With Myanmar in a more politically tenuous position than it has been in decades, the prominent Arakanese politician Dr. Aye Maung has questioned the merits of a document considered by many to be foundational to modern Myanmar’s origin story.

A court in Sittwe on Wednesday heard the plaintiff in the case of ousted Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, who has been charged with incitement under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code. 

More than one-third of reported casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) encounters in Myanmar are children, according to UNICEF Myanmar, which said Arakan State has the highest rate of reported child casualties, with children accounting for 47% of the total. 

The death toll during the so-called Spring Revolution in Myanmar reached 581 on April 6, and the number of people detained since the February 1 military coup totalled 2,750, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). 

A total of 53 reporters have been detained or prosecuted since the military coup on February 1, said journalist U Myint Kyaw, citing data from fellow members of the media.

Fish and prawn prices in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, have fallen by more than 50% following the Tatmadaw’s seizure of power on February 1, seafood traders say.

Wave Money agents in Arakan State are facing cash shortages and people are spending money on transportation and face difficulties overnighting as they wait to take out money at locations some distance from their hometowns and villages.

Amid growing concerns over an increased Tatmadaw presence in Arakan State, the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a think-tank formed by ex-military officers, has suggested that there is little chance of fresh clashes erupting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA).  

To solve the annual summer water shortages affecting the town of Minbya, Arakan State, its Development Affairs Committee has arranged to supply water from Phalaung Pyin reservoir via a pumping station. 

Farmers have been told to repay their agricultural loans by April 15 this year, according to an official from the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) in Arakan State. 

About 400 shelters were damaged by strong winds at three displacement camps in Chin State’s Paletwa Township on Sunday evening, according to camp managers.

A mother and two of her sons were killed, and another son was injured when an unexploded shell blew up in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township on Sunday. 

The Mon National Network and anti-authoritarian Mon youth forces on April 3 urged the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) to draw up an interim constitution as quickly as possible and to create a national unity government.  

The Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), formed by the 10 ethnic armed organisations that signed Myanmar’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, on Sunday called on the junta to stop killing unarmed civilians, and to immediately and unconditionally release all those unjustly detained under its rule. 

The Arakan State Administration Council is conducting field inspections at Sittwe’s Kandawgyi Lake, which supplies water for the Arakan State capital, in hopes of addressing its tendency to dry up during the summer months, according to U Hla Thein, the council’s information officer. 

Arakan State residents have called on the Tatmadaw to withdraw its troops from pagodas and temples during Myanmar’s New Year festival, Thingyan, so that Buddhists can freely practice religious activities at those sites. 

Myanmar’s military governing body, the State Administration Council, must be held accountable for killing more than 500 people nationwide as security forces have unleashed lethal crackdowns on anti-regime protesters since the February 1 coup, said Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) leader General Yawd Serk. 

The Karen National Union (KNU) has called on the international community to impose severe sanctions on the military in the wake of Tatmadaw airstrikes that killed several people and displaced thousands more in Karen State over recent days.  

People in Arakan State facing prosecution under the Counter-Terrorism Law for alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA) will still have to stand trial despite Myanmar’s military regime removing the ethnic armed group from its list of terrorist organisations, said a spokesman for the Arakan State Administration Council.