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| official_name = Sittwe| other_name = Akyab| pushpin_label_position = bottom| pushpin_map = Myanmar| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Myanmar| image_skyline = Sittwe, Burma.JPG| image_caption = Sittwe main street| image_map = | map_caption = | subdivision_type = CountryMyanmar}}Administrative divisions of Myanmar>State| subdivision_name1 = Rakhine StateDistricts of Myanmar>District| subdivision_name2 = Sittwe District| subdivision_type3 = Township| subdivision_name3 = Sittwe Township| unit_pref = Imperial| area_code = 42, 43| area_total_km2 = ACCESS-DATE=2024-03-05, www.citypopulation.de, 2014 Burma Census>2014 CensusRakhine people>RakhineRohingyaBamarChin peopleKamein>KamanMaramagyi| population_blank1_title = Ethnicities| population_blank2 = BuddhismIslam| population_blank2_title = Religions| population_density_km2 = auto20.167format=dmsdisplay=inline,title}}| leader_title = Mayor| elevation_ft = | elevation_m = Time in Myanmar>MMT| utc_offset = +6.30| utc_offset_DST = Köppen climate classification>ClimateTropical monsoon climate>Am| website = }}Sittwe ({{MYname|MY=စစ်တွေမြို့|MLCTS=cac twe mrui.}}; {{IPA-my|sɪʔtwè mjo̰}}; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced sait-tway in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. As of 2006 the city has 181,000 inhabitants. It is the administrative seat of Sittwe Township and Sittwe District.

Etymology

The name Sittwe, which literally means "the place where the war meets," is derived from the Burmese pronunciation of စစ်တွေ (pronounced Saittwe in Arakanese language). When the Burmese King Bodawpaya invaded the Mrauk U Kingdom in 1784, the Rakhine defenders encountered the Burmese force at the mouth of Kaladan river. In the ensuing battle, which was waged on both land and water, the Mrauk U forces were defeated. The place where the battle occurred came to be called Saittwe by the Rakhine, and colloquially as Sittwe by the Burmese.In early 1825, during the First Anglo-Burmese War, the British forces landed at Sittwe and stationed their forces by the ancient pagoda, Ahkyaib-daw, which is still standing in the city. The British adopted the name Akyab for the place.

History

(File:Police Checkpoint with Closed-Off Muslim (Rohingya) Area (Aung Mingalar) - Sittwe - Rakhaing (Arakan) State - Myanmar (Burma) (12232262756).jpg|thumb|Police checkpoint in Sittwe with closed-off Rohingya Muslim area in the background.)Originally a small fishing village, Sittwe became an important seat of maritime commerce, especially as a port for the export of rice after the British occupation of Arakan, now known as Rakhine State, following the First Anglo-Burmese War.Sittwe was the location of a battle during the conquest of Arakan by the Burmese king Bodawpaya. In 1784, the Burmese expeditionary force, some 30,000 strong, encountered the governor of U-rit-taung Province, Saite-ké (General) Aung and his force of 3000.Shwe Lu Maung alias Shahnawaz Khan: The Price of Silence, A Muslim-Buddhist conflict of Myanmar - A Social Darwinist's Analysis, DewDrop Arts & Technology, 2005 Although heavily outnumbered, the Arakanese force tried to fight the Burmese forces on both land and sea, but were brutally crushed. This defeat opened the route towards the inland Arakanese capital of Mrauk-U, which was soon conquered, ending the independence of the Arakanese. According to Arakanese lore, all of the Arakanese defenders were killed.In 1826, after the First Anglo-Burmese War, the British transferred the seat of government to Sittwe on the coast. During the first 40 years of British rule it expanded from a village to a town of 15,536 inhabitants, and by 1901 it was the third port of Burma with a population of 31,687.{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Akyab|first=James George|last=Scott|author-link=James George Scott|volume=1|page=458}} In the 1860s, the Consulate General of the United States (Kolkata) had a consular agency in Sittwe.WEB,weblink Indo-American relations: From Emergence into Strength,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110701063403weblink">weblink 2011-07-01, dead, During colonial times, Site-tway had a bad reputation for malaria and cholera, although historical records indicate that it was no better or worse than many other locations along the India coast. {{citation needed|date=August 2014}}During World War II the island was an important site of many battles during the Burma Campaign due to its possession of both an airfield and a deepwater port.Sittwe is the birthplace of political monks in Myanmar. It was the birthplace of U Ottama, the first monk who protested against the colonial British in Myanmar. Also, in the recent 2007 protest marches, known as the Saffron Revolution, it was the monks in Sittwe who started the protest against the military government in Myanmar. Sittwe houses the Dhanyawadi Naval Base, named after the ancient Rakhine city-state of Dhanyawadi.Since 2012, the Myanmar government has herded tens of thousands of Rohingyas into camps in Sittwe. There are now some 140,000 Rohingyas living in poor condition huts with limited electricity and food. Rohingya refugees can not go out or move around and also not allowed to work outside of camp. The beach at Ohn Daw Gyi became the main departure point.NEWS, Fuller, Thomas, Myanmar to Bar Rakhine From Fleeing, but Won't Address Their Plight,weblink 12 June 2015, New York Times, 12 June 2015,

Climate

Sittwe's climate is classified as a tropical monsoon climate (Am), according to the Köppen climate classification system. The city experiences a dry season from December through April, and an extraordinarily rainy wet season covering the remaining seven months. Sittwe sees average rainfall in excess of {{convert|1|m|in|-1}} per month during June, July and August. Conditions are noticeably cooler and less humid in the months of December, January and February than during the remainder of the year.{{Weather box|width = auto|metric first=y|single line=y|collapsed = Y|location = Sittwe (1991–2020)|Jan record high C = 37.0|Feb record high C = 39.5|Mar record high C = 40.0|Apr record high C = 38.0|May record high C = 38.9|Jun record high C = 37.2|Jul record high C = 37.7|Aug record high C = 38.0|Sep record high C = 38.0|Oct record high C = 39.5|Nov record high C = 35.0|Dec record high C = 34.0|year record high C = 40.0|Jan record low C = 6.0|Feb record low C = 7.5|Mar record low C = 10.0|Apr record low C = 15.5|May record low C = 18.8|Jun record low C = 18.0|Jul record low C = 19.0|Aug record low C = 18.0|Sep record low C = 18.5|Oct record low C = 16.8|Nov record low C = 11.0|Dec record low C = 8.0|year record low C = 6.0|Jan high C = 28.4|Feb high C = 30.1|Mar high C = 31.9|Apr high C = 33.2|May high C = 32.7|Jun high C = 30.3|Jul high C = 29.5|Aug high C = 29.6|Sep high C = 30.6|Oct high C = 31.6|Nov high C = 31.0|Dec high C = 29.1| year high C = 30.7|Jan mean C = 21.4|Feb mean C = 23.0|Mar mean C = 25.8|Apr mean C = 28.4|May mean C = 28.7|Jun mean C = 27.4|Jul mean C = 26.8|Aug mean C = 26.8|Sep mean C = 27.2|Oct mean C = 27.5|Nov mean C = 25.7|Dec mean C = 22.9| year mean C = 26|Jan low C = 14.4|Feb low C = 16.0|Mar low C = 19.8|Apr low C = 23.5|May low C = 24.8|Jun low C = 24.5|Jul low C = 24.1|Aug low C = 24.0|Sep low C = 23.8|Oct low C = 23.4|Nov low C = 20.4|Dec low C = 16.6| year low C = 21.3|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 9.7|Feb precipitation mm = 10.3|Mar precipitation mm = 8.2|Apr precipitation mm = 27.2|May precipitation mm = 330.2|Jun precipitation mm = 1129.4|Jul precipitation mm = 1334.4|Aug precipitation mm = 937.5|Sep precipitation mm = 563.1|Oct precipitation mm = 303.0|Nov precipitation mm = 84.9|Dec precipitation mm = 12.5| year precipitation mm = 4750.4| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 0.5|Feb precipitation days = 0.5|Mar precipitation days = 0.7|Apr precipitation days = 2.0|May precipitation days = 12.4|Jun precipitation days = 24.4|Jul precipitation days = 28.1|Aug precipitation days = 27.2|Sep precipitation days = 20.8|Oct precipitation days = 11.3|Nov precipitation days = 3.3|Dec precipitation days = 1.1|year precipitation days = 132.5|Jan humidity = 74|Feb humidity = 69|Mar humidity = 70|Apr humidity = 72|May humidity = 74|Jun humidity = 89|Jul humidity = 92|Aug humidity = 92|Sep humidity = 88|Oct humidity = 84|Nov humidity = 80|Dec humidity = 79|year humidity = 80|source 1 = World Meteorological OrganizationWEB,weblink World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020, World Meteorological Organization, 16 October 2023, |source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)WEB,weblink Station Sittwe, Meteo Climat, fr, 10 October 2018, Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity 1951–1967)WEB,weblink Klimatafel von Sittwe (Akyab) / Myanmar (Birma), Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world, Deutscher Wetterdienst, de, 6 November 2018, |date=August 2014}}

Demographics

The largest ethnic group in Sittwe is the Rakhine people. Alongside, there are Rohingya Muslims and some Burmese from other parts of the country.The vast majority practises Theravada Buddhism and Islam. The Rohingya Muslim quarter used to be called Aung Mingala, until the Muslims were driven out by mobs during the 2012 riots in October.MAGAZINE, Unforgiving history,weblink The Economist, 3 November 2012, It is difficult to document the number of Rohingya who remain in the Internally Displaced Persons camps as the so-called "illegal people" were not permitted to register for the national census and the government refuses to address this minority Rohingya ethnic group by name.Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights, Amnesty International and the UN Special Rapporteur have documented the spread of orchestrated anti-Muslim violence with the permission (and sometimes the direct involvement of) government and military authorities.WEB,weblink Physicians for Human Rights - Patterns of Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma,

Economy

In February 2007, India announced a plan to develop the port under the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, which would enable ocean access from Indian north-eastern states, so called "Seven sisters", like Mizoram, via the Kaladan River.NEWS, India to develop Myanmar port to benefit northeast,weblink Hindustan Times, Press Trust of India, February 3, 2007, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070205105234weblink">weblink February 5, 2007, Sittwe's citizenry, especially Buddhist monks, have participated in the 2007 Burmese anti-government protestsIn October 2011, as part of a recent bilateral trade deal signed by Myanmar and India, the two countries pledged a US$120 million port and multimodal investment to complete the infrastructure linking Indian north-eastern provinces to Sittwe overland via India's Mizoram by 2013.The port of Sittwe will undergo extensive dredging and the construction of new berthing terminals. Once operational it will offer direct passage to enable Burmese and Indian shippers to pick up mainline services to and from Kolkata. The two countries also pledged to double bilateral trade to US$3 billion by 2015 by reducing trade tariffs.

Attractions

• Viewpoint, or more popularly known as Point is perhaps the most well-known attraction in Sittwe. It is at the end of the Strand Road and looks out into the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Kaladan River.
• The hundred-year old Shwezedi Monastery is a famous monastery in Sittwe. It was the monastery of U Ottama, who was the first political monk in Myanmar.
• Sittwe Pharagri, the focal point of Sittwe's Buddhist environment, beside Shwezedi Monastery.
• Ahkyaib-daw, is one of the most sacred Buddhist pagodas, possibly originating from the 3rd century BC in the days of Emperor Asoka. The pagoda Ahkyaib-daw, meaning maxillary bone, is believed to be built on a foundation encasing a piece of Buddha’s maxillary bone hence its name.Shwe Lu Maung alias Shahnawaz Khan, The Price of Silence: Muslim-Buddhist War of Bangladesh and Myanmar – A Social Darwinist’s Analysis, DewDrop Arts & Technology, 2005, p174. weblink
• Rakhine State Cultural Museum, which contains exhibits on Rakhine culture and history.
• Lawkananda Pagoda, Sittwe, which is the largest Buddhist temples in Sittwe.

Education

• Computer University, Sittwe
• Technological University, Sittwe

Sport

The 7,000-seat Wai Thar Li Stadium is the home ground of Rakhine United F.C., a Myanmar National League (MNL) football club. Dhanyawaddy Stadium is the home ground of Arakan United FC of the Myanmar Amateur League.

Other

British writer Hector Hugh Munro, better known under his pen name Saki, was born in Sittwe in 1870. A road in Singapore is named after its old name, Akyab.

Image gallery

File:Shwe Zedi, Sittwe, Myanmar.jpg|Shwe Zedi MonasteryFile:Lawkananda Pagoda, Sittwe.jpg|Lawkananda Pagoda, SittweFile:Sittwe, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio - mohigan (49).jpg|The main streetFile:Sittwe View Point Park in 2017 March 26.jpg|Sittwe View Point ParkImage:Sittwe, foreshore.JPG|foreshoreImage:Sittwe, new clock tower.JPG|new clock tower

See also

• Point, Sittwe
• Sittwe Airport

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons}}{{Wikivoyage}}{{NIE Poster|Akyab}}

• 20° 9' 0" North, 92° 54' 0" East Satellite map at Maplandia.com
• Kaladan.com - covering Kaladan project and news

31 January 1862}}{{Rakhine State}}{{Most populous cities in Myanmar}}{{Authority control}}