ရခိုင္၊ပလက္၀ေဒသအတြင္းျဖစ္ပ်က္ေနေသာလက္ရွိအေျခေနဆိုးမ်ားႏွင့္ပတ္သက္၍အသိေပးရွင္းလင္းခ်က္

Briefing on current situations in Arakan and Paletwa township area

Myanmar Army has not stopped its military aggression despite their twenty-month-long intensified offensive assaults against the Arakan Army and peoples of Arakan; consequently, heavy fighting continues to escalate in the region of Arakan to date. By using excessive military force the Myanmar Army has continued to brazenly commit their state-terrorist acts of war crimes, human rights violations, crimes against humanity and genocidal crime against the Rakhine and sub-ethnic peoples of Rakhine in Arakan and Paletwa township area.

Hence, the situation is getting worse day by day and becoming a major concern. It is safe to say that the Myanmar Army’s continued waging war on peoples of Arakan is the longest operation, the heaviest fight and the worst situation in the seven-decade-long conflict of Myanmar. Therefore, grave concerns of international community for the sake of local residents in Arakan and Paletwa township area are more and more growing.

Although the Arakan Army has announced multiple unilateral ceasefires together with the Three Brotherhood Alliance to support the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic and to diminish concerns of the public, neighbouring countries and international community after ending current clashes, heavy fight has continued that the good will of our announcement did not become effective due to the offensive attacks of Myanmar Army.

As the Myanmar Army has launched aerial bombardments with fighter jets on our troops for several times in the month of May 2020, they have also fired indiscriminate shelling in Myebon, Ann, Rathedaung, Ponnagyan, Minbya, Mrauk-U and Paletwa townships. The Myanmar Army has ramped up their atrocities such as torching villages, arresting villagers, torture and killings in the region of Arakan to cause a larger fear among the general public.

The Arakan Army is strictly keeping its commitment in line with the unilateral ceasefire declaration not to initiate any offensive attacks except inevitable and self-defensive fight. We would like to reiterate that we stand ready to coordinate efforts against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic under conditions conducive to the safe and political guarantees.

On the other hand, union government led by NLD and Arakan State Government have failed to fully protect life and property of people of Arakan and to tackle a long-standing grievance of general public of Arakan and their governance failure has still continued. The Arakan State Government has not only failed to deter mass gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide health information concerning the COVID-19 but inhumanely endangered civilians of Arakan to get the coronavirus transmission by intentionally organizing mass gatherings. As a government, they have not only failed to take accountability but constantly conducted heinous acts such as irresponsible talk for several times, political and racial oppression of peoples of Arakan, obstruction of the right to national self-determination, discrimination and marginalization based on racial hatred.

With a show-off the Myanmar Army has hoodwinked international community during the COVID-19 pandemic and behind the façade of this deception they have launched their offensive attacks on a daily basis in Arakan and Paletwa township area. Conducting their operations village after village and inspections of the camps of IDPs without any protection mobilized by hundreds of the Burmese troops are similar to the intentional spread of Coronavirus.

By illogical reasoning the Burmese regime and its military still do not lift the world’s longest internet restrictions in nine townships in Arakan and Chin states. The heinous acts of the Burmese authorities have hindered timely and adequate information flow to the frontline health workers; consequently, effective measures cannot be taken to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, by giving a reason to the mobilization of Arakan Army the Myanmar Army has blocked the transportation of basic foods such as rice, cooking oil, salt and medicines in the townships of Arakan and Paletwa where clashes are ongoing. In particular, the Myanmar Army has ramped up its campaign of four-cuts and the worst oppression in addition to airstrikes, shelling and torching villages. As a result, local residents are suffering acute hunger due to food shortages and the skyrocketing of commodity price. The Myanmar Army that precipitated this humanitarian disaster is the culprit for the worst possible consequences. Moreover, it was only the Myanmar Army that has blocked all transport routes, not our organization.

Members of war veterans association, the transformed people’s vigorous organization and USDP, that are the arms of the Myanmar Army and followers of the same group, with the collaboration of their brotherhood ex-military intelligence agents have committed sabotage acts in Arakan to put our organization under a misapprehension by the international community. The government of Myanmar and its military have carried out such sabotage acts and state-sponsored terrorism by various ways and they have been steadfastly conducting their smear campaign to shift the blame on our organization designated as an unlawful association. Their deeply flawed investigation into human rights abuses and war crimes committed by the Myanmar Army in Arakan is a deliberate attempt to whitewash the Myanmar Army’s brutal violence against civilians of Arakan; therefore, the situation is extremely worrying that truth and justice for civilians of Arakan have been dissipated.

The United League of Arakan/Arakan Army opposes any terrorist acts. Hence, we firmly reiterate our commitment that our organization will never conduct any terrorist acts and will not cooperate with any terrorist organizations. The successive Burmese regimes have attacked their political and military rival organizations after branding them as terrorist and unlawful associations.

The incumbent Burmese regime is also carrying out the same dirty political tricks like before at this time to attack our organization. Nowadays many nation-states have adopted anti-terrorism laws and are taking coordinated actions against international terrorism. The ULA/AA stands ready to cooperate with any anti-terrorist organizations in the fight against regional terrorism.

Peoples of Arakan are suffering the worst atrocities committed by the government of Myanmar and the Myanmar Army under state terrorism and Burmanization policy. The truth has dissipated in addition to losing citizenship rights, basic human rights and protection by law. In other words, abusing laws, authority, power of the state and state armed group the government of Myanmar and the Myanmar Army are brutally killing and terrorizing its own citizens in Myanmar.

By spreading disinformation about non-Burman revolutionary organizations to neighbouring countries and the international community, the Burmese regime and its military have been launching a smear campaign to oppress and persecute non-Burman peoples and minorities under the pretext of so-called Myanmar’s anti-terror law. Neighbouring countries and the international community should cautiously refrain from indirectly helping the government of Myanmar and the Myanmar Army’s campaign of state genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. It should be acknowledged that members of the Burmese armed forces are world-renowned war criminals because they are currently facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has also ruled that it can prosecute the Burmese government and military leaders for alleged war crimes.

The government of Myanmar and the Myanmar Army are exaggerating their fabricated news after controlling and repressing local media outlets. The government of Myanmar is carrying out their heinous acts spreading disinformation about our organization, misrepresentation of facts and unwarranted accusations on their state-owned media while glorifying the Myanmar Army to cover up war crimes committed by the Burmese armed forces in Arakan. By releasing the continued rally of fabricated information and unfounded allegations the government of Myanmar is operating its propaganda machine to mislead the international community about our organization.

International humanitarian organizations and civil societies, which are helping IDPs in Arakan and Paletwa township area and refugees fleeing their homes in fear of the atrocities of the Myanmar Army and state-terrorism, are fully guaranteed that our organization will never intimidate and hinder their humanitarian assistance and efforts under any circumstances. Furthermore, we would like to call for more effective humanitarian relief and life-saving aids to all helpless peoples in Arakan.

We would like to point out that the government of Myanmar led by NLD should take responsibility to declare a nationwide ceasefire, which is one of the important and urgent priorities to end civil war conflict in Myanmar and to solve humanitarian crises in Arakan and Paletwa township area, prior to the expiration of the term of the office so that political negotiations can be getting back on the right path. Only a nationwide ceasefire can make to effectively implement the preventive and combative measures of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We fully trust that current conflicts would be peacefully resolved by genuine political dialogue. Although we are willing to solve the conflicts through the peaceful means, should the Myanmar Army launch more intensified offensive assaults, the ULA/AA will courageously defend ourselves or take a joint defensive action against the military aggression of the Burmese war criminals army in cooperation with the brotherhood alliances as already declared in our previous statement. Finally, this is the end of our briefing on the current situations in Arakan and Paletwa township area by saying that “standing firmly in front of all oppressed peoples of Arakan we are going to fight against the atrocities of Myanmar Army”.

United League of Arakan/Arakan Army

若开民族联盟/若开军ULA/AA

关于若开邦百力瓦地区当前情况的说明

字号- 26/2020

缅军对若开军的进攻持续20多个月后依然没有停止，反而加大力度，导致若开地区到目前为止仍在持续爆发战争。另外，缅军还动用其所掌握的权势，在若开邦和百力瓦地区犯下侵害人权，对若开民族进行种族清洗，已经构成严重的战争罪。

若开军对当前越演越烈的局势表示无比担忧。可以说，这是缅军70多年以来对一个民族武装最猛烈、最长久的军事行动，同时，这也是缅甸局势最糟糕的时期。因此，关注和同情若开当地民众的国际社会也对这一形势表示担忧。

我军为了减少当前的战争，为了对疫情防控工作提供帮助以及为了减少人民、邻国和国家社会的困扰，多次与联军兄弟一起发布单方面停火声明，却因遭受缅军的持续进攻导致声明的目的至今未能实现，战争却持续爆发。

2020年5月间，缅军不但多次动用武装战斗机攻击若开军，还持续对灭崩、昂、亚碟丹、本纳均、敏比亚、秒乌、百力瓦等地区进行炮击。另外，缅军还纵火烧村，肆意抓捕、杀害、虐待当地百姓，持续地制造紧张气氛，恐吓人民。

若开军根据停火声明，除了自我防御以外坚决不主动发起战争。同时，在安全得到保障的基础上，我军已做好共同抗击疫情的准备。

NLD政府和若开邦政府始终缺乏对若开人民生命财产的保护力度，若开邦政府不但没有在疫情期间禁止若开人民聚集；没有传达疫情防控相关知识，反而，恶意制造聚集理由举办大型活动。作为一个政府不但没有对人民负起责任，却怀着民族仇恨，多次对若开族人民说出不负责任的语言，进行民族分化和政治欺压、剥夺人权、歧视、排斥等各种行为。

在疫情防控期间，缅军发布一个徒有其表、欺骗国际社会的声明后，几乎每天都在对若开和百力瓦地区发动军事攻击，而且在疫情防控期间，上百名缅军一村接一村的进行军事活动，他们在对难民营进行盘查时毫无防护措施的行为，似乎是为了向难民传播新冠病毒。

由于缅政府和缅军以牵强的理由继续关闭若开邦9个镇的网络信号，导致抗击新冠病毒的一线战士以及医务人员没能及时得到相关信息，疫情防控工作也严重落后。

缅军以若开军活动区域为由，彻底阻断基本物资运往若开邦和百力瓦地区一些发生战斗的城镇（如：大米、食油、食盐和药物）。特别在百力瓦地区，缅军不但纵火烧村、空袭和炮击村庄，还以“四断”方式进行打压，导致当地物资缺乏、物价暴涨，人民处于饥饿的状态中，因此，如引发一系列的严重后果，均应有缅军一人承担，因为，造成这一局面的并非若开军，而是缅军。

作为缅军打手的退休军人、巩发党成员和前情报局成员们不断在若开地区制造混乱，并有目的性的嫁祸给若开军，其目的就是为了在国际社会上抹黑若开军。缅政府和缅军一直在触犯各种战争法，并想尽一切方法嫁祸给若开军。自己犯下的罪行由自己人进行调查解决的行为，对受害的若开人民来说真相将永无查明之日。

若开军坚决反对恐怖主义，也敢保证从来不会作出任何恐怖主义行为以及和任何恐怖组织进行合作。另外，多家民族武装革命组织均被缅方定性为恐怖组织和非法组织，以便于持续打压。

今天，缅政府和缅军就如在历史中打压其他武装革命组织一样，持续打压若开军。另外，各个国家为了反对恐怖主义行为都会拟定反恐法，同时，也会和他国一起共同进行反恐行动。因此，我军ULA/AA再次声明：在我地区的反恐事务上，我军已做好了随时与各个反恐组织共同合作的准备。

若开人民几乎都在遭受缅政府和缅军的恐怖主义行为，不但没有公民权、人权，没有受到法律的保护，就连事情的真相也被掩盖。换言之，缅政府和缅军是在不断地以“法律、权力、武装组织”为借口，持续对国家公民实现恐怖主义行为。

缅政府和缅军不断向邻国和国家社会传递关于各民族武装组织的错误信息，并以反恐法为借口，持续对非缅民族进行政治压迫。因此，在缅政府和缅军清除非缅民族的行为以及其触犯战争法的行为上，邻国和国际社会应该特别小心，避免变相性地成为他们的帮凶，另外，还希望大家不要忘记——缅军目前仍是ICJ起诉的战争犯罪分子。

缅政府和缅军对国内媒体进行压制和管控后，通过大肆宣传掩盖事实真相，动用政府旗下的媒体宣传对我组织不利的新闻，污蔑我组织，同时，还千方百计掩盖其犯下的战争罪行。缅军一次又一次污蔑我军的目的就是为了让国际社会对我组织产生误会。

我军保证无论何时都不会对前往若开邦和百力瓦地区救助难民的国际组织和社会组织进行干扰和阻碍，因此，希望各个组织继续开展人道主义救助工作。

我们认为NLD政府应该在其执政期间宣布停止全国内战以及解决若开、百力佤地区情况最重要的“全国全面停火”，并重新开展以政治对话的方式解决问题的和平路线。唯有实现全国全面停火，才能更有效率地完成疫情防控和抗击工作。

我们始终坚持以政治对话方式解决问题的观点，虽然我们坚持和平解决分歧和矛盾，但如果缅军持续加大攻击力度的话，我们ULA/AA将根据情况以个人或联军的方式进行反击。对于缅军不正义的行为，我军将站在人民的最前端进行革命反击。

特此说明！

若开民族联盟/若开军

2020年5月18日