Eight NLD township committees in northern part of Arakan State had recently declared that they support the two-child policy in two townships namely Maungdaw and Buthidaung. The NLD activists, in a statement issue on Friday, expressed their endorsement to the particular policy targeting the  Muslims residents by the Arakan province government.

Amazingly, the statement came out a day after the NLD chief Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had  criticized the policy of the Arakan government as a regional act.

U Maung Kron Aung, who leads the Rathidaung township unit of NLD, admitted that Rathidaung is in the list of localities mentioned in the statement, but the senior leader, who  was elected in 1990 election as an NLD  nominee said that he was not aware of it.

“I am the president of Rathidaung township NLD,  but I did not know about the statement. Such statement is related to the central policy of the party, and hence they have no rights to issue this kind of statement,” asserted Maung Aung.

Similarly Daw Ma Pu Chay, another NLD leader from Mray Bon also admitted that she had no information about the statement despite her town is also included in the statement.

The NLD central committee member Ko Min Aung from Taungup commented that the particular statement was issued by a group of NLD members from Sittwe, the capital of Arakan province, but  Min Aung  reiterated that they have no legal right to issue such a statement.

“As the subject is connected with our party policy, a group of NLD members have no right to make any statement contradicting the stand of central committee. I can reiterate that the statement is not legal, as it was not issued by the Arakan State central committee of NLD,” said Min Aung.

It is learnt that the controversial statement was issued by NLD leaders from eight townships of Arakan State namely Sittwe, Ponna Kyunt, Rathidaung, Kyauk Taw, Mrauk U, Pauk Taw, Minbya and Mray Bon.

The particular statement openly supported the government order imposed on Muslim residents to restrict their families in two children only, arguing that it was important for the entire State. The statement also mentioned about the high birth rate of Muslim residents in compare to Buddhist families.

So, the statement asserted, the authority needs to control the birth rate of Muslims with two-child & single wife policy for the greater interest of the province in respect to address the national security, geography and demographic changes.