Though it has been 47 days since the Arakan Army abducted three National League for Democracy (NLD) candidates in Taungup Township, Arakan State, there has been no contact with the kidnapped trio, according to NLD spokesperson Dr. Myo Nyunt. 

As dozens of civilians have been arrested over recent months in Arakan State on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA), some described as breadwinners have seen their families struggle financially in their absence.

Japan’s special envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar, Yohei Sasakawa, over the weekend said his government would provide US$200,000 for those displaced by conflict in Arakan State.

Yohei Sasakawa, Japan’s special envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar, said conditions in northern Arakan State are stable enough to hold elections, as the envoy and his team visited Buthidaung and Kyauktaw townships on November 28.

The Arakan Front Party (AFP) says jailed politician Dr. Aye Maung should be released if the incumbent National League for Democracy (NLD) is to form a genuine national unity government with the objective of peace in Arakan State beyond 2020.

Families can open cases seeking the release of civilian relatives detained on suspicion in Arakan State at the relevant police stations, according to Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team.

Lawmakers representing Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township have called on the Ministry of Information to publish a correction about state media news reports on a fire outbreak in the township in September, which they said did not reflect the reality of the situation.

Although there are no direct negotiations between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), communication is taking place through intermediary organisations and individuals, said Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team.

With border trade with Bangladesh suspended due to COVID-19 five months ago and likely to remain that way indefinitely, workers who had depended on such transnational commerce for their livelihoods are struggling to make ends meet. 

The United Nations has urged the Myanmar Parliament to pass comprehensive legislation to protect women and prevent violence against them. 

The chairman of the Democratic Party of National Politics (DPNP), a partner of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), blamed this month’s landslide election victory for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) on low political awareness among the Myanmar people. 

Members of Myanmar ethnic minorities staged a demonstration in front of the United Nations office in Tokyo, Japan, on November 26, demanding that Myanmar authorities release students arrested for participating in protests against conflict and human rights violations in Arakan State. 

At least three seismic faults in Arakan State could cause strong earthquakes with the potential to trigger tsunamis, warned Dr. Myo Thant, secretary of the Myanmar Earthquake Committee.

More than 1,650 villages in Arakan State remain without 24-hour electricity as the current government’s term nears its close, according to the state’s Electric Power Engineer Office.

A National League for Democracy (NLD) letter inviting the cooperation of ethnic people has not arrived to certain ethnic political parties, with delays due to COVID-19, according to NLD spokesperson Dr. Myo Nyunt. 

Arakanese people, who have recently returned to their homes from displacement camps following a de-escalation of fighting in the region, say they hope present conditions are not just a lull before another round of renewed clashes. 

A resident of Padar village in Arakan State’s Taungup Township was taken by a group of masked men armed with sticks and machetes while he was returning from Taungup town after withdrawing cash from a bank, according to family members and a village administrator.

More than 2,000 tonnes of illegal timber were seized in Arakan State from October to November 23, the State Forest Department said. 

An orphanage named “Metta Yeik” is being built in Myebon Township’s Kanhtaunggyi town to look after children orphaned by fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA), according to the shelter’s construction committee.