Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
This news service covers Bangladesh-Burma relations, the Bangladesh-Burma border, events in Arakan and human rights violations against both the Buddhist and Muslim population of Arakan. Email delivery of the reports may be requested from [email protected]
Source/publisher:
Narinjara News
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
News - Burma/Myanmar news sources in English (current sites), Discrimination against the Rakhine, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Bangladesh-Burma relations, News - Burma newsletters, periodicals and news archives, "Narinjara News", Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, News - Burma news sources focussed on non-Burman peoples, Burma/Myanmar news sources in Burmese (online news and articles)
Language:
English
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Description:
"ANC is a decentralized political body representing the people of Arakan for self-determination, justice, peace, prosperity, equality, integrity, tranquility, and dignity in emerging the Arakan State with civilized modernity and democracy."... ANC activities: "1. Drafting Arakan State Constitution;
2. Strengthening civil society;
3. Education and training skills in diplomat and foreign relationship;
4. Documentation in human rights violation, rape cases, forced labours, internal displaced persons (IDP), and researching over military expansion;
5. Media networking and training;
6. Training in civil administration and management skills;
7. Research on state-based economic planning;
8. Training youths and women to make public awareness in constitutional power and democratic principle inside Arakan State;
9. Cooperating with democratic forces;
10. Publishing monthly newsletter, research papers, white paper, and producing annual report books;
11. Supporting financial, logistics, and skills to the civil societies in the Arakan State and abroad."
Source/publisher:
Arakan National Council
Date of entry/update:
2005-08-24
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
News and articles about Rohingya, ရိုဟင်ဂျာ အကြောင်း သတင်းနှင့် ဆောင်းပါးများ
Source/publisher:
Rohingya Blogger (RB)
Date of entry/update:
2012-08-11
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Burma/Myanmar Politics blogs, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political
Language:
Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
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Individual Documents
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"၁။ ယနေ့ ၂၀၂၃ ခုနှစ် ဧပြီလ (၁၀) ရက်နေ့တွင် ကျရောက်သော (၁၄) နှစ်မြောက် ရက္ခိုင့် တပ်တော်နေ့တွင် ရက္ခိုင့်ရဲဘော်များနှင့်တကွ ရက္ခိုင်ပြည်လူလူထုတရပ်လုံး ကိုယ်စိတ်နှစ်ဖြာ ကျန်းမာ ရွှင်လန်းကြပါစေဟု ဦးစွာပထမ ဆုမွန်ကောင်းတောင်းအပ်ပါသည်။
၂။ ရက္ခိုင်ပြည်သူထူထု၏ ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်၊ကိုယ်ပိုင်ပြဌာန်းခွင့်၊ကိုယ့်ကံကြမ္မာ ကိုယ်ဖန်တီးနိုင်ခွင့် အပြည့်အဝရရှိရေးအတွက် ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော်ကို ဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ထောင်ပြီး တော်လှန်တိုက်ပွဲဝင်လာခဲ့သည်မှာ ယနေ့တွင် (၁၄) နှစ် တိုင်တိုင် ပြည့်မြောက်ခဲ့ပြီဖြစ်ပြီး ရက္ခိုင်ပြည်သူလူထုနှင့် ထပ်တူထပ်မျှ ဝမ်းမြောက် ဂုဏ်ယူပါသည်။
၃။ (၁၄)နှစ်တာ တော်လှန်ရေး ခရီးကြမ်းအတွင်း အသက်၊ အိုးအိမ်၊ စည်းစိမ်၊ ကိုယ်လက်အင်္ဂါများ စွန့်လွှတ်ပေးလှူခဲ့ကြသော ရက္ခိုင့်အာဇာနည်သူရဲကောင်းများနှင့် ရက္ခိုင်ပြည်သူလူထုတရပ်လုံး ကိုလည်း လေးနက်စွာ အောက်မေ့ဦးညွှတ်အပ်ပါသည်။
၄။ ယနေ့ တိုင်းပြည်တဝှမ်း လှည်းနေလှေအောင်း မြင်းဇောင်းမကျန် ဆင်နွှဲလျက်ရှိသည့် နွေဦး တော်လှန်ရေး ပြည်သူ့ခုခံတွန်းလှန်စစ်ဆင်တွင် ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော်သည် အဖိနှိပ်ခံ ပြည်သူလူထုနှင့်တကွ အတူရပ်တည်ပြီး ဘုံရန်သူအား ပြင်းပြင်းထန်ထန် ခုခံတွန်းလှန်နေသည့်အပြင် တော်လှန်ရေးအင်အားစု များကိုလည်း လက်တွဲကူညီ ပံ့ပိုးပေးလျက်ရှိသည်။
၅။ ယခုအချိန်အခါတွင် ဘုံရန်သူစစ်ကောင်စီအား အပြီးသတ်ချေမှုန်းနိုင်ရန် မိမိတို့အားလုံးအတူတကွ စုစည်းညီညွတ်စွာဖြင့် ရုန်းကန်ဖောက်ထွက် ကြိုးစားကြရမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော်အနေဖြင့် ရက္ခိုင် ပြည်သူလူထု၏ နိုင်ငံရေး၊ အမျိုးသားရေး မျှော်မှန်းချက်များကိုလည်း တပါတည်း အပြည့်အဝ အကောင်အထည်ဖော် ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်ပါစေကြောင်း ဆုမွန်ကောင်း တောင်းလျက် ၂၀၂၃ ခုနှစ် ဧပြီလ (၁၀)ရက်နေ့တွင် ကျရောက်သည့် (၁၄) နှစ်မြောက် ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော်နေ့သို့ ဤသဝဏ်လွှာကို ဂုဏ်ယူစွာဖြင့် ပေးပို့အပ်ပါသည်။ ..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Defence - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2023-04-10
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political
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"၁။ ယနေ့ ကျရောက်သော ရခိုင်တစ်မျိုးသားလုံးတို့၏ နေ့ထူးနေ့မြတ်ဖြစ်သည့် “ရခိုင်အမျိုးသားနေ့” အခါသယမတွင် ညီနောင် ရခိုင်တိုင်းရင်းသားများနှင့်တကွ ပြည်သူ တစ်ရပ်လုံး အေးချမ်းသာယာ၍ ဘေးအန္တရာယ်အပေါင်းမှ ကင်းဝေးကြပါစေကြောင်း ဆုတောင်း မေတ္တာပို့သအပ်ပါသည်။
၂။ ရခိုင်တိုင်းရင်းသားတို့သည် ကိုယ်ပိုင်စာပေ၊ ယဉ်ကျေးမှုအမွေအနှစ်များ ပေါကြွယ်ဝ ပြီး ဘာသာတရားကို ရိုသေကိုင်းရှိုင်းသူများဖြစ်ကြပါသည်။ ရခိုင်တိုင်းရင်းသားတို့၏ စည်းလုံး ညီညွတ်မှုကို ဖော်ဆောင်သည့်အပြင် ယဉ်ကျေးမှုသမိုင်း၏ သက်တမ်းရှည်ကြာမှုကိုလည်း ဖော်ညွှန်းသည့် မဟာမြတ်မုနိဆင်းတုတော်ကို သွန်းလုပ်ပြီးစီးသည့်နေ့ရက်အား ရခိုင်အမျိုးသား နေ့အဖြစ် ၂၀၁၄ ခုနှစ် တွင် ကျောက်ဖြူမြို့၌ ကျင်းပပြုလုပ်သည့် ရခိုင်အမျိုးသားညီလာခံတွင် သတ်မှတ်ခဲ့ကြပါသည်။
၃။ ရခိုင်တိုင်းရင်းသားများသည် လွန်ခဲ့သောနှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာကပင် စစ်ဘေးစစ်ဒဏ်ကို ခါးသီးစွာ ခံစားခဲ့ကြရပြီး ဒေသဖွံ့ဖြိုးမှုတို့ နောက်ကျခဲ့ရကာ ကိုယ်ပိုင်ပြဋ္ဌာန်းခွင့်၊ တန်းတူ ညီမျှမှုနှင့် လွတ်လပ်မှုတို့အတွက် တစ်မျိုးသားလုံးက စည်းလုံးစွာ ဖိနှိပ်မှုအမျိုးမျိုးအား ရဲရဲဝံ့ဝံ့ တွန်းလှန်ခဲ့ကြပါသည်။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်သည် တိုင်းရင်းသားများနှင့် စည်းလုံး ညီညွတ်မှု တည်ဆောက်ရမည့်အစား မတရားသည့် ဉပဒေများ ပြဋ္ဌာန်းကာ ရည်ရွယ်ချက် ရှိရှိဖြင့် ကြောက်ရွံ့စေရန် ဖန်တီးပုံဖော်ခဲ့ကြခြင်းမှာ ဒီမိုကရေစီ၏အနှစ်သာရများကို ဆန့်ကျင်လျက်ရှိသည်ကို ရှင်းလင်းစွာ တွေ့မြင်ကြရပါသည်။
၄။ ယနေ့အချိန်သည် ရခိုင်တိုင်းရင်းသားများအပါအဝင် နိုင်ငံတစ်ဝှမ်းရှိ တိုင်းရင်းသား များအားလုံး တွေ့ကြုံခံစားနေကြရသည့် ပြဿနာအရပ်ရပ်ကို တူညီသောစိတ်ခွန်အား၊ ယုံကြည်ချက်နှင့် ဇွဲလုံ့လတို့ဖြင့် လက်တွဲညီညီ ရင်ဆိုင်ကျော်လွှားကြရမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး အရောင် အသွေးစုံလင်သော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီပြည်ထောင်စုအား အတူတကွ တည်ဆောက်သွားရန် အချိန်အခါကောင်းပင် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၅။ အတိတ်က အတွေ့အကြုံများကို သင်ခန်းစာယူလျက် အနာဂတ်ဖက်ဒရယ် ပြည်ထောင်စုအား ကြိုးပမ်းတည်ဆောက်ကြရာ၌ မိမိတို့သည် ညီနောင်တိုင်းရင်းသားများ နှင့်အတူ လက်တွဲကြိုးပမ်းသွားမည် ဖြစ်ပါကြောင်းနှင့် ရခိုင်တစ်မျိုးသားလုံး မျှော်လင့် ကြိုးပမ်းနေသည့် အမျိုးသားရေးရည်မှန်းချက်များ အမြန်ဆုံး အကောင်အထည်ဖော် ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်ပါစေကြောင်း ဆုမွန်ကောင်းတောင်းလျက် ရခိုင်အမျိုးသားနေ့ သဝဏ်လွှာအား ဂုဏ်ယူဝမ်းမြောက်စွာဖြင့် ပေးပို့အပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Date of publication:
2022-05-15
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political
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256.71 KB
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"In the aftermath of the November general election the intense fighting between the national armed forces (Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army came to an unexpected halt. Since the February coup of the State Administration Council, the situation has remained delicately poised. Political sentiment is very high. But Rakhine nationalism is presently on a different cycle to political movements in other parts of the country. In this commentary Kyaw Lynn outlines why the coming months will remain a time of high tension and uncertainty in Arakan politics.
When political analysts in Myanmar and beyond discuss the role of ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in the struggle against the military coup in February, the Arakan Army (AA) becomes one of the key political forces in shaping their dialogue and perceptions. The AA, the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA), is the only armed group that can challenge the power of the national armed forces (Tatmadaw) on Myanmar’s western frontiers. This became especially evident during the 2018-20 period when the ULA-AA demonstrated its sharp resistance against the power of the centralised Myanmar state. Behind the ULA rise, there were three key features: popular support among the Rakhine population, well-trained soldiers, and a younger leadership that read the evolving mood and political situation in the country perceptively well.
Since the February coup of the State Administration Council (SAC), the situation has begun to change. Many searching questions are being asked, a challenge that is facing communities in every part of the country. In particular, intense fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA came to an unexpected halt in the aftermath of the November general election when voting was cancelled in a majority of townships in Rakhine State (Arakan). As the history books will show, this cessation in hostilities was three months in advance of the military takeover, causing many people to question the political stand of the ULA in the current crisis. Indeed some have even accused the ULA-AA of cooperating with the military SAC in seeking to control civil society and pro-democracy political movements in Rakhine State and adjoining territories in Chin State.
It is important to stress, then, that the crisis is hardly black and white, and there are many local complexities with their roots in Arakan politics and Myanmar history. From what many would regard as a “realist perspective” among local leaders, the present military coup represents more of a clash and division between the central powers among the ethnic Bamar-majority in the country: in this case, between the armed forces of the Tatmadaw and National League for Democracy (NLD). In the post-coup context, some analysts believe that the political instability in central Myanmar (Burma Proper) will provide greater leverage for the ULA-AA to advance its “Way of Rakhita” philosophy in order to achieve its “Arakan Dream”.
Many cautions nevertheless remain, and it is incorrect to argue that the ULA-AA is simply practising a policy of isolationism and neutralism while it waits to see how the current crisis unfolds. The situation is highly fraught, with new challenges emerging every day. The present unilateral ceasefires are informal; AA soldiers are participating in fighting against the Tatmadaw with EAO allies in other parts of the country; and, at the same time, ULA leaders have refrained from participating in the National Unity Government (NUG), formed by NLD MPs-elect and other anti-SAC actors to challenge the legitimacy of the SAC. In a complex and fast-changing landscape, few of the political choices are easy.
There is also a further reason to consider why the ULA-AA may wish to abstain from the current political turmoil: the membership of the electoral Arakan National Party (ANP), which has won a majority of votes in the past two elections, in the SAC. For the present, the ULA-AA leadership has not made any remark on this issue publicly. But for the majority Rakhine population this is a very controversial issue.
First, the ANP’s membership in the military council is different from that of participation in – or cooperation with – a coalition government after a general election. This is because the votes that the public gave in the polls are taken away as a consequence of the military coup. Thus it is very difficult to say that the ANP is a member of the council with the mandate of the Rakhine State electorate.
And second, it is clear that ANP participation in the military council will not imminently bring about the political autonomy and economic self-development that Arakan’s peoples have long desired. Instead, if the unilateral ceasefires break down and human rights violations recur due to a resumption of conflict, ANP membership of the SAC will be challenged by a majority among the Rakhine population. In short, ANP participation in the SAC will not reflect the will of the ULA-AA but also the Rakhine public and other nationality groups in the state.
The situation is delicately poised. As in other parts of the country, the coming months will remain a time of high tension and uncertainty in Arakan politics.
The Way of Rakhita and the Arakan Dream
The “Way of Rakhita” means to complete the end-goal of the “Arakan Dream”. In linguistic terms, it is difficult to agree a common and exact definition on these two concepts. But the general understanding is that the way of Rakhita – the Arakanese way or action of the Arakanese – signifies the achievement of a long-held political vision in Arakan: the restoration of Arakan sovereignty that was taken away, by conquest, with the ending of the Mrauk-U era in the 18th century. Equally important, both the Way of Rakhita and Arakan Dream are intended to be more inclusive for all ethnic and religious groups in Arakan compared to a more conservative Rakhine tradition in which ethno-nationalism is regarded the key to political autonomy.
It needs to be added, too, that the emergence of ULA-AA movement in Arakan politics has caused the political motivation of a majority of people in Rakhine State to move more decisively towards supporting the demand for an autonomous Arakan state. Various nationalist movements have emerged to try and restore the political status of Arakan since the fall of Arakan Kingdom. But, during the following decades, none of those movements was able to bring the hope of success to the general population.
Now, however, after two years of an intensification in armed struggle, it is not just the political elites but the general population who have become more confident in their calls for autonomy in Arakan. Presently, the Arakan political movement has reached its most prominent peak. This was recognised by the ULA-AA leader Gen. Twan Mrat Naing on the 12th anniversary of the part’s founding on 10 April 2021:
“If we are to speak the reality, it can be clearly seen that it is our generation which is fighting effectively with the strongest leadership and unity among revolutionary movements since the fall of Arakan sovereignty in 1784. From this situation, let us endeavour to improve and continuously fight to achieve the highest destination with the devotion of both mental and physical strength.”
Following these remarks, Twan Mrat Naing moved on to the questions of state building and nation building in Arakan. It is therefore interesting to look at these issues in relation to the modern-day Rakhine State. In general, it is difficult to identify the territory of Arakan based upon the “white”, “brown” or “black” colour categorisations in line with government definitions.* But it is now commonly said that that the majority of areas in northern Rakhine State, apart from urban Sittwe, are now under the influence of the ULA-AA, and the de facto administrative mechanisms are regulated on the basis of ULA-AA policies. This marks a significant change in the political landscape during the past five years, raising many questions about the potential course of events in the territory.
According to Professor Redie Bereketeab, head of the “Conflict and State Building in the Horn of Africa” project, state building includes three main elements: institutionalization, bureaucratization and democratization. In definition, institutionalization refers to the enforcement of state authority over society through specifically-created political structures and organisations. Bureaucratization is associated with a process leading to a system of rule by administrative office. And democratization denotes the construction of institutions of divided power, providing the processes by which a system of democratic governance is set in motion.
Out of these three processes, the first two are the most prominent tasks that ULA-AA authorities have been building up during the past two years. These include setting out an Arakan Authority, a judiciary system, local administrative structures and divisions (which are different from Myanmar government settings), and regulating taxation, health, education and other social issues. In term of legitimacy, however, it is hard to define ULA-AA administration as the legal-rational authority because it is mixed with other important elements, including charismatic leadership, nationalism and military-political performance. As a result, to move on to the next stage of democratization, the ULA-AA – as a revolutionary movement – still has many limitations, both at the individual level and in the division of power among leadership structures.
Another main area of Twan Mrat Naing’s speech concerned nation building. Although there is no common definition, nation building is mostly defined as the task of constructing or structuring a national identity, using the power of the state as well as the participation of civil society actors. As modern history shows, this is an especially pertinent issue in Rakhine State at present.
In a multi-ethnic land such as Arakan, national identity needs to be “supra-ethnic”, based upon political values and principles rather than cultural ones. But this task has become much more complicated during the past decade, with the exodus of over a million Rohingya people into Bangladesh and the displacement in Tatmadaw operations of over 200,000 Rakhine, Chin, Mro and other peoples in Rakhine State and the Chin State borderlands. It is vital that all groups participate in the challenges creating a national identity and making decisions on the future of Arakan society. But, in these processes, much may depend on how ULA-AA administration is perceived in handling inter-ethnic relations in areas where it is the dominant authority. It will also be important to see how political and civil society organisations react among the different communities towards the objective of agreeing national goals through consensus and shared inter-communication.
For the moment, the impartiality, decisiveness and results-oriented manner, in most cases, of the current ULA judiciary system has been generally welcomed within minority communities, including the Rohingya, where its authority reaches. At least, ULA administration is not regarded as worse than Myanmar government practices. Nevertheless Arakan nation building will need to move on from the present situation of peaceful coexistence to an ethnically harmonious society which enjoys and celebrates cultural diversity of all kinds. There is still a long way to go.
In summary, to sustain legitimacy and authority in pursuit of the Arakan Dream, much will depend on how effectively the ULA can change its administrative structures from the culture of a revolutionary liberation movement to one of civic governance in which all citizens are treated on the basis of transparent and equitably-defined rules and regulations.
The Nature of Arakan Politics
In 21st century society, there are two main political pulling forces that have evolved from Arakan’s past. The first has developed since the fall of Mrauk-U and continued for over two hundred years. The ultimate goal of this political force is to build power-seeking structures and institutions, such as the creation of an independent and autonomous Arakan state, and the means to carry this out are the combined forces of nationalism and collectivism. In the modern era, this movement is mainly represented by the ULA-AA as well as some smaller political organisations among the Rakhine population.
The second force, in contrast, is quite new, developing since the second half of 20th century. But currently, following ten years of democratization, manifestations of this trend are extensive and intensive. The ultimate aim of this force is to create power-restraining institutions in the creation of an Arakan society that embraces democratic accountability and the rule of law, and the means to achieve this is liberal individualism. This grouping is broader and generally expressed by civil society organisations and individual activists, reformers and scholars.
It should be mentioned, though, that the two forces should not be regarded as distinct. ULA leaders have expressed the pro-democracy values of the second force, while political actors among the second group support the nationalist values of the first force. As a result, Arakan society is presently seen to be more united and organised than during previous governmental eras in modern history. At the same time, it needs to be qualified that the key audience for the second trend in Arakan politics are the younger generation, whereas the majority of the Arakan population are in favour of the more overt nationalism of the first force.
From this, two conclusions can be drawn. The consolidation of liberal individualism will face limitations until its supporters achieve recognisable rights and influence on the political stage. And, looking to the current trends and principles in Arakan politics and society, the politics of realism will be more impactful than those of political liberalism.
* “White” refers to government-controlled, “brown” to mixed areas, and “black” to those controlled by EAOs. Arakan was historically a territory of much greater size than the present-day Rakhine State. Since Myanmar’s independence in 1948, the Arakan Hill Tracts, where the ULA-AA is also active, have been included under the administration of what has become the modern-day Chin State.
Kyaw Lynn is a post-graduate student mastering in Political Science at the University of Yangon. He is also a freelance political analyst in Yangon as well as one of the founders of the Institute for Peace and Governance..."
Source/publisher:
The Transnational Institute (TNI)
Date of publication:
2021-06-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Armed conflict in Karen State - general articles and reports, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Burma's ethnic opposition, Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political
Language:
more
Description:
"WHAT THESE FOUR QUITE different books broadly share is a focus on the role of
the state in Myanmar society. Current scholarship describes the authoritarian state in Myanmar, which has been controlled by the army since 1962, as either
dominantly present or neglectfully absent. Censorship and the repression of
autonomous spaces in society, on the one hand, and the failure of the state to
enforce efficient health and environmental policies, on the other, are keywords
in these works that illustrate the double-faced appearance of the state’s existence
and role in society.
Myanmar: The State, Community and the Environment is a collection of
twelve papers presented at the seventh Myanmar/Burma Update conference in
Singapore in July 2006. Since 1999, the aim of the Myanmar/Burma Update conferences based at the Australian National University has been to record recent
developments and report on current issues. Like the other published tomes of
the Update conferences (the latest being Ruling Myanmar: From Cyclone
Nargis to National Elections edited by Nick Cheesman, Monique Skidmore,
and Trevor Wilson, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010), this
volume provides information on a country that has been represented in the international media in a simplistic and monotonous way precisely because it has remained vastly understudied. The 2006 conference tried to assess political and
military developments after the purging of Prime Minister (Lt. Gen.) Khin Nyunt
from power, dealt with the economic situation after the banking crisis of 2001,
and pioneered an examination of the environmental and social impact of the
exploitation of natural resources. The authors are deeply familiar with or have
been professionally involved with the country for extended periods of time,
which is largely responsible for the quality of their observations.
Vicky Bowman, a former British ambassador, gives a depressing account of
the country’s political situation in 2006. Against the background of the excessively
slow implementation of the seven-step roadmap towards democracy, the authoritarian leadership was trying to consolidate its support in rural areas while the
major opposition group, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was
weak and effectively marginalized. Bowman’s bleak outlook on political and economic progress is mirrored in Sean Turnell’s account of the economy in 2006 and
Trevor Wilson’s paper on foreign policy..."
Source/publisher:
"Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication:
2012-04-05
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
66.72 KB (10 pages)
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Sub-title:
The Arakan Army has set up several camps in areas across Mizoram's Lawngtala district, posing threat to the Kaladan Project.
Description:
"A fresh report by the intelligence agencies has suggested that Arakan Army, an insurgent group of Myanmar, is using 'Bluetooth' and 'Wifi' technology to trigger landmines against Myanmar Army.
The Arakan Army has set up several camps in areas across Mizoram's Lawngtala district, posing threat to the Kaladan Project, which is a multi-modal transit transport project and considered India's gateway to the Southeast Asia.
The insurgent group also has presence in Mizoram. This is the reason why Indian security agencies are verifying the use of such technology by insurgent groups to trigger landmines.
“We have requested Assam Rifles to find out about the use of 'Bluetooth' technology to trigger the landmines by insurgent groups,” said official working with Indian security establishments..."
Source/publisher:
"ZEENEWS"
Date of publication:
2019-09-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, India-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Khaing Hla Pyaint is an incredibly determined young Arakanese man who decided that whatever it takes, he will work for his country and help his people. On a long journey from Arakan State near Bangladeshi border to the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Khaing Hla Pyaint experienced deportation, imprisonment, and torture, until he could finally reach his goal and become a soldier in the jungles of Karen State. Despite the hardship, Khaing Hla Pyaint has never regretted the choices he has made. Why was he so determined to work for his country? How did his childhood experiences and further education make him realise he wants to help his people? Read the second part of the unbelievable story of this young dedicated soldier and learn how he feels about the root causes of the conflict, and how he thinks the international community and donors can promote change instead of funding more arms and training for the Burma Army."...See the Alternate link for part 2.
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of publication:
2013-12-09
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Child labour in Burma, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Aung Than is 26 years old, enthusiastic and positive young Arakanese man from the Chin State, whose determination of acquiring an education has kept him going through difficult and challenging times in his life. When Aung Than was only six years old, he and his family had to leave everything behind and flee to India, due to the brutal Burmese military oppression in his village. Although his biggest wish had always been to gain good education, it somehow always seemed to be out of reach, and moving away from him. Fleeing from Burma to India, and India to Bangladesh, Aung Than grabbed onto every study opportunity, attending school in Mizoram language in India, as well as being taught by Buddhist monks, Muslims, and an American teacher in Bangladesh. After years of hard work and fleeting study opportunities, Aung Than had a chance to complete his studies on the Thailand-Burma border, where he eventually co-founded AHREM (Arakan Human Rights and Environmental Movement), aiming to teach young Arakanese about environmental issues and human rights. Always keen to give back to his people, Aung Than now dreams of running an orphanage where he can help children whose dreams seem out of reach, just as his were one day."...See the Alternate link for part 2.
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, Education in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Discrimination against the Rakhine, Children and armed conflict, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - NGO sources
Language:
English
more
Description:
"In 1988 I was one of the active leaders of the democracy movement in the Rakhaing [Arakan] State. At that time I was a teacher. So I organized many people and delivered my first democracy speech at Wangabar Ground in Sittwe on 9th of August, 1988. But the government was very angry with me. On 21st of August we seized all government offices in my native town, Rathedaung, without any bloodshed. The government was angry and wanted to kill me. In 1988, September 18, they seized state power. At that time I was at Rathedaung, running the office and controlling my township. After they seized state power, many gun men came in the township and then they searched for me to kill me. They shouted: I want to kill Mra Raza Linn, putting the gun through her mouth! Something like that. They were shouting everywhere.
Thousands and thousands of people, they were following me before the government seized state power. They all disappeared. There were only about ten or twelve people around me. So I thought at that time that if I want to continue my struggle I should not stay in Burma. I should go somewhere? So I decided to leave my native country and took shelter on the Bangladesh-Burma border? After they seized the power I told my colleagues I must leave my country. If you want to continue the struggle, follow me! I called them. So eleven men they followed with me. And then we crossed the Bay of Bengal with a small engine boat, and took shelter on the Bangladesh-Burma border. All of us became soldiers, eleven men together with me. All became soldiers..."..."This story is based on Saw Mra Raza Linn?s voice as she tells Burma Link about her experiences, struggles, successes, and dreams."...See the Alternate link for Burmese version.
Source/publisher:
Burma Link
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English and Burmese
more
Description:
Abstract: "Migration
is
the
act
or
process
of
moving
from
one
place
to
another
with
the
intent
of
staying
at
the
destination
permanently
or
for
a
relatively
long
period
of
time
(1992,
Longman).
It
can
also
be
assumed
that
people
move
from
one
place
to
another,
usually
their
home
place,
to
work
or
to
settle
in
another
place.
As
basic
factors,
migration
take
place
an
area
where
the
migrants
believe
that
their
opportunity
and
life
circumstances
will
be
better
at
their
destinations
than
the
present
location.
Nevertheless,
if
an
area
where
takes
place
a
movement
of
in-migration
because
of
positive
conditions
(pull
factors),
this
will
be
generally
increased
the
population
or
human
resources.
Similarly,
if
an
area
where
takes
place
a
movement
of
out-migration
due
to
negative
conditions
(push
factors),
this
area
will
lose
their
population
or
human
resources.
Some
time
it
affects
the
negative
impacts
and
potential
challenges
for
sustainable
socio-economic
development
of
this
area.
Therefore,
this
study
is
based
on
some
specific
areas
of
Myanmar:
Hpa-an
Township,
Kayin
State
and
Mrauk-U
Township,
Rakhine
State
where
migration
process
takes
place
by
focusing
the
question
of
how
and
why
the
people
are
migrating
in
these
areas.
This
paper
is
intended
to
explore
the
migration
patterns
of
these
are
as
and
to
point
out
the
main
reasons
of
push
and
pull
factors
for
these
migrations.
To
obtain
the
relevant
data,
it
is
analyzed
with
field
observation
and
in
semi-structured
in-depth
interview
survey
method
to
the
local
authorities,
experts
and
local
people.
Some
of
the
facts
from
the
interview
data
are
assessed
by
SWOT
Analysis
to
know
the
strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities
and
threats
due
to
migration.
As
a
result
from
this
study,
economic
condition
is
the
key
factor
of
the
migration
for
the
study
areas
and
that
effect
on
the
socioeconomic
condition
of
these
areas.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015.
Saw Yu May
Source/publisher:
International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015
Date of publication:
2015-09-04
Date of entry/update:
2015-09-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Migration from Burma: mixed and general articles and reports, Economics of migration from Burma/Myanmar -, Migrant workers from Burma : general and mixed articles and reports, Karen (cultural, historical, political), Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 23-26 July, 2015
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
724.74 KB
more
Description:
"In
2012,
amidst
the
communal
violence
between
Royingha
and
Rakhine,
a
Chin
bride
father
at
Paletwa
in
southern
part
of
Chin
state
in
Myanmar
asked
twenty
lakhs
in
kyat
(approximately
equivalent
to
200
US$)
to
the
groom
for
the
bride
price
which
made
the
public
shocking
record
that
a
normal
price
range
around
5-6
lakhs
(approximately
equivalent
to
500-‐600US$).
On
the
other
hand,
the
other
bride?s
father
asked
five
thousands
kyats
for
the
bride
price
to
the
groom
in
May
2013.
These
two
cases
have
shocked
near
and
far
Chin
members
in
Paletwa.
Some
Chin
young
women
are
even
competing
for
their
bride
price.
Many
Chin
nationalists
have
then
attained
concern
for
this
circumstance
as
an
additional
ethnic
politics
issue
from
the
state?s
hegemony
nation
state
building
process.
Yet,
not
only
the
geographical
location
of
Paletwa
but
its
socio-economic
setting
also
much
interwoven
with
Rakhine
since
in
the
historical
time
(see
also
in
Kyin
Lam
Mang
2014;
CHKC
2012;
Brown
1960).
Many
shop
owners
in
Paletwa
municipal
market
have
informed
me
in
2013
(May-‐July)
how
much
they
are
affected
from
the
communal
violence
happening
in
Rakhine
where
the
flow
of
major
basic
goods
and
medicines
are
imported
from
Rakhine
is
limited.
In
Paletwa,
half
of
the
residence
belongs
to
Rakhine
ethnic
nationalities
with
a
hundred
Muslim
populations.
The
trading
disadvantage
categorized
as;
the
Muslim
on
the
top,
the
Chin
in
middle
and
the
Rakhine
on
t
he
bottom
due
to
their
socio-‐economic
networks
in
Sittwe
and
Kyautdaw
in
Rakhine
state.
That
is,
for
example,
a
trading
associated
in
Rakhine
state
have
much
facilitating
for
Rakhine
in
Paletwa
while
many
Muslim
and
the
Chin
do
not
much
deserve
to
have
such
network.
The
Chin
missionary
or
nationalists
have
claims
that
Paletwa
is
in
need
of
?taking
care”
otherwise
their
fellows
are
under
the
economic
?trapping”
of
the
Rakhine.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015.
Flora Bawi Nei Mawi
Source/publisher:
International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015
Date of publication:
2015-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political, Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 23-26 July, 2015
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.38 MB
more
Description:
• The rape and murder of a 27-year-old Buddhist Rakhine woman and the murder of 10
Muslim pilgrims trigger deadly sectarian clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in
Arakan State starting on 8 June.
• According to the regime, as of 21 June, 62 people had died and over 2,000 buildings,
including seven mosques and nine Buddhist monasteries, had been destroyed as a
result of the unrest. However, various organizations say that the death toll might be
much higher as a result of escalating attacks and reprisals affecting Muslim Rohingya
and Buddhist Rakhine.
• Regime imposes a curfew and a ban on public gatherings of more than five people in
six of 17 townships in Arakan State. President Thein Sein declares an indefinite state
of emergency which allows the military to take over administrative control of Arakan
State.
• World Food Program estimates that 90,000 people have been displaced due to the
unrest. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warns of a risk of a
severe humanitarian crisis due to ongoing violence and poor conditions in IDP camps.
• Bangladeshi authorities push back more than 2,000 Rohingya fleeing violence in
Arakan State. Bangladeshi FM Dipu Moni says Bangladesh is already ?overburdened?
with Rohingya refugees and cannot take any more ?under any circumstances.?
• Regime warns journalists that they could be charged under existing laws, including
the Emergency Provisions Act, if they publish inflammatory reports on the ongoing
violence in Arakan State.
• Daw Aung San Suu Kyi expresses concern over the handling of the situation by local
Rakhine authorities, in particular their failure to dampen anti-Muslim sentiment. Daw
Suu also calls on Buddhists to ?have sympathy for minorities.?
• International reactions: UN warns that discrimination against ethnic and religious
minorities poses a threat to Burma?s democratic transition; US, UK are ?deeply
concerned? over the ongoing violence; EU welcomes the regime?s ?measured
response? to the crisis; OIC ?condemns systematic acts of violence and intimidation
against the peaceful Rohingya population.?
• The authorities? decades-long discriminatory policies and practices targeting
Rohingya have reinforced the racial and religious animosity between the two
communities in Arakan State. Rohingya have suffered restrictions on marriage,
freedom of movement, and religious practice. In addition, the regime has routinely
subjected Rohingya to forced labor, extortion, land confiscation, and other human
rights abuses.
Source/publisher:
ALTSEAN-Burma
Date of publication:
2012-06-26
Date of entry/update:
2012-06-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ALTSEAN-Burma archive, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political
Language:
English
more
Description:
"...the AHRC strongly urges you to communicate with one another so as to open the border immediately to allow for the movement of people seeking shelter from the violence, and to make appropriate arrangements for the temporary settlement of persons fleeing the parts of Myanmar affected by violence. Furthermore, in order to enable the provision of adequate food and health services to the affected populations, both of your governments are requested to cooperate with one another so as to provide complete, unimpeded, secure access to international agencies at the earliest possible opportunity, in order that these agencies can assess the situation and make arrangements for the necessary provision of emergency relief supplies..."
Source/publisher:
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Date of publication:
2012-06-14
Date of entry/update:
2012-06-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, Refoulement, push-backs and rejection at borders
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
79.6 KB
Local URL:
more