Ministry to hold press event on detained ALP member
THE Rakhine State Ministry for Border Affairs and Security will hold a press conference today addressing the defamation charges filed against an Arakan Liberation Party communications officer.
According to the Sittwe Police Department, the press conference will provide an update on the case against U Khine Myo Tun and will address the Tatmadaw’s reasons for charging him.
A Sittwe police officer who declined to be named said that the press conference was being held in order to avoid disruptions at the man’s hearing on September 26. He added that the ministry may request that the defendant’s supporters not attend the hearing.
The ALP member was arrested on July 25 for alleged incitement and defamation under sections 505(b) and (c) of the penal code. The case relates to a feud from early this year, when the ALP produced a report accusing the Tatmadaw of forcing Rakhine civilians to act as porters and human shields.
The report, which included video and photo testimony, claimed that the Tatmadaw had committed war crimes and violated the Geneva Convention. The Tatmadaw has denied the allegations.
Communications officer U Khine Myo Htun went into hiding shortly after the report’s release when an anonymous phone caller warned him of an imminent plan to charge him with sedition. A source at the security and border affairs ministry told The Myanmar Times in May that there was no plan to charge the communications officer, but that he had been asked to withdraw the allegations.
The ALP, an ethnic armed group, has been pressured to issue a retraction of their claims. They have not complied with this request.
The Rakhine State Information Department confirmed that the press conference will take place and is related to the Ministry for Border Affairs and Security but did not provide any further details.
If found guilty of both charges, U Khine Myo Tu could face up to four years’ imprisonment.