Two men from Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, who were arrested by the military in October on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA), have been charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, according to family members.
The accused have been identified as U Hla Maung Than, a 43-year-old rice mill owner from Kardi aka Thazin Village and Ko Maung Chay, a 39-year-old driver from Apaukwa Village.
The pair were transferred to a Sittwe police station by the military’s Kansauk Village-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 539 on November 20 and were held on remand at the Sittwe Township Court on December 6, family members told DMG.
“We went to the township court for the hearing as the pair were reportedly transferred to Sittwe’s No. 1 police station. They are currently held on remand at the police station and they are in good health. The next hearing has been scheduled for December 19,” said Daw Hla Aye San, the wife of U Hla Maung Than.
The commander of LIB No. 539 reportedly phoned U Hla Maung Than on October 2, telling him to come to the battalion’s headquarters for talks. Together with his friend Ko Maung Chay, U Hla Maung Than that same day went to the LIB No. 539 headquarters as requested, and had not been heard from since, according to Daw Hla Aye San.
“I don’t know why they were charged. They were arrested at the military’s Kansauk Village- based LIB No. 539 and they have not been seen or heard from since. We came to know they were sued under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act after they were held in military custody for one month,” she explained.
Family members have been struggling to make ends meet since U Hla Maung Than’s arrest, she added.
Said the wife of Ko Maung Chay: “My husband runs a bus line between Sittwe and Kyauktaw and has no ties to any unlawful associations. He accompanied U Hla Maung Than on that day. I want him released as soon as possible because he is innocent.”
Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura could not be reached for comment regarding the matter.
Meanwhile, a university student and a motorcycle taxi driver who were detained on November 1 at the Kyeinchaung security checkpoint in Maungdaw, Arakan State, have also been charged under the Unlawful Associations Act. And two men who were detained that same day by junta soldiers at the military’s Kyee Kan Pyin security checkpoint in Maungdaw Township too have been charged under the law, a favourite of authorities in the current era of military rule.
At least 46 people were arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army and charged under the Unlawful Associations Act and/or incitement under Sections 505 of the Penal Code during some four months of heightened military tensions and active conflict between the military and AA in Arakan State, according to a DMG tally.
The two sides reached an informal ceasefire on November 26.
