Ashin Sekeina, a Buddhist monk from Arakan State capital Sittwe, has just completed his pilgrimage to Mrauk U, a 100-plus mile journey by foot in the name of peace and regional development.

UN Special Rapporteur to visit Arakan as protestors around the region demand that the UN, along with MSF and other international relief agencies, are forced to withdraw their operations.

International aid agencies say they support those in need regardless of race or religion, following a protest in Sittwe where Arakan Buddhists called for the expulsion of the groups on the basis they are biased in favour of Rohingya Muslims.

Arakanese Buddhists call for local police be given the right to use lethal force and demand that the UN and other international relief groups be expelled from the area; meanwhile, dozens of local Rohingyas are moving to IDP camps in fear of more violence.

Two Rohingya political parties issued a plea to the government last Friday not to be categorised as “other” in the upcoming census, claiming they are “bona fide citizens” and entitled to be recognised as an ethnic minority group in Burma.

An umbrella group of political and civic Arakanese groups issue a statement demanding a halt to all natural resource extraction projects in Arakan state until a genuine federal system is implemented in Burma.