Water Transport have gradually stopped a number of ships sailing across Arakan State, leaving just these nine ships, after the Sittwe-Rangoon Highway and a number of connecting roads opened in the state in 2000.

However, the public still depends mainly on the river routes for their travels inside the state, as the roads have been in ruins with many potholes and collapsed sections since shortly after they were opened, and every year during the rainy season sections are washed away and become totally impassable with their weak structure and lack of repairs.

Road infrastructure in the state is unreliable for travel, with almost every road, including the Sittwe-Rangoon Highway, still closed after being damaged and left in ruins by the disastrous floods that swept across the state during the last week.

Sources said that river travel and transportation is still very important for the people of Arakan, a state abundant in creeks and rivers. There are also a number of private companies that operate express boats for passengers on most river routes in the state, but most of the general public are unable to afford those fares for their own travels.

"The current public ship lines being privatized by the authorities are essential and significant for the public commuters in our state, and this just clearly shows how the authorities have neglected the publics' difficulties and woes for their travel and transportation within their own state," said the commuter from Sittwe.

Mrauk U: Burmese President U Thein Sein has expressed displeasure over the railroad that was built through the main archaeological site in Mrauk U in western Burma's Arakan State has to be rerouted because of protests by local residents.

The president is said to have stated that rerouting the railroad has caused "national loss and delay for the development schemes," during his meeting with two local lawmakers during his visit to the town last Friday.


"The president called upon the two of us and talked about the railroad in our town. He told us that rerouting the path of the railroad has caused loss and delay for the state's development goals, and that it was not good to disturb while the state has been striving for the benefit of the general people," said U Aung Tun Tha, one of two lawmakers who met the president.

He added that the president called him and his colleague U Kyaw Kyaw to a separate meeting and talked about nothing more than his displeasure over the railroad that had to be re-planned.

U Aung Tun Tha is a member of the people's parliament, while U Kyaw Kyaw is a member of the national parliament. Both of them are residents of the town and were elected from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.

"The president also told us that it is not good to spread news without necessity and ordered us to consult with the national government if anything matters. He said because of the wide-spreading news, the proposed plan of the railroad had been ruined and re-planning to divert the route has caused a great delay for opening it in time," said U Aung Tun Tha.

Many invaluable ancient cultural and religious monuments, including pagodas, moats, and city walls, were destroyed in November 2010 by the Burmese regime to make way for the railway being built to link the capital Sittwe in the north with Ann, a military town in the south. The original route went through the main archaeological zone in Mrauk U.

The regime stopped demolition for the railway after facing public protests. Pagodas on the Thazintan Hills, Ngakyin Ai Moat, Raehla Moat, Raehla Fortress, Minthamee Moat, Shwezinkha Pathway, Ahmyinttaung Raehla Fortress, and Pyisoegyi Pagoda have already been destroyed, while many more famous pagodas and monuments, including Koe Thaung Pagoda, were being threatened by the proposed route.

It has been learnt from the MPs that the authorities have already drawn a new plan to divert the railroad from the former route that was protested by local residents.

By Tun Tun
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Sittwe: Sittwe University closed for a few hours yesterday after a clash broke out between Sittwe University students and three-wheeler drivers after the drivers had increased their fares, said one student.

The incident occurred suddenly at 1:00 pm at the Sittwe University entrance gate after the drivers increased their fares from 100 Kyat to 200 Kyat for a trip between downtown Sittwe and the university.


"Because of the clash, there was unrest at Sittwe University. The authority quickly closed down all entrance gates of Sittwe University for nearly two hours and did not allow any students to leave the university compound during that period," a student from Sittwe said.

The conflict ended after Sittwe University authorities negotiated between the students and drivers on the fare increase on routes between downtown Sittwe and the university. However, around 30 students marched on the streets from the university to the intersection located near the largest generator in Sittwe after the clash.

Another student said, "We were unsatisfied with the increased school taxi fare. Because of this we marched in the street to voice our concern about the taxi fare increase. But we withdrew our protest when we reached the intersection of the largest generator after the university authority promised us the taxi fare would not increase again."

The university authority sent all students back to the homes in a school vehicle in order to avoid any untoward incidents.

Speaking to Narinjara, a mother of a student from Sittwe University said, "My son arrived back safely in the evening by a bus that was arranged by the university authority. I heard there was a clash between students and taxi drivers at Sittwe University. Now I am happy because my son safely arrived back home."

The university authority pressured the taxi drivers not to collect more than 100 Kyat from students for a route between downtown and campus.

In 2009 and 2010, students from Sittwe University and Sittwe Technological University staged similar protests in the Arakan Capital against increasing bus fares.

Min Bya: Seven villagers from villages in Munbra Township in western Burma's Arakan State are facing charges after complaining and demanding the authorities appoint their village administrator in accordance with the 2008 constitution.

The villagers are from the village groups of Thunpone Chaung, Chaungchay, and Thakpone Chaung in Munbra Township, and they are facing charges of defamation by the administrators of those village groups, said a village elder from the area.


"The administrators who have filed a suit against the seven villagers are U Tun Gree of Thunpone Chaung, U Saw Hla Aung of Chaungchay, and U Sein Kyaw Won of Thakpone. They have accused the villagers of misleading other villagers in their village tracts with defamations against the administrators," said the elder on condition of anonymity.

He added that the administrators have been serving as heads of the village groups since 2006. As they have done nothing to improve the welfare of the villages during their tenure, almost all villagers from those three village tracts have submitted a signed petition to the township administration authorities demanding new administrators be appointed in their areas according to the 2008 constitution that was adopted in April of this year.

In retaliation against the villagers, the administrators have filed charges in the township court against the selected seven villagers who were identified as leading the villagers against them.

In Article 289 of the Burmese constitution that was drafted by the previous SPDC military regime in 2008, a person who has integrity and moral uprightness and is admired in the ward or village must be appointed as the village administrator.

"They have been charged 211, a legal section covering fraud, and their case started on 29 April, and was heard again on 2 August in the township court," said the elder.

The villagers being sued by the administrators include one from Zeepun Gree Village and one from Khwasone Village in the Thunpone Chaung group, four from Chaungchay, and one from Thakpone Village group.

The elder said most of the residents from those village tracts are disappointed with the authorities for allowing their own villagers to be brought to trial by the administrators, and are ready to support them if the court rules against the seven in the defamation case.

By Tun Tun
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Sittwe: Over 400 students from the Technical University in Sittwe in western Burma's Arakan State have staged a demonstration against the hike in school transportation fares by walking in a procession in the streets on Wednesday.


A student who participated in the demonstration said they walked over five miles to the office of the state administration in downtown Sittwe from their university to protest the fare increase.

"We started the march from our university at 1 pm to the general administration office downtown to protest the hike in fares for our school transportation," said the student.

She added that there were disturbances and attempts by authorities to block the students on their march to the office, but no student was arrested.

"There were disturbances by the police and intelligence officials on our way marching to the office, but no student was arrested. We arrived in front of the office around 2 pm and the state's chief minister and responsible officials, including our university principal, came to us to discuss the matter, and they promised to reduce the car fares to 100 Kyat from 200 kyat," she said.

The source said that students withdrew their protest at 4 pm after authorities promised to get the car fares reduced to the previous rate of 100 Kyat.

Another students said they will continue their protest if the authorities' promises are not met.

"We will continue our protest if the care fare is not reduced to 100 Kyat from 200 kyat, as being promised by the authorities," he said.

According to the students, mini vehicles such as three wheelers and cars are running routes between the university and downtown Sittwe for school transportation using fuels provided by the government at below market costs. They have staged the protest because the drivers increased the fares up to 400 Kyat.

Similar protests were carried out occasionally during 2009 and 2010 by university students in Sittwe whenever their school transportation fees were increased.