A/HRC/42/CRP.5 EAOs in an attack on a military academy near Mandalay in northern Shan State on 15 August 2019 as part of the Northern Alliance.608 269. There is widespread support and sympathy for the AA among the ethnic Rakhine people. Against the backdrop of perceived persistent discrimination and political disenfranchisement by the Bamar-majority Government, ethnic Rakhine people broadly perceive the AA as a legitimate armed group that represents their interests.609 As one Rakhine man said, “The AA is fighting for the freedom of Arakan, as the Arakanese have been oppressed by the Tatmadaw. The Tatmadaw is not our Army. They abuse us.” 610 Popular support for the AA appears to be growing as a result of the heavy-handed Tatmadaw operations611 and bolstered by widespread support for its leader Twan Mrat Naing.612 270. Ethnic Rakhine are joining the AA from their villages, from mining areas closer to the AA headquarters in Kachin State and from the diaspora communities across Asia. 613 The AA recruits both female and male members.614 The Mission has not received any reports of forced recruitment, although some members of the Chin community feel at risk of being forced to join.615 The AA claim not to recruit soldiers under the age of 18. 616 The Mission has not found any cases of children being forcibly recruited. 271. The AA maintains a strong and sophisticated social media presence. They have numerous websites and regularly post photographs and semi-professionally produced videos, including promotional materials such as videos of military training demonstrating the group’s fighting abilities and weaponry capacity. The AA has also developed the #ArakanDream2020 hashtag, calling for escalated actions ahead of the 2020 nationwide elections. It has stated its aim of achieving self-determination by the end of 2020.617 The AA has a dedicated spokesperson who regularly engages with the media and the AA regularly issues public responses, including rebuttals to statements issued by the Tatmadaw.618 272. On 5 February 2019, Facebook banned the AA from its social media platform alongside three other EAOs that have not signed the NCA, namely the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Kachin Independence Army and the Ta’ang National 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 https://www.arakanarmy.net/post/ည-န-င-မဟ-မ-တ-၃-ဖ-႔-င-မန-မ-စစ-တပ-မ-လ-တ-င-႐-မ-မ-ကနရ-၅-ခ-တ-င-တ-က-ပ-မ-ဖစ-ပ, See also: Al Jazeera, “Myanmar rebels kill over a dozen in attack in Shan state” (16 August 2019), See also Section VI. The situation in northern Myanmar; Introduction. CI-274, CI-275, CI-276, CI-278, CI-283, CI-284, CI-286, LI-165. CI-274. LM-048, LM-054, Anthony Davis, “Why Myanmar’s military will win the Rakhine war” (Asia Times, 5 February 2019). LM-028, LM-047, LM-054, Anthony Davis, “Why Myanmar’s military will win the Rakhine war” (Asia Times, 5 February 2019). LM-035, LM-054, International Crisis Group, A New Dimension of Violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State (January 2019), p.6. Amnesty International, No one Can Protect Us: War Crimes and Abuses in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, (May 2019), p.11, The Irrawaddy, “Analysis: Arakan Army - A Powerful New Threat to the Tatmadaw” (8 January 2019). LI-187, Radio Free Asia, “Women Are Increasingly Drawn to the Arakan Army’s Fight Against Myanmar’s Central Government” (18 April 2019), Scott Heidler, Myanmar conflict: Arakan violence rises in Rakhine state” (Al Jazeera, 26 August 2019). CI-252, CI-253, CI-254, CI-255, LI-151, LI-153, LI-155, LI-157. LI-187, LM-035. The Eurasia Review, “Arakan Army: Myanmar’s New Front of Conflict – Analysis” (14 July 2019)., David Scott Matheison, “Myanmar’s Rakhine Torched Anew by Insurgent Fire” (Asia Times, 3 January 2019), International Crisis Group, A New Dimension of Violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State (January 2019). LM-028, See for example: BNI Multimedia Group, “Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) Airstrikes on Arakan Army by two Helicopters in Minbra TSP” (24 June 2019), The Irrawaddy, “Open Lawsuit Kept AA Leaders from Gov’t Peace Talks,” (9 July 2019), Radio Free Asia, “Myanmar Charges Arakan Army Leadership Under Counter-Terrorism Law” (8 July 2019). 85