Presidential amnesty use as tool to extort money in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The Burma border security force (Nasaka) had been using the recent presidential amnesty as a tool to extort money from Rohingya community in Maungdaw, said a politician from Maungdaw.

“The Nasaka recalled the Rohingya who flee from their village for fear of arrest with false allegation of linking or connecting with foreign organizations (Taliban) on March 1 and later.”

“The all Rohingya are hailed from Kamaung Seik (Fokira Bazaar) Village Tract of Maungdaw.”

Colonel Aung Gyi, the director of Nasaka instructed his collaborator Zubir from Maungnama to communicate the flee Rohingya from Kamaung Seik (Fokira Bazaar) Village tract who are able to pay money from 500,000 to 2 million kyats, said a family members of arrested with false allegation of linking or connecting with foreign organizations (Taliban) and sentenced by District court of Maungdaw on September 6.

“Zubir organized 16 Rohingya to come back to their village and able to stay with their family but had to pay money to the Nasaka director.”

Zubir collected from 500,000 to 2 million kyats per person to come back to their village where the Nasaka had extort huge amount of money from Rohingya community from Kamaung Seik (Fokira Bazaar) village, said an elder from village.

“The Nasaka who were posting in the area had made mark on the family list as “absconded” while the authority checked the family list at the night time where most of the villagers were avoided to face authority for fear of arrest.”

After announcement of presidential amnesty, the Nasaka used this as tool to extort money from Rohingya community and planned with their collaborator to organize and recall the Rohingya who flee from Kamaung Seik, said a member of village administration office from Maungdaw.

During the last week of February of this year, two persons entered Maungdaw North from Bangladesh where they gathered some local villagers in hopes of forming an understanding between the Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP and National Democratic Party for Development, or NDPD groups—two groups that clashed during the national elections held on November 7, 2010. Most villagers supported the NDPD candidates, so the local authorities and Nasaka collaborators were very angry with the supporters of NDPD candidates.

“But one of the Nasaka collaborators informed the Nasaka that a group of insurgents had entered Burma and held a meeting with local villagers. Taking this opportunity, the Nasaka arbitrarily arrested people, tortured them, and forced them to admit that they had links to insurgents,” according to Kaladan news “Linking Taliban is a creation: Nasaka director.”

“There is no evidence to suggest that the Arakanese Rohingya community consented to the discussion with insurgents. It is just an excuse for the Nasaka to charge, harass, and extort money from the Arakanese Rohingya community.”