Sittwe: The Burmese military authority has continued arresting Arakanese youth and students on Monday, with the number arrested reaching 16 after a youth from Buthidaung Township in northern Arakan was taken into custody on Monday.

21-year-old Maung Naing Soe, the son of U Maung Tha Pru from Nyung Chaung Village in Buthidaung Township was arrested by officers from Special Police Force No. 2 in Rangoon.

A relative of the youth told Narinjara over the phone that a special force police officer from Rangoon came to the village of Nyung Chaung and arrested him with the help of local police.

Afterwards, Maung Naing Soe was taken to Buthidaung and detained at the police lock-up there.

According to the source, the youth will be brought on Tuesday from Buthidaung to Rangoon where at least ten Arakanese youth have been detained since the first week of this month. The Burmese special police force has arrested many Arakanese youth in Rangoon and Arakan State since early this month on suspicion that they have connections with exiled Arakanese student groups based on the Thai-Burma border.

On 7 September, special police forces arrested seven Arakanese youth and students from Layden Ward near the former University of Rangoon Art and Science in a raid of a hostel where they were living.

The youth and students were identified as Ko Tun Lin, Ko Kyaw Zaw Oo, Ko Kyaw Win, Ko Khin Maung Htay, Ko Kyaw San Hlaing, Ko Zaw Tun Oo, along with one other unidentified youth. All are from Arakan State and some of them are college graduates.

On 13 September, special police forces arrested another four youths in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State. Those youth are Htoo Htoo Chay, Khing Moe Zaw, Kalur Chay, and Maung Thu.

Among them, Htoo Htoo Chay is a son of well-known businessman U Kyaw Thein, who is known by local Arakanese people as Kiss Kyaw Thein. Htoo Htoo Chay is also a singer and owner of the Kiss Internet Cafe in Sittwe.

A student from Sittwe said a police team raided his internet cafe and seized many documents from the shop after he was arrested.

On 15 September, two youths from Mrauk U, the ancient city of Arakan, were arrested by Special Police Force No. 2 in their town and were brought to Rangoon for interrogation.

On 19 September, Ko Aung Moe Zaw and another unidentified student, both from Ponna Kyunt 20 miles north of Sittwe, were arrested by special police forces.

A lawyer from Sittwe confirmed the arrest and said that all the youths will be brought to Rangoon for interrogation because the case is being investigated by police there.

Because authorities have been arresting Arakanese youth and activists in Arakan, many other youth and students have gone into hiding to avoid arrest themselves.

It has also been learned that a youth who had been working at the Thai-Burma border revealed the inside networks of the All Arakan Student's and Youth Congress to the Burmese military junta after he surrendered and was taken into custody. The arrests began shortly thereafter.