Maungdaw, Arakan State: Authorities concerned –Burma border security force (Nasaka), police, army and Sarapa (Military Intelligence) -increase harassment against the Rohingya people in Maungdaw after the bigoted violence in June 2012, an elder from Maungdaw Town said on condition of anonymity.

Nasaka personnel of Lake Ya Nasaka outpost camp arrested Maulana Hashim (50), Sayed Alam and two other villagers of Lake Ya (Kumir Khali) village, under the Nasaka area No. 4 of Maungdaw Township over false allegation of human trafficking on February 3 and instigated the local villagers not to take photographs which was taking by Nasaka personnel recently, said a close friend of Maulana Hashim preferring not to be named.

“It is just a plan to extort the money from them. The Nasaka demanded kyat 20 million to release.”

“However, they were released today after taking grantee to pay demanded money to the Nasaka officer. How will they pay a huge amount of money?”

“When the indiscriminate arrest and extortion money will be stopped?” asked a local elder from Maungdaw south.

In addition, today morning, a group of Nasaka personnel from Nasaka area No.6 went to the villages of under its area and locked all the mosques, Maqtabs (Arabic school for young children), Hafez Khana (Quran memorial school) and Madrasa (Arabic school) by Nasaka. The Township administration officer earlier ordered to the villagers to close all the mosques and other religious schools, but villagers did not comply with the order, said a local religious leader.

Besides, toady, at around 3:00 pm, three Sarapa from Maungdaw exit and entry point, arrested Nozumul Hassan(25), son of Abu Taher, a shopkeeper, hailed from Shwe Zaar village of Maungdaw, was arrested from the market while selling goods. It is still unknown to the villagers why he was arrested by the security personnel. But, some shopkeepers believe that he will be punished with false and fabricated case which will easy to extract money from him, according to a shopkeeper of Maungdaw Town.

Moreover, army security personnel increased checkpoints to check Rohingya travelers in Maungdaw Township --- from Shikdar Para (Myoma Kanyoungdan) to Maungdaw and the Maungdaw-Aley Than Kyaw road. The army increase harassment and looting goods from the Rohingya travelers. If a Rohinga traveler from Aley Than Kyaw went to Maungdaw to sell goods,will lost 2/3 of his goods on the way.

So far, the concerned authorities are planning how to harass and drive out the Rohingya community from northern Arakan. But the higher authority declared to the world that they are trying to settle the problems between two communities ---Rakhine and Rohingya, said a business man from Buthidaung.

At the first Union Parliament second regular session on 22 August 2011, President Thein Sein said, “We know what happen to people and what people want. And we are striving our best to fulfill their needs to the full extent. To conclude my speech, I promise that our government as a democratically-elected government will do our best for the interests of the people.”

“Is the government truly democratically elected and will do for the interests of the people?,” asked a local elder from Maungdaw.