Lamar, Dec 20: "The Burmese military junta has placed a ban on swidden agricultural practices in the northern districts of Arakan state, Maung Daw and Buthedaung, according to a tribal leader. Most Arakanese people in northern Arakan traditionally rely on swidden or slash-and-burn cultivation for their livelihoods, and they are worried about food and product shortages resulting from the ban. Before the ban, the junta tried to ?educate” the people about mountain terrain cultivation..."