Six people killed, eight injured in Rakhine unrest.

MYANMAR TIMES

NYAN LYNN AUNG| 03 MAY 2019

Members of the Myanmar Red Cross Society carry a wounded man from a boat to Sittwe Hospital in Rakhine State on Thursday. Photo - EPA

Six people were killed and eight others injured during a disturbance at a school compound where hundreds of villagers were being detained by government forces in a village in Rathedaung township, Rakhine State, a senior spokesman of the Tatmadaw (military) said on Thursday.

Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said the casualties happened before dawn on Thursday when some detainees crowded around the police officers guarding them, and the police fired warning shots to stop them.

Arakan Army attacks police headquarters.

MYANMAR TIMES

NYAN LYNN AUNG | 11 APR 2019

Myanmar soldiers march during a parade commemorating Armed Forces Day in Nay Pyi Taw on March 27. Photo - EPA

Suspected Arakan Army fighters attacked the police regiment headquarters in Mrauk-U township in Rakhine State late Tuesday, and local residents said there were many fatalities.

Colonel Win Zaw Oo, head of the Tatmadaw (military) Western Regional Military Command, said on Wednesday the AA attacked police headquarters with “overwhelming force,” and the military provided the police with reinforcements.

Dhaka agrees to combat drugs, terrorism at border.

MYANMAR TIMES
HTOO THANT | 10 APR 2019

Major General Shafeenul Islam, director general of the Border Guard Bangladesh, second from left, and Brigadier General Myo Than, chief of the Police General Staff, left, shake hands during a briefing in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday. Photo - EPA

Myanmar and Bangladesh will cooperate to combat narcotics and terrorists along their border, according to a joint statement issued after the sixth Myanmar-Bangladesh border guard forces meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday.

“Matters of mutual benefit were discussed at the meeting, and both sides agreed to cooperate in those sectors,” said police Brigadier General Myo Than, who led the Myanmar delegation at the meeting a day earlier. 

President sets up new committee on Rakhine.

MYANMAR TIMES
NYAN LYNN AUNG | 10 APR 2019

President U Win Myint has established a new committee on Rakhine State to help ensure peace and stability in the region.

Members of the Assistance Committee on Rakhine State Peace and Stability arrived in Rakhine’s capital, Sittwe, on Tuesday to meet officials and local people, according to U San Kyaw Hla, speaker of the Rakhine parliament. 

Forty-one suspected Rakhine Muslims detained in Malaysia.

MYANMAR TIMES
AP | 10 APR 2019

People believed to be Muslims from Rakhine State sit on a beach near Sungai Belati, Perlis, Malaysia. Photo - AP

Malaysian police said Monday that 41 suspected Rakhine Muslim men and boys have been detained in the northernmost state of Perlis, the second group to land in the country in just over a month, and that some 200 others are still believed to be at sea.

Perlis police chief Noor Mushar Mohamad said the group, ranging in age from 14 to 30, landed early Monday on the same beach where 34 women and children from northern Rakhine were found stranded on March 2.

Tatmadaw invites evidence of terrorist attacks in Rakhine.

MYANMAR TIMES
THURSDAY, 04 APR 2019

NYAN LYNN AUNG

A file image of unexploded ordnance in northern Rakhine State. Photo - EPA

The Tatmadaw (military) set up a panel on Wednesday to investigate evidence of human rights abuses carried out by terrorists in northern Rakhine State on August 25, 2017, according to the military’s True News agency.

The agency said in a statement that the military invited submissions of evidence such as eyewitness reports, photos, documents, audio and video files related to the terrorist attacks.

New curfew imposed in Rakhine State.

MYANMAR TIMES 
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 03, 2019

NYAN LYNN AUNG

Rakhine ethnic people travel by motorbike in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. Photo - EPA

A curfew was imposed from 9pm to 5am in five townships in northern Rakhine State on Tuesday following clashes between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army (AA), according to the state government.

The state issued a statement signed by Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Phone Tint on Monday that said the curfew had been ordered to enforce the administration, rules and regulations of the government as well as to protect the state’s businesses and economy.

“There is a public curfew in the late evening,” said a state official who asked not to be named.

Civilians hit by Rakhine fighting.

MYANMAR TIMES
FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2019

By CHAN THAR

More than 50 civilians have been killed or are missing due to fighting between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State, according to an investigation by the Arakan National Party (ANP).

Led by ANP Vice Chair Daw Aye Nu Sein, a nine-member commission set up on March 20 investigated the fighting in Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships.

The ANP said it would submit a report of its findings next week.

Tatmadaw warns public not to believe Arakan Army.

MYANMAR TIMES
CHAN THAR | TUESDAY, 26 MAR 2019

The Tatmadaw (military) has not killed any civilians or damaged any of their property during its clashes with the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State, Major General Tun Tun Nyi of the True News agency said.

“Everyone can see that the AA is trying to create racial conflict between the Rakhine and Bamar races. (Government spokesperson) U Zaw Htay has said that the situation in Rakhine has become a threat to the Union. The Tatmadaw has taken measures against the insurgents, but we are not always in a position protect the lives and property of people. We urge people to be cautious and not be exploited by the insurgents,” he said.

Myanmar needs more art researchers and wider breadth of knowledge

MYANMARTIMES
LAE PHYU PYA MYO MYINT | 22 MAR 2019

The wealth of Myanmar artistic legacy. Shin Moe Myint/The Myanmar Times

Art is never finished, only abandoned” said famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci. And so, the study and refining of the visual arts is an endless challenge. Most other countries have found it prudent to preserve valuable art so they may make art research and publish many art history books. All of that cultural information can then be printed and uploaded onto the internet and shared with the world. Alas, Myanmar misses that vital component and remains a mystery to many, even Myanmar people themselves.

EU extends US$252 million to support Myanmar education.

MYANMARTIMES 
22 MAR 2019

School children in Yangon. Phoe Wa/The Myanmar Times

The education budget support programme of the European Union (EU) in Myanmar was launched on March 21 in the capital city. The EU’s support will contribute to equal access to better quality education for all students in Myanmar with US$252 million (more than K380 billion).

Ethnic parties decry long jail terms for politician, author.

MYANMARTIMES 
NAW BETTY HAN | 21 MAR 2019

Dr Aye Maung, Ann township MP and founder of the Arakan National Party, speaks to the media after his sentencing at Sittwe Township Court on Tuesday. Photo - EPA

Ethnic political parties on Tuesday said they are disappointed by a Rakhine State court’s decision to sentence politician U Aye Maung and author U Wai Hin Aung to a combined 22 years in prison for treason and sedition.

The Sittwe Township Court sentenced U Aye Maung, the founder of the Arakan National Party, to 20 years in prison for treason and U Wai Hin Aung to two years for sedition. 

Rakhine investigation commission stays mostly silent.

MYANMARTIMES
NYAN LYNN AUNG | 20 MAR 2019

Rosario Manalo, chairperson of Myanmar’s Independent Commission of Enquiry for Rakhine, talks during a press briefing in Nay Pyi Taw last August. Photo - EPA

Little has been heard from the Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) since it was set up last July to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by government forces in northern Rakhine State. The panel’s mandate ends in four months.

Daw Suu's Rakhine investment forum speech in full.

MYANMAR TIMES
THIHA KO KO | 23 FEB 2019

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speaking during the opening ceremony of the Invest Myanmar Summit 2019. Photo - EPA

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi touted Rakhine State's "untapped" economic potential to investors and trade organisations on Friday in a Japan-sponsored investment forum held in Ngapali beach. But she glossed over violence and humanitarian nightmare in the area, saying the international community had “focused narrowly on negative aspects” of the ongoing northern Rakhine crisis, which led to an estimated 730,000 Muslim refugees fleeing to Bangladesh.

Week in Review: US firms look for investment opportunities in Myanmar.

MYANMAR TIMES

THE MYANMAR TIMES | 22 FEB 2019

As the country continues to get pilloried in the international community because of the still unresolved humanitarian crisis in northern Rakhine State, US companies are exploring opportunities in the country amid efforts to open up some sectors such as banking, finance and education.

US Ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel met recently with representatives of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers Commerce and Industry to discuss and explore opportunities available for US businesses.

Rakhine parliament turns down Tatmadaw

Myanmar Times
Chan Thar 21 Feb 2019

A police officer visits a policeman injured in an attack by the Arakan Army in Buthidaung on January 4. Nyan Lynn Aung/The Myanmar Times

The Rakhine State parliament on Wednesday turned down a motion submitted by Tatmadaw (military) MP Major Thet Oo Maung urging the state government to win public support for the military.

Rakhine parliament turns down Tatmadaw.

MYANMAR TIMES
CHAN THAR | 21 FEB 2019

A police officer visits a policeman injured in an attack by the Arakan Army in Buthidaung on January 4. Nyan Lynn Aung/The Myanmar Times

The Rakhine State parliament on Wednesday turned down a motion submitted by Tatmadaw (military) MP Major Thet Oo Maung urging the state government to win public support for the military.

Twenty-two Rakhine lawmakers rejected the motion, while 11 supported it, according to MP U Kyaw Lwin.

Chin State offers greenfield opportunities for investors.

The Myanmar Times.
THIHA KO KO | 20 FEB 2019

Chin State is looking to attract local and foreign investors to accelerate the development of tourism, agriculture, livestock, and electricity generation in the state, U Aung Naing Oo, the secretary of Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), said Tuesday.

As part of efforts to attract potential investors the Chin State Investment and Products Fair will be held on March 16 and 17 at the Myanmar Convention Center in Yangon, with the support of the Myanmar Investment Commission, Chin State government, Chin State Chambers of Commerce and Industry, DaNa Facility, and VDB Loi.

State Counsellor: Election pledges being kept step by step.

The Myanmar Times 
CHAN THAR | 08 FEB 2019

State Caunsellor Daw San Suu Kyi speaks at an event in Nay Pyi Taw last month. Photo - AP

The government is implementing step by step the pledges that the National League for Democracy made in the 2015 general election, said State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Speaking at the 72nd Shan State Day ceremony at the Awayyar fire balloon field in Taunggyi, Shan State, on Thursday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said, “There must be development and peace first. Then it is very important to draft a constitution that is accepted by all and is supportive of the federal union. We are trying to implement the promises to the people step-by-step,” she said.

Freedom of movement key for refugees: envoy

Nyan Lynn Aung | 31 JAN 2019

Freedom of movement is important to rebuild trust in Rakhine State, Christine Schraner Burgener, the United Nations’ special envoy on human rights in Myanmar, said in a statement at the end of her 12-day visit to Myanmar yesterday.

“Freedom of movement is crucial for all people and their access to livelihoods. Without freedom of movement, children cannot go to local schools, and people still cannot access hospitals. It is important to rebuild trust,” Burgener said.