Lawmakers have recently criticised that the 2020 general elections will not be free and fair in Arakan State.

Three women from Kyaukphyu Township’s Yay Nan Dwein village who were arrested by the military this week are being held at the Kyaukphyu Myoma police station, according to the village administrator and a lawmaker.

Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, Municipal Affairs Minister U Win Myint and Chin Ethnic Affairs Minister U Pone Bwe will contest the 2020 election for the National League for Democracy (NLD), according to a July 23 announcement from the ruling party’s Central Executive Committee.

Hundreds of basic education high schools throughout Arakan State do not meet the required standards for COVID-19 preventive measures, according to state education officials.

Ethnic Myanmar nationals in Japan staged a protest in Tokyo on July 23 calling for truth and justice over the unlawful killing of civilians by the Tatmadaw in ethnic parts of Myanmar.

The Kamayut Township Court has sentenced two Arakanese student activists charged under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law to one month in prison.

More than 230 schools have yet to reopen in Chin State’s Paletwa Township, where clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army are an ongoing concern, according to the township education office.

Residents of more than 60 villages along the upper reaches of the Kaladan River in Paletwa Township, Chin State, are in urgent need of food and medicine, according to locals.

The search continues for a person who had close contact with coronavirus Case No. 339 in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, said Dr. Than Tun Oo, superintendent of the Kyauktaw Township Hospital.

Six Muslims from Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships who entered Arakan State illegally from Bangladesh were sentenced to six months in prison and fined K100,000 (US$69) by respective township courts on July 21.

Residents of Paletwa, Chin State, say they have been subjected to property taxes that are over four times higher than the regular rates of previous years.

The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) has come in for criticism for allegedly doing little to address a growing stack of complaints about reported human rights violations in Arakan State.

Residents from more than 30 villages in Manaung Township, Arakan State, are struggling to receive healthcare services as the Sarchat station hospital has no doctors, according to the residents.

Three members of the Northern Alliance have issued a statement signalling their openness to joining the Union Peace Conference under the right circumstances, including COVID-19 mitigation efforts and “under the leadership of the FPNCC [Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee], its guidance, and security guarantee.”

The military has freed one of two men from Sai Chone village in Kyaukphyu Township, but the man still in custody will be charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, the Tatmadaw True News Information Team said in a statement on July 21.

Four men including the chair of the Taungup Township Development Affairs Committee and the vice chair of the Arakan National Party in Taungup Township, who were charged under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared before the township court on July 21.

Nine lawmakers have been identified on a list issued by the Arakan State legislature as having failed to yet submit any proposals during their five-year terms in office, which wrap up early next year. 

The chair of the Arakan National Party (ANP) in Taungup Township’s Maei town has been released after being held in military custody for more than a month, reportedly on suspicion of having links to the Arakan Army. 

Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC) will reportedly hold talks with concerned officials about restoring internet access in Arakan State ahead of the 2020 general election.