Arakan News Updates: Atrocities against Rohingyas Continue

Maung Daw, Arakan- While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is celebrating and enjoying her visit in US showing no signs of care for the ongoing humanitarian disasters in her country, the atrocities, looting, arbitrary extortion of money and forced labouring continue there. On the other hand, Burmese regime is deceiving the world by declaring that they are carrying out investigations into the violence and the same regime is carrying out the atrocities against Rohingyas in cooperation with Rakhine extremists. 

“At 5:30 PM on 17th September 2012, Salimullah son of Abdul Shukkur (35 years old) from Du Shira Dan village of southern Maung Daw was found dead nearby a forest. At 11 AM of the day, he left his house in order to pick up some vegetables from the forest and was subsequently got slaughtered and killed. It happened nearby the residential place of Rakhines. Later his dead body was taken to the NaSaKa (Border Security Forces) station at Magyi Chaung in southern Maung Daw. Besides, on 18th September 2012, one more Rohingya was found dead nearby a village of Rakhines in Baggona” said Nyi Nyi Aung from Maung Daw. 

“Authority of southern Maung Daw announced that each and every Rohingya above the age of 12 in the village Baggona were involved in the violence. Hence, all Rohingyas in the village including under-aged children are portrayed as criminals irrespective to whether they have committed crimes or not. And authority is going to arrest all Rohingyas from the village as they announced. Therefore, the village is regularly raided by Police, NaSaKa etc. As result, most of Rohingyas in the village cannot stay in their homes and are on hiding. Is it according to the law or arbitrary arrests and tortures of Rohingyas. If it is according to the law, what kind of law is it?” A. Faiz, a Rohingya from Sothern Maung Daw, exclaimed. 

“At 10:00 AM on 17th September 2012, Noor Hakim, an educated Rohingya youth from Quarter 5 of Maung Daw, was arrested by the police officer Hla Myint, a Rakhine. He was arrested when he was on his way to opening his shop and subsequently charged with unknown cases. (The government ordered to resume their businesses and reopen their shops. When Rohingyas do, they are arrested.) In addition, Noor Hakim was the sole caretaker of his whole family because his father, Abdul Razak, was arrested with other Rohingya scholars in 2008 and locked up for months. When he came out of the lock-up, he was forced to leave the country by the authority. 

Similarly, at 4:00 PM on 18th September 2012, Rabiul Alam (28 years) son of U Ausi Rahman from Quarter 5, Maung Daw was arrested by the same police officer. He was arrested because he refused to give money demanded by the police officer. On top of that, at 8:30 AM on 19th September 2012, a Son of Amir Saab Kamal Uddin from Bohmuu Village of Maung Daw was arrested again by the same police officer. The police officer released him after extorting money amounting Kyat 6 Lakhs. The arrested Rohingyas are taken to the Buthidaung jail after following day of their arrests, where they are tortured to death. It is said that the police officer is the currently in charge of Maung Daw and he is doing all kind atrocities possible to Rohingyas. Besides, he has been a police officer in Maung Daw for decades without any transfer to other places. 

According to district administrator of Maung Daw, the court released an arrest warrant to arrest 190 Rohingyas more. Additionally, he threatened that the actual arrests could exceed the number mentioned. Therefore, every Rohingya in Maung Daw is living his daily life in fear. Moreover, at 8:00 PM on September 19, 2012, a group of NaTaLa and Rakhine extremists together with Military went to attack the Rohingya villagers in DuChira Dang of southern Maung Daw. When the villagers resisted, they left. Yet, the villagers are not being able to sleep in the fear of possible forthcoming attacks” reported by Riyaz, a Rohingya youth, from Maung Daw. 

Though the Burmese government is externally claiming that the situation has calmed down, they have been committing all the atrocities silently. In fact, Arakan has a silent killing field and mass graves of Nazi Extermination Camps where Rohingyas are being cleansed on daily basis.