Rohingya Activist Rejects AA Chief’s Claim, Labels Media Propaganda

Arakan Now — 22 September 2025

Nay San Lwin, co-chair of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), has rejected claims made by Arakan Army (AA) chief Twan Mrat Naing and an unofficial affiliated media outlet, accusing them of spreading falsehoods to discredit Rohingya activists.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy last week, the AA leader said: “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.”

Nay San Lwin denied the allegation, saying no such online statements exist from any Rohingya activist or leader. “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, referring to Twan Mrat Naing.

Nay San Lwin stated that the accusation originates from an 18-second audio clip he recorded and uploaded on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) on June 5, 2023. In the clip, he said: “Two options. Fight for your rights or take $2,000 and life imprisonment at a concentration camp in Myanmar.”

He said the message was aimed at Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar after the Myanmar junta offered families $2,000 to return, but would not allow them to return to their villages. “What I said in the audio clip is simple and straightforward, but the Global Arakan Network and the AA leader have twisted it. There is nothing about fighting the Arakan Army. I have never said that,” he explained.

Nay San Lwin also accused the Global Arakan Network — which he described as an unofficial AA media arm — of spreading “cheap propaganda” and false reports about the Rohingya. He said the outlet posts material that should be labelled as fake news.

He added that similar attempts to discredit him by the Myanmar state media in 2017 failed. “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. Many high-level people work with me; they know how I work, and they know the reality on the ground,” he said.