Monk Arrested in Police Raid

Narinjara
11/26/2007


A police force in Sittwe raided a monastery and arrested a monk on 15 November, but no information is available regarding the whereabouts of the monk after his arrest.
U Thu Min Ghala from Sittwe told Narinjara over the phone that police arrested U Than Rama during the raid, but that he did not know where authorities are detaining the monk.

U Than Rama, aged 30, was wanted by the authority for his involvement in the recent monk-led demonstrations in Sittwe.

A student from Rupa Ward said that a force of about 30 armed police raided Tayzar Rama Kaman Htan monastery on the outskirts of Sittwe at 4:30 pm on 15 November.

During the arrest, police severely beat and kicked U Than Rama and took him away to an undisclosed location.

In Sittwe, the security is still tight and government authorities are closely watching most of the monasteries. The authorities are also prohibiting monks from traveling around Arakan without official permission. #