By MRATT KYAW THU |
FRONTIER
The incident
occurred after thousands of people took to the streets to protest the
government’s decision to cancel an event planned to commemorate the 233rd
anniversary of the fall of the Rakhine kingdom, which had its capital city at
Mrauk U. The protestors destroyed property, including a motorbike and plastic
chairs, witnesses said.
Daw Khin Than,
chairperson of Mrauk U Heritage Trust, told Frontier the decision to cancel the
event was broadcast over loudspeaker at about 5pm.
Protestors then
surrounded the General Administration Department office at Htamaraz Ward, about
four kilometres from downtown Mrauk U, after which the police fired into the
crowd, witnesses said.
U Khine Moe, a joint
secretary of the Arakan National Party, said he saw seven dead bodies in a
morgue at Mrauk U hospital, and had been told of another body being transferred
to the hospital in Sittwe, the state capital.
Myanmar police kill
nine Rakhine protesters in Mrauk-U https://coconuts.co/yangon/news/myanmar-police-kill-nine-rakhine-protesters-mrauk-u/
Witnesses said they
believed that some people were still unaccounted for.
Khin Moe said
several police trucks had been dispatched to Mrauk U from Sittwe, with many
officers stationed at the town’s hospitals, where local residents and family
members of the deceased had gathered late on Wednesday, demanding that the
bodies be released.
Tuesday’s event was
cancelled hours after prominent Rakhine writer Wai Hun Aung was arrested in
Sittwe on Tuesday afternoon. Authorities told Frontier he was being charged
under section 17.1 of the Unlawful Association Act, for a speech held on Monday
at Rathedaung, northern Rakhine State, alongside former ANP chairman Dr Aye
Maung, which was highly critical of the government.
Aye Maung was due to
speak at the event in Mrauk U on Tuesday, but was prevented from entering the
town shortly after Wai Hun Aung’s arrest and ordered to return to Sittwe.
Rumours quickly spread on social media that Aye Maung had also been arrested.
U Bo Bo Min Theik,
administrator for Mrauk U Township, could not be reached for comment.