Interview
Border News Agency
Mrauk-U, September 5
In July, the Arakan National League/Arakha Army (ULA/AA) arrested 77 men and women, including seven members of the DLEPS group, over alleged drug use and drug trafficking in Kyauktaw Township, which is controlled by the Arakha Army (AA).
Among them, 19 young students were officially handed back to their families on August 11, while some others were also subsequently released.
However, the remaining 17 people have not yet been released, and their family members have been unable to contact them. As a result, the families held a press conference yesterday, September 3.
Border News Agency presents the account of one of the family members:
“Two of my younger brothers were among them. Of the 17 people, my two younger brothers, Aung Myo Lwin and Shwe Toe, were taken. One of them had already joined a 45-day training course. He had only recently returned.”
“When they came to our house to question them, we did not see them because they were out working. When they returned home in the evening, we told them, ‘They came and asked about you like this.’ They then went to the office to explain and resolve the matter.”
“The people at the office said they would only conduct a brief interrogation and then return them to their home. But it has now been about three months.”
“We have not heard even the slightest news about my brothers. My grandmother also passed away with this worry. She died on the full moon day of the first Waso month. She died without seeing her grandchildren again, carrying this worry with her.”
“We heard that they are now attending a training course and that they are suffering. This is our final appeal. We will not go to the party office again to raise the issue. They keep delaying things. When we submitted letters, they said they had not submitted their side of the letter. They did not forward it to the higher authorities either.”
“In the end, having no other option, we are relying on these organizations and submitting this appeal. Please submit and forward our letter so that it reaches the senior officials and they become aware of the situation.”
“They were not among those released. The students were released. The girls who were accused of selling drugs were also released. The drugs were not even found in their possession.”
“When we went to ask what offense they had committed, they were immediately detained.”
“We still have not seen them to this day. Please make the senior officials aware of this. We want the same rights and opportunities as others.”
“Now, even those accused of selling drugs have been released, and the students have also been released. The remaining 17 people have completely disappeared. We cannot contact them at all. We have tried sending them food, but the authorities did not accept it. They simply said that they were not there. We have searched everywhere, but we cannot find them at all. We went to speak with the group that took them away. They said they would send them back, but when we said they still had not returned, they told us that it was not their responsibility. They said that they were only responsible for keeping them in custody. The people who arrested them were the intelligence department and the DLEPS group.”
“My younger brother has a steel rod implanted in his leg because of an artillery shell injury. In our family, my mother also lives without a kidney because she was injured by an artillery shell, and my father has suffered a stroke. I cannot understand how they could take away a son who already has a steel rod in his leg, knowing the situation our family is in.”
“I want that young man to be released. I also want the other young people detained with him to be released equally. We want everyone to have equal rights.”
DLEPS – The Department of Law Enforcement and Public Security
