8/7/2008

Sittwe:Rumors that anti-govern- ment protests will occur soon in Sittwe have been spreading throughout the city, while additional security forces are being deployed by authorities at many key areas in the Arakan State capital, said a town elder.
He said, "I do not if the rumor is true or not, but many people are talking about it. The people are enthusiastically watching events in Sittwe since the rumor began."

Since the rumor began, the high authority has deployed many additional security forces at key places in Sittwe, including Tows hall, U Ottama garden, Lawkar Nanda, Bura Gri temple, U Raykyaw Thu monastery, the inland water jetties, and the former Sittwe college compound.  A monk from Sittwe said over the phone that, "There are many sorts of rumors in Sittwe. One of them is that anti-government demonstrations will break out in Sittwe in the month of August. Nevertheless, I am taking care and do not allow the young monks to visit outside the monastery except at food offering times." 

According to a source from Sittwe, the military authorities are closely watching many monasteries in Sittwe that played a leading role in last year's Saffron Revolution. Some monasteries are facing questions by a local intelligence unit about whether monks from rural towns have come to stay at the monasteries.

A shopkeeper from Sittwe said, "The situation in Sittwe is normal in the daytime, but at night, many security forces can be seen on the streets and at important government buildings. It may be that something will happen in the near future."

Security forced are being deployed at key places throughout the city at night after some unidentified people spread anti-government posters in the streets and markets of Sittwe.

The posters urged Arakanese people to stage demonstrations against the military government. "It is proof, because some democracy activists, including monks, are preparing to stage a demonstration in Sittwe. If they were not planning it, why the anti-government posters spread in Sittwe?" the shopkeeper said.

It has also been learned that many people in Sittwe are waiting anxiously after the rumor of anti-government protests began spreading.