Army arrests Rohingya youth in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State: A Rohingya youth was arrested yesterday by army in Maungdaw Town over the allegation that he was involved in the violence of June 8, according to a close relative of the victim.


“The victim was identified as Moulvi Mohamed Alam (25), son of Abdu Shukur, hailed from Nurulla Para (village) of Maungdaw south.”

The victim was arrested by Major Ray Wint Aung, the Deputy Commander of Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 352. The Commander accompanied by some soldiers have been taking station at Maungdaw south after the June violence between Rakhine and Rohingya. The Commander was sent there to control the riot but the commander has discriminating the Rohingya villagers though there is Nasaka (Burma’s border force) is present, said a local elder who denied to be named.

After arrest, the army officer demanded Kyat 3 million from the victim to be released, but the arrestee is not able to pay this huge amount.  As a result, the commander handed over the victim to the Maungdaw police station.

According to a neighbor of the victim, the police filed case with false and fabricated accusation against him and gave three days remand from the court.

Regarding the June riot in Maungdaw Township, over 1,000 Rohingya villagers were arrested excluding Rakhine people. Some were missing and many were killed after security forces’ arrest, according to local sources.

Similarly, Nasaka arrested two Rohingyas –Younous, 28, son of Ismail and Saifullah, 20, son of Molana Abdul Sukur, hailed from Kanpu village, Maungdaw  on November 21, with so called warrant list, said a village admin official.
After nearly six months of riot, the security forces have been arresting arbitrarily only Rohingya villagers. After arrests, villagers were tortured and extorted money from them and some were sent to jail without any proper documents and query. The security forces arrested Rohingya people after entering the village whom they met, especially youths, educated persons and rich men. Meanwhile, if they got chance, they assaulted the Rohingya women and girls, a local trader said.

The security forces will not stop the arrest and harassment against the Rohingya people until and unless the government’s pressure against them.

Government’s New Attempt to Forcibly Bengalize Rohingyas

In the wake of its attempts to forcibly bengalize the ethnic Rohingyas, Myanmar government has been adopting a measure after another in the last couple of months. The government is making all efforts to prove its false accusing them of illegal immigration from Bangladesh and is forcing them softly sometimes and mightily sometimes to identify themselves as Bengalis.

Firstly, the government has started to check and investigate their documents and proofs for identification especially in the areas affected by the current apartheid after it has burnt all the homes and properties into ashes where they have lost everything even the dress worn at the time. Secondly, the investigating team targets the victims that lost every belonging including their, the displaced or the ones who has other weakness like illiteracy, poor mentality, etc.

Its first policy was mendacious temptations and false promises that it will provide Rohingyas with all fundamental rights if they admit to being Bengalis as their ethnic origin. When the government has realized that these temptations and promises have fallen on deaf ears as nobody dared to lie about his ethnicity, its next attempt was to threaten them, as is its wont, by arresting, torturing, beating and extorting huge amount of money. But this attempt appeared to be futile too.


Breaking news of November 24, 2012

Finally, in the regions under NaSaKa (Border Immigration Head Quarter)’s authority in Maungdaw and Buthidaung, every Imam of mosques – who are the spiritual and religious leaders of Rohingya communities – are called by NaSaKa to the respective offices together with village administration saying for an official meeting. Having reached there to the office, they are ordered to put off the religious dress (cap and long shirt called Kurtah) and to pay MMK 500 each before entering. And then they are forced to fill up a form for personal information keeping the ‘Race’ blank and to sign it or to sign a totally blank form. After that, the officials complete the forms writing the ‘Race’ as Bengalis. In the end, the officials let them go back after taking MMK 2000 to 6000 from each.

Indeed, the government’s thinking beyond forcing the Imams first is that perhaps the public will follow them blindly in admitting to be illegal immigrants. And all these efforts are being made by the government to blind the world to its lying for decades and to show as proofs in need.

The Fresh Violence in Maungdaw

“57 times severe punishments were the trademark of 57 member countries of Organization of Islamic Cooperation which is a sister organization NGO of United Nations” 

November 24 – On November 20, Twelve innocent Rohingya people from Zaw-Ma-Tet village (Lam-Ba-Guna Fara) were arrested by NaSaKa forces from Maungdaw Township. In that village, some seven to ten Muslim Rohingya houses were burnt down by Rakhine mobs on November 19 after the President Obama delivered the speech at Yangon University Convocation Hall. “As a golden present to President Obama for his speech in which he mentioned and noted in regard of Rohingya” Rakhine mobs said while torching the houses. The arrestees were falsely accused by the authority that the Rohingya houses were burnt down by themselves and that was the reason why they were arrested.

Before handing over the arrestees Rohingyas to the police of Maungdaw, NaSaKa had started deliberately torturing the arrested ones --- each 57 times severely beating up on their back. “57 times severe punishments were the trademark of 57 member countries of Organization of Islamic Cooperation which is a sister organization NGO of United Nations” NaSaKa forces said.

As a matter of fact, all these grass-root Rohingyas have no exact information or knowledge of Islamic countries’ activities in the sphere of international political activities, but all the relevant authorities have been in “rickety and wobbly” while simply dealing with ordinary Rohingya people. That remarkably all along the times the discriminatory policies adopted on Rohingyas pushes the local people to guess any outside be of assistance—whoever may be, whatever source should be, whichever channel that be---to save them from all sorts of discriminatory policies practicing on innocent Rohingya all along the time. After that, they were transferred to the police station and they again severely punished on innocent Rohingya people and they are still in police custody.

On November 22, some paddy fields workers, whom Amanullah hired to harvest in his paddy fields, each holding sickle to start up to reap the paddy in the field, were being stopped by NaSaKa paramilitary forces and Mr. Amanullah (paddy field owner) was summoned by NaSaKa nearby a house which belongs to a car driver namely Mr. Zafar. Mr. Amanullah, from “Italia” Village of Maungdaw Township, an owner of paddy fields nearly by Block (3) Maungdaw Township, was severely beaten and put in now in police custody. In this regards, though Mr. Amanullah made complaints at the NaSaKa headquarters, head of the military battalion, township police station and township administrative office, yet there is no hint to take action against the complaint by either of the authority.

Military head of “Alay-than-Kyaw” village, County of Maungdaw Township, has systematically formed some Rohingyas and Rakhine human trafficking brokers to recruit those who want to go Malaysia. It is learned that per head 300,000 Kyats is defined for a payment to send to Malaysia --- such a illicit way has been very perilous for job hunters facing many times on a half water way (on international water)--- either the people were intentionally being boarded on the bank of Thai authorities or along the coast of Irrawaddy delta and Tannassarim coast ---where the innocent Rohingya job hunters usually faced long term jail imprisonment by Myanmar authorities on alleged accusation such as Bengali immigrants crossing the Myanmar border unlawfully though its (Myanmar government) acknowledgement that Rohingya being the Myanmar citizens. Such the accidents had been many times and there are many innocent Rohingya people in every jail of the country along the nation. We have found that the alternative authorities of Myanmar from respective regions along Rakhine state have been dishonestly earning money showing the ‘enticement’ job opportunity in Malaysia and Singapore in one hand and crookedly putting the innocent job hunters (Rohingya) from a half water way by turning the sailing boats to the authorities and putting the jails subsequently from the other hand.

Again date on November 22, from the military battalion (14), some six NaSaKa paramilitary forces leading by captain Kyaw Myint entered the “Shwe Zet” village and started the routine investigation against the naive villagers so and so and --- that afraid of being arrested and tortured by the authority, the Rohingya male villagers have fled away to where a bit safe hideout – then a women villager namely “Ms. Zura Khatu” was arrested and now she is in police custody under an alleged accusation of possessing “Bangla mobile phone”.

Army killed one, wounded three in Buthidaung

Buthidaung, Arakan State: Army personnel from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No, 551 of Buthidaung Township killed one villager and wounded three others in Buthidaung Township on November 20, according to a villager on condition of anonymity.

“On that day, at around 2:00 pm, a section of army from LIB Battalion No.551 went to Pyin Hla village of Para Pyin Thintan village tract of Buthidaung Township and made blank fire
into air. Seeing and hearing this, the villagers were fleeing from their village. But, later, the soldiers fired to the villagers while they were fleeing. As a result, one villager was killed on the spot and three others were seriously wounded. Some villagers were severely tortured for fleeing the village.”

“The dead villager was identified as Abdu Zawlil (45), son of Sayed Ahmed, hailed from Pyin Hla village.”

The soldiers said to the villagers while beating them, “This is not your country. Why do you live here? These are gifts for Rohingyas,” said one of the villagers who was severely beaten up by the soldiers.

Some of the soldiers from Battalion No.551 temporarily have been taking station at Gwason Island of Buthidaung Township. Its original headquarters or camp is Maung Nama Palay Daung village, east of Buthidaung Town.

On November 21, Border Affairs Minister Than Htay said that security forces have done their best to enforce the rule of law.

A schoolteacher from the locality said, “Government says to impose rule of law immediately, but in practical, it is quite difference. They have actual policy and declared policy.”

International Rights Groups have condemned the government for not taking action to stop the violence.

Egypt has expressed is strong irritation towards the renewal of acts of violence committed against Muslims in Myanmar (formerly Burma), and urged the authorities in Burma to take immediate, decisive action and bring to an end such acts of violence committed against (Burmese) Muslims who belong to the Rohingya ethnicity, said Minister plenipotentiary Amro Rushdi, a spokesman from the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

A village elder said, “How will stay at the village, even the security forces discriminate us?”