An pure golden Buddha statue from the 8th century CE, that weighs 4.6 viss, was found along with 26 other small ancient statues during a pagoda renovation in the Shwe Gu Daung Mountains, 2 furlongs north of Mrauk U, on 30 May, 2011.

"The authority arranged for the statue to be taken to Naypyidaw from our town on Saturday by vehicle, against our people's wishes, but they stopped this plan soon after they faced strong protests from the townspeople," a resident of Mrauk U said.

Around 5,000 residents, including monks and government officials in Mrauk U, besieged the archaeology department on the day to demand the authority withdraw their plan to take the statue to Naypyidaw.

"We, not only residents but also monks, elected MPs, and officials, opposed the government plan to bring the statue to Naypyidaw because it is valuable Arakanese heritage. We want the statue to be placed in Mrauk U because it is our own antique statue. In the past, the military authorities brought many Arakanese antiques to Burma proper when they were found in Arakan. Because of such experiences, we opposed the government plan this time," he said.

Several thousand townspeople made a victory procession across the town with the statue, which was on board to a car, after authorities agreed to follow the people's demands.

U Kyaw Tun Aung, a retired deputy director of the archaeology department in Mrauk U, confirmed that the authority withdrew the plan after negotiations with local residents who strongly opposed removal of the statue to Naypyidaw.

"Now the statue will be placed in the Radana Man Aung monastery in Mrauk U. We are going to build a monument inside the monastery to place the statue there. It is a great decision by the government authority to place the statue in Mrauk U," he said.

The golden statue is 12 inches high and is the same as images made in Sri Lanka during the 8th century CE. Because of this, many archaeologists at Mrauk U believe the statue was cast in Arakan during the early part of the 8th century.