U Zaw Aye Maung, a senior member of the party as well as Minister of Rakhine National Race Affairs in Rangoon Division, told Narinjara that the UEC Chairman U Tin Aye has summoned his party’s leaders to his office in Naypyidaw at 10 am on 24th of December and asked for their explanations to those issues.

“Chairman U Tin Aye asked for our explanations for the issues that are— (1) with what intentions our party has published the calendar with Ma Thidar Htwe’s photos, (2) if our party has any intention to impinge on the three national causes with our plan to observe the day of downfall of Arakan Kingdom on 31st of December and (3) the complaints that have been filed with presidential office by the Leader of the Myanmar Muslim Association, Harji U Hla Win, accusing our party’s newsletter of using insulting words towards Muslims in the title of one of its articles. He also warned us he would take legal action against our party if we were unable to provide sufficient explanations to those issues”, said U Zaw Aye Maung.

Five senior members of the RNDP, Dr. Aye Maung, U Zaw Aye Maung, U Ba Shein, U Myint Naing and Daw Aye Nu Sein are said to have attended the meeting summoned by the UEC Chairman and given their respective explanations to those issues.

“Ma Thidar Htwe was already dead and her parents want to donate a school in her memory according to their spiritual belief that the donation will be supportive for her well-being in her next life. We proposed her parents’ wish for the school to the Minister of Education as well as to the President. The Minister agreed with our proposal while the President contributed a personal donation for the school. As we still do not have enough money to build the school, we have tried to raise fund by publishing a calendar with Ma Thidar Htwe’s photos that were taken before she died and in her childhood. We have also titled the calendar for the fund of her memorial school and have been selling the calendar at the price of 500 kyat. We have explained to the UEC that we have no other intention except building a school in her memory by selling the calendars printed with her photos according to her parents’ wish”, said U Zaw Aye Maung.

Regarding their explanation to the second issue, he said, “We explained to the UEC that our party has no intention to break the unity of ethnic nationalities in our nation, but we, as an ethnic nationality, hold the equal right with other nationalities in our nation. If the Burmese people have the right to mourn the downfall of their last king Thibaw, we Arakanese should have the similar right to mourn the downfall of our last king Maha Thamata Razar according to the motto of equality among ethnic nationalities in our country. So, we told the UEC that we have planned to observe the last day of our Arakanese dynasty with our constructive intention for the unity of ethnic nationalities in our country.”

While talking about their explanation to the third issue, he said, “We have promised the UEC that we would advise the editorial board of our newsletter to be careful about using words regarding sensitive issues in the future.”

The members from the parties of the Rakhine State National Force and the Arakan League for Democracy were also said to have been summoned by the UEC to witness the explanations of the RNDP regarding with the issues.

However, there isn’t any decision of UEC that has come out yet on the RNDP explanation to the three issues.