Term ‘ARSA extremist terrorists’ used instead of ‘extremist Bengali terrorists’

30 August 2017
Term ‘ARSA extremist terrorists’ used instead of ‘extremist Bengali terrorists’
Former Information Minister Ye Htut. Photo: Lynn Bo Bo/EPA

The government has changed the term ‘extremist Bengali terrorists’ to the new term ‘ARSA extremist terrorists’ in referring to ongoing terrorist acts taking place in northern Rakhine State.
This new term was first found on State Counsellor Office Information Committee’s official Facebook page which reports on the conflict on August 29 in the evening.
Similarly, the name of the Facebook page has been changed to ‘Information Committee’.
Mizzima contacted two mobile phones of State Counsellor Office Director General Zaw Htay to ascertain the change of the term on their official page but he replied only by SMS, saying he could not answer yet.
Former Information Minister Ye Htut commented on this issue on his Facebook page, “They changed to the new term ‘ARSA extremist terrorists’. This is their right and this is in their authority. But they should say why they changed to this new term, and who this information committee represents, Information Ministry or President Office or State Counsellor or who else, openly and transparently.”
The government officially announced on August 26 that ARSA had been declared a terrorist group.