In early September, photos of locals in Hsin Swel Ya village volunteering for road construction work were posted on social media. The damaged road was muddy, washed out and difficult if not impossible to traverse by foot or vehicle.  

Arakan State has a long history of being a de facto nation and has a strong geographical location. It also has a strong literary and artistic heritage, as well as a wealth of resources and infrastructure to provide good food and services to its people. There are people in Arakan State who will be satisfied under an Arakan government and administration that can lead the people to security and development.  

A group of young people can be seen playing football in a field. It is gratifying to see so many young people competing so fiercely. Isn’t physical activity very important for health reasons? However, there are many elderly people sitting on the field’s sidelines, some wearing masks but others without masks. I wander off in front of an audience that could be infected. 

Looking back on the 1990s and 2000s, bookstores are one of the fondest memories of my childhood. I miss the feeling of competing with others to get my hands on a book, every time a new one by my favorite author arrived; I miss reading it; and memorising my favourite words by writing them down in notebooks.

Every country has a national security concept. The concept of “national security” has been interpreted by many scholars in many ways, and national security is still defined today. The concept of nationalism in part means the perception of national security. I don’t know exactly how to translate the English word “Nation” into the Myanmar language. 

The coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has been threatening people around the world since December 2019. Humanity has not yet been able to defeat the virus, which invades the respiratory system, attacks the lungs and takes lives.  

The AA chief said in an interview with Arakkha Media on August 16 that the Arakan Army had been calling for a confederacy since 2019 and would attempt to regain Arakanese’s sovereignty. At the same time, the AA chief said that staff from the AA’s judicial sector in Arakan State will be paid salaries. On the one hand, I see this as a public declaration of financial security in addition to the strength of the AA.

Our country is affected by natural disasters every year. Despite the abundance of natural resources, very poor rulers have not only been unable to build adequate irrigation dams, but have also been unable to prevent natural disasters.

On the one hand, the political leadership of the Arakan Army in Arakan State and the political stance of the Arakanese people have emerged as a unique model. The Arakan Army, which has been campaigning for a Confederate position, has ended two years of fighting with the Tatmadaw in Arakan State and is politically leading Arakan State. Despite the military council’s actions in Arakan State, the local government’s administration has become less active. 

“Where can I get oxygen?” and “Can someone please tell me how I can refill oxygen?” are the types of posts that have flooded social media every day over the past month in Myanmar, after the Southeast Asian nation was hit by a fresh wave of the deadly coronavirus in late May. 

The military council released many prisoners from prisons in an amnesty, but did not include those arrested for political beliefs held following the coup. It shows that the military council is not yet willing to resolve the political crisis. Voice of America (VOA) has confirmed that seven women prisoners were killed in riots in Insein Prison, but the full extent of the violence in the prison has not been confirmed. 

Arakan State has not seen any fighting since the military coup and there has been little anti-coup activity. On a national scale, Arakan State has been a beacon of relative stability since the military took power. But as the Covid-19 death toll climbs in Arakan State, there is reason to believe that the military’s handling of the third wave could sour the moods of Arakanese people who did not show the same kind of visceral rejection of the military government in the immediate aftermath of its coup.  

While visiting Japan in 2016, I had the opportunity to visit Sendai Mediatheque in Sendai, Japan. I envied the Japanese people reading in this magnificent library, media and art space. Japan is notorious for its long-hours work culture. Surprisingly, many Japanese still find time to read and study books and literature. I remember seeing young and old alike sitting in the library, and imagining a time when libraries in our country would be like Japan’s.

The Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project is an amalgam of many interests. It is geopolitically sensitive, and will help give rise to the political power of an already powerful China. The Kyaukphyu SEZ is a very important project for China’s dreams of world domination. 

CMEC is designed to include up to 33 projects, including the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port and construction of the Kyaukphyu-Ann-Padan-Minbu road, which is part of the Kyaukphyu-Kunming railway project. The Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone was not approved by the NLD government but rather was inked by the Thein Sein administration, considered the NLD’s quasi-civilian predecessor (2011-15). At the time, China and Myanmar signed an agreement to develop the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone project at an 85:15 ratio. 

A statement issued by Arakan National Party (ANP) Chairman U Thar Tun Hla at a press conference on May 5 said the ANP’s decision to suspend its affiliation with the military-led State Administration Council was illegal and inconsistent with party policy. The issue was posted on the social media page of the ANP’s policy steering committee. The party’s Central Executive Committee has no authority to decide whether or not to continue working with the State Administrative Council, and it is instead up to a meeting of the Central Committee (CC) to decide.

Blood-stained slippers abandoned in the streets; armed security forces shouting orders at the citizens they are sworn to protect; and seemingly every day the sound of gunfire, explosions or both. This is the new reality in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Six months ago, few would have predicted such scenes of bloodshed and chaos in the commercial capital.

“We just worked together. We didn’t join the State Administration Council. For example, Daw Aye Nu Sein joined the State Administration Council because of offers from some people close to the Tatmadaw,” U Thar Tun Hla, chairman of the Arakan National Party (ANP), told reporters at a press conference on May 5. 

However, some Arakanese politicians who preferred to push for reforms through the parliament formed the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) to contest the first general election since the 1990 poll, in 2010. The RNDP won the largest number of seats in Arakan State — a testimony to the overwhelming support of Arakanese people for the party.