Monthly Report | June 2023

Cyclone Mocha’ “Politicization” And “Weaponization”

Monitoring of a brief situation of political tension, the native economic impacts of Cyclone Mocha making of more challenges for health and education sectors, and humanitarian response to Mocha-hit communities in Western Myanmar in June 2023.

About report

This report is a part of the ‘Monthly Report’ series released by the Center for Arakan Studies (CAS). For the month of ‘June’, the CAS has developed this new report based on the four key sections: politics, economics, social issues, and humanitarian context mainly focusing on the situation happening in Arakan.

Readers of this report can observe the key trends tending in Arakan politics despite being a de facto ceasefire between the political authorities: the junta and the ULA. Since the strike of Cyclone Mocha on the Arakan coast in the mid-May impacted huge destructions on the socio- economic lives of the local population, the concentration of the local community is much on the rehabilitation and recovery activities. But, since there are still ‘politicization’ and ‘weaponization’ of aid delivery mainly by the junta authority, the situations do not go as smooth as possible.

The key sources of the information and data in this report are from the key local media agencies such as the ‘Development Media Group (DMG)’, ‘Western News’ and ‘Nanrijara’, etc. The key news presented in the report as the also ones presented in these various media platforms.

More importantly, the report also invites the reader to read a special look on the humanitarian part as it has mainly focused on the update of the post-Mocha Cyclone time. This part has presented the actions of the political authorities, and the state of local and international non- governmental organizations in the process of rehabilitation and recovery. Then, mentioning the voices and opinions of the local disaster affected communities are worth noting.

Table of Content

Part- I: Ceasefire and Peace Talk Continues, But Tension Emerges

Part- II: Negative Economic Impacts of Cyclone Mocha

Part- III: Strike of Cyclone Mocha Adds More Challenges

Part- IV: A Special Focus on Cyclone Mocha Updates

Part- I: Ceasefire and Peace Talk Continues, But Tension Emerges

In the politics of Arakan, the news during June is mostly dominated by the issues related to the armed revolution, political freedom, peace process and, and landmine explosion.

Issues related to the political freedom are more common ones. On June 13, a resident from Rathedaung was reported to be released after completing sentence. He was jailed by the Sittwe District Court under Sections 50(j), and 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law. The ex-prisoner said;

"I was released this morning after completing my sentence. I was detained for nearly three years. I was unfairly arrested and jailed.”

But, on the other hand, the junta still holds over 1,000 NLD members behind bars, says ousted ruling party. Then, some news on June 15 said that the defendants suffer as verdict delays continue to plague Arakan State courts. Likewise, in Kyaukphyu township, verdict postponed pair charged with incitement while the inmates’ families call for allowing prison visits.

Otherwise, the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), the oldest armed group of Arakan which signed a national wide ceasefire in 2015, was accused of detaining two Sittwe men in line with a source on June 233. A source close to the family of Ko Kyaw Naing Soe said,

“They (ALP) didn’t tell why they (ALP) arrested him. They (ALP) only said they (ALP) had a reason to arrest him. He was beaten with a rifle butt as he was taken.”

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