Sep 1, 2008 (DVB), Local authorities in Arakan state’s Taunggok township prevented the local National League for Democracy from holding their regular monthly meeting on 30 August, according to NLD members.

A member of the Taunggok NLD youth wing told DVB that local authorities had sent a letter to the group’s township chairman U Kyaw Khin warning him not to hold the August meeting, and had threatened youth members not to attend the meeting.

"The authorities said they would no longer allow us to hold the monthly meetings , they are pressuring us to bring to an end to the activities we had been doing for about 20 years," said the NLD member, who refused to be identified.

"The township police and the Peace and Development Council also threatened our youth members on the streets , they said they would arrest us all if we held the meeting."

Reporting by Yee May Aung