Fighting between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine State since November 2018 has killed or injured hundreds of villagers, and displaced over 140,000 people, and civilians have suffered indiscriminate detention and torture at the hands of both.
Tatmadaw troops have been to blame for 700 of the estimated 800 civilian arrests made by both sides on suspicion of aiding the enemy, according to Thazin, a Rakhine-based aid group.
The military accused some village officials of diverting international aid to the AA that was intended for displaced people in northern Rakhine.
Civilian arrests under a law that makes it illegal to contact or associate with terrorist groups increased after the government declared the AA a terrorist group on March 23. Those found guilty of violating the law face life imprisonment.
U Zaw Htay, spokesperson of the President’s Office, said some civilians provide support to the AA.
A resident of Kyauk Seik village in Ponnagyun township said people have no choice but to aid AA fighters who come to the village.
“When the AA asks for rice, we have to give it to them because they have guns,” he said. “When the Tatmadaw learns about it, we are arrested and accused of supporting the AA.”
Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun of the Tatmadaw True News agency denied that the Tatmadaw arrests villagers who are forced to support the AA.
He said the Tatmadaw only arrests AA sympathisers and fighters who pretend to be civilians. “They have AA links. Some even have AA IDs,” he said.
High Court lawyer Daw Aye Nu Sein said that most of the civilians arrested and charged by the government for supporting the AA have been released after being found not guilty.
She said, “Civilians have been arrested and detained for more than one year, but they were released after being found not guilty.”
Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun refused to comment on the decision of the courts.
The Tatmadaw has repeatedly said it does not condone abuses by its troops.
Earlier in May, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief admitted that some troops were involved in the torture of five civilians at Kyauk Seik village and would face military justice.
A video that circulated on social media showed soldiers kicking and punching civilians during questioning.
The AA has also been accused of holding and mistreating civilians, including former soldiers, local officials, and civil servants.
U Hwei Tin, an Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) legislator for Paletwa township in Chin State, was seized and held by the AA at Rakhine Yoma for more than three months.
“The lives of many civilians are being sacrificed for the political gains of the two armed forces,” he said. “The villagers are like eggs caught between two stones.”
A teacher identified as U Ar Bala from Si Phalaung village died while in AA captivity.
U Ye Thein, a member and chair of the ruling National League for Democracy in Buthidaung township, also died while being held by the AA last year.
U Myint Maung, a member of the Paletwa Development Committee and retired soldier, went missing in April and was suspected to have been arrested by the AA. His family does not know what happened to him.
Khaing Thu Kha, AA spokesperson, denied it had detained civilians.
“We don’t do anything to civilians who have no military links,” he said, adding that the group only detains Tatmadaw informers.
The Khumi Affairs Coordination Council, a civic group in Chin State, accused the AA of committing atrocities against civilians in Paletwa because it has little support among the Chin people.
U Kyaw Nyein, the council’s chair, accused the AA of arresting most of the 50 civilians missing in Paletwa.
Salai Isac Khin, former Chin State development minister, said the AA wants to control the Kaladan River and India’s Kaladan Project, which it considers to be of high strategic value.
“If AA gains control of the Kaladan River, they can get firearms more easily,” he said. – Translated mmtimes
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