With 25 percent of seats in Parliament guaranteed by the 2008 Constitution for the military, the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will likely be able to form the government under a PR system. It is still too early, however, to tell if the regime will be able to hold the voting as it plans. More than one year after the coup, the regime still can’t control many towns in central Myanmar, not to mention the ethnic areas, which have been contested for decades. 

Except for the United Wa State Army (UWSA), all the major ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) have refused to attend the peace talks invited by the regime in April. This shows EAOs’ distrust in the military regime. At the same time, EAOs are consolidating their control in their territories.  

Today, the Arakanese people and the Arakan Army are inseparable. The Arakanese people are walking in the “Way of Rakhita” set out by the Arakan Army, and showing that they are united. While the fighting has largely stopped, the Arakan Army is consolidating its administrative machinery in Arakan State and even advancing a judiciary independent of the pre-existing court system. This self-governance is one component of the Way of Rakhita. 

We can say that Arakan State has been generously endowed with natural resources. However, everyone should bear in mind that natural resources are depletable, and the problem of scarcity must factor into every economic calculus.   

Myanmar’s military is undoubtedly at or near the top of the table if we are to make a list of nation-state armies globally that run businesses for profit. It controls around 150 businesses ranging from beer and cigarette production to banking and media, many of which are reaping huge profits. 

Schooling is a foundational part of early life. Everyone has their own stories, experiences, and souvenirs from their past educational lives, drawn from different schools in a disparate society.  

More than one year after the military coup, Myanmar’s people are going through dark days again in both a metaphorical and literal sense, with electricity blackouts having become a daily occurrence across the country. 

Several nations’ people around the world have come to believe that armed resistance can liberate them from oppression and build sovereignty. As a result, in the current political climate, the people of Myanmar are increasingly recognising that revolution is the key to rebuilding a country that has been torn apart by oppression. 

As a result, various ethnic groups, including the Arakan Army, have sprung up and are still fighting against dictators — most recently those who installed themselves as the country’s leaders in last year’s coup.

The Myanmar military has previously disagreed with a fundamental principle of federal self-determination, which states that ethnic groups have the right to self-determination.

You may have heard of the famous Arakanese King Min Htee in the Lay Myo Era of the Arakanese people. King Min Htee ascended to the throne at the age of 7 and sat on the bosom of his uncle Anantabaya and ruled the country with love for his people.

Many people do not like the idea of dumping rubbish along the riverbank. However, there are various opinions in Sittwe about dumping garbage in the river. Some have criticised the lack of landfills and the inability of municipal garbage trucks to reach them, pointing to the need for proper disposal systems.

Independent Myanmar, built and continually refashioned over 70 years, is at one of its lowest points and could become a failed state within the next decade, following the ascension of its latest dictator. In Myanmar, coups have become a tradition, and the military’s upper echelon is a privileged class. But instead of building a prosperous nation, authoritarian families have flourished and grown richer over the past several decades, while the people have become poorer. 

Significantly, after the military coup, National League for Democracy (NLD) members and supporters protested and were arrested in Arakan State, but no significant mass protests were reported. There have been allegations from mainland Myanmar and the international community that the Arakanese people are supporting the military coup, but these assumptions have not been substantiated. 

The current political situation in Myanmar is complicated. The violent crackdowns on peaceful protests across the country after the military seized power has led to an armed uprising.

“Give me an educated mother, and I shall promise you the birth of a civilised, educated nation,” Napoleon Bonaparte once said. These words make reference to the fact that building a nation relies on how we educate ourselves and others, and why it is important to let emerge the intellectuals who have the capacity to build it, to make it happen;

The Arakan Army (AA), which has controlled much of Arakan State since an informal ceasefire with the Myanmar military was reached in November 2020, issued a statement on December 17, 2021. The statement warned the public that nefarious activities were taking place in Arakan State, leading to sectarian tensions, and highlighted five recent developments. 

Motorcycle thefts are happening on a daily basis in Sittwe. However, according to the state police, there are only 12 reported cases of stolen motorcycles in Arakan State. If a motorcycle is stolen, why not report it to the police? One reason is that most motorcycles do not have a licence, and there is a weakness in the judiciary. 

Companies from 13 countries — including the United States, France, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan, Singapore, Canada, the Netherlands, Austria and South Korea — operate in the Arakan Sea. According to a report released by AOW (Arakan Oil Watch) on November 19, 2021, most of Myanmar’s revenue comes from taxes from the natural gas industry.