Nay San Lwin, co-chair of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), has strongly rejected accusations made by Arakan Army (AA) chief Twan Mrat Naing, describing them as baseless propaganda aimed at discrediting Rohingya activists.

In an interview with Renown news outlet of Myanmar ‘The Irrawaddy’ last week, the AA leader alleged that Rohingya diaspora leaders had encouraged attacks on Rakhine communities, claiming he had a recording of such remarks. “There are diaspora leaders, from Europe, of which we have a recording from online, that says we will give you $2,000, go and attack Rakhine,” Twan Mrat Naing said.

But Nay San Lwin dismissed the claim as entirely fabricated. “As a leader, every word must be backed by solid evidence. What he said in the interview is propaganda. He should not have relied on his aides without checking the primary source himself. Spreading this propaganda only shows his desperation to discredit the man who has strong evidence of his armed group’s international crimes against the Rohingya,” he told Arakan Now.

The activist explained that the allegation stems from an 18-second audio clip he posted on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) on June 5, 2023. In the clip, he told Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: “Two options. Fight for your rights or take $2,000 and life imprisonment at a concentration camp in Myanmar.” The message, he clarified, was directed at Rohingya families who were being pressured by Myanmar’s military junta to accept $2,000 to return under conditions that barred them from resettling in their home villages.

“There is nothing about fighting the Arakan Army. I have never said that,” Nay San Lwin stressed, accusing the AA and its affiliated propaganda outlet, the Global Arakan Network, of deliberately twisting his words. He described the outlet as “an unofficial media arm of the AA” that routinely spreads fake news and anti-Rohingya narratives.

Drawing parallels with previous smear campaigns, he noted that Myanmar’s state-controlled media attempted to discredit him in 2017 during the height of the Rohingya crisis. “In 2017, MRTV, Global New Light of Myanmar, the Presidential Office, the State Counsellor’s Office and many local outlets tried to discredit me but failed. The Arakan Army and its propaganda outlet will not succeed either,” he said.

Analysts see the AA’s attempt to frame Rohingya leaders as part of a broader strategy to delegitimize Rohingya voices internationally while concealing its own growing record of abuses against Rohingya civilians in Arakan State. Rights monitors have documented killings, forced displacement, and persecution carried out by the AA, which critics say mirrors the same tactics once used by the Myanmar military against ethnic minorities.

By seeking to undermine exiled Rohingya leaders, observers argue, the AA is trying to erase credible documentation of its crimes while tightening its grip over territory. Nay San Lwin, however, said the truth will prevail. “Many high-level people work with me; they know how I work, and they know the reality on the ground,” he asserted.

BOB Post