Military files criminal charges against Rakhine politician

Junta personnel filed defamation and incitement charges against well-known ethnic Rakhine politician Pe Than following an interview with the former parliamentarian in local media last week. 

A police officer from Rakhine State’s Myebon Township’s central police station opened the case on Saturday, accusing Pe Than of violating Section 66d of the Telecommunications Law and Section 505a of the Penal Code and issuing a warrant for his arrest. 

Each charge carries a prison term of three years if convicted.

“The district police force ordered the township police to file [the charges] against me and the township police chief did so. They’re looking for me now to take me to court,” Pe Than, who is currently in hiding, told Myanmar Now.

He said that the charges follow comments he made to the news outlet DMG on September 15 in response to an Arakan Army (AA) statement released the day before. The statement had warned against the military’s transport of reinforcement troops to northern Rakhine State on both land and water, saying that the practice was likely to cause clashes with their forces to escalate. 

In the Q and A, Pe Than spoke on the increasing militarisation in Rakhine State and the AA’s role in the state’s political context. 

The politician said that his comments were not reckless and represented the reality of the circumstances on the ground.

“We can’t turn a blind eye to the situation taking place throughout our country,” he added. 

Pe Than served as a member of the policy steering committee of the Arakan National Party until he resigned in June 2021, four months after Myanmar’s military coup. He had previously served as an elected Lower House representative for Myebon Township. 

On September 15, AA forces overran a military base in northern Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township—the third in recent weeks—one day after some 500 junta reinforcement troops were sent to the area by boat. 

An AA attack on a junta marine vessel in Taungup Township on September 16 led to the military arresting at least five people, carrying out multiple searches, and blocking both land and water routes into the area.