The Burmese Border Guard Police (BGP) beat and humiliate local Rohingyas in Maungdaw Township; and extort money from them on daily basis, according to the reliable sources. 

The gang of the BGP is based in ‘Thiho Kyun’ village and led by their Sergeant Min Zaw notorious as ‘Money Extortion Machine.’ He and his subordinates arbitrarily beat and harass the local Rohingyas in ‘Thiho Kyun’ village for ransom.

“On October 2 around 8:00PM, Sergeant Min Zaw and other three BGP personnel broke into the resident of Daw Salimah Khatun in ‘Thiho Kyun’ village. They arrested her visiting son-in-law on allegation that he failed to achieve a ‘Guest-Stay Permit’ (permission that a Rohingya needs to apply if when they visit and stay in other village).

After, he demanded Kyat 4 Million from her to release. Else, he threatened he would file him and send him to prison by accusing him of having connections with *RSO.

Subsequently afterwards, he entered the resident of ‘U Shamshu’ and searched his home. Since he was not present at home at the time, he pulled the shirt of his wife present at the scene and threw two punches at her.

And, he scolded all the family members of the households using racist slurs and left,” said a worried Rohingya in the village.

Besides, he arrested U Aamir Hamza, a community health worker, and took him to the BGP Camp while he was rounding the Thiho Kyun village around 8:30PM on October 3. Although nothing illegal was found with him, he demanded Kyat 6 Million ransom accusing him of possessing Yaba Tablets (WY). The next morning, he released him (Aamir Hamza) on the condition that he would need to pay Kyat 1.1 Million and withheld his (Aamir Hamza’s) motorcycle.

However, Aamir Hamza chose to lodge a complaint against him to the head-quarter of Border Guard Police (BGP) Administration. Although the commander of the BGP at ‘4-Mile-Area’ Camp transferred him (the BGP Sergeant) to another camp on October 5, he extorted Kyat 200,000 from Aamir Hamza to return his motorbike, according to a report by a local source.

*RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organization) = the former Rohingya armed resistance wing, now non-existent! Burmese authorities frequently use this ‘RSO’ tag to oppress innocent people!

The village administrator of a village in northern Maungdaw has been continuously oppressing the innocent Rohingya villages for a long time.

The village is called ‘Re Nouk Nga Thar’ village in northern Maungdaw Township and is administered by a Dinet Rakhine extremist named ‘U Maung Mya.’ He was selected as the administrator/head of the village with 200 Rohingya households and 40 Dianet Rakhine Households since 2008.

Since then, he has become highly connected with the officials in the Maungdaw Township administration and the Maungdaw District Administration. Therefore, he abuses his power, mistreat the Rohingyas and brutally over them.

When the villagers complain to the township administration against the oppression by the Rakhine extremist village administrator, the authorities do not take any action against him. But rather, the township administration informs him the names of the people that lodged the complaints against him and he oppresses the complainants even more.

Therefore, the oppressed villagers become preys of double victimization.

He was a poor man before he was made the administrator/head of the village. However, he now owns two Bungalows, One Shop-Row, a Cinema Theatre, a domestic animal farm, a Car, a Motorcycle, a Fruit Farm, Acres of lands and many more. He has earned all these properties not by working hard by through Money Extortions from the Rohingya villagers and seizing their properties using his power.

For instance, on September 22, he accused a Relgious Scholar named Mv Abu Taher, 45, of stealing fruits from his farm and summoned him to his home. He tortured him through various means. And extorted Kyat 80,000 from him by threatening to hand him over to the police and subsequently send to prison.

Many more atrocities he is committing against the innocent people are yet to be reported.

 The internally displaced Rohingyas in Pauktaw Township refused the shelter homes offered by the Myanmar authorities demanding restorations to their original homes and lands.

U Kyan Aye, the head of Pauktaw Township Administration, visited the ‘Sintet Maw (Sandama)’ IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps in Pauktaw Township around 3:00PM on Monday. During the meeting with the internally displaced Kamans and Rohingyas (IDP) in the camps, he said that there’s an instruction from the higher officials to build a single-storey house separately, one unit for every family at the place where they are currently living.

However, the displaced Kamans and Rohingyas in the camps originally from ‘Kyauk Phyu’ Township, responded saying “we are ready to accept anything if the government is restoring us to our original lands and homes in Kyauk Phyu. We’ll never agree to any proposal no matter if the government is planning to build flats or buildings here.”

Afterwards, U Kyan Aye asked the displaced people to sing on the paper by mentioning that they (the IDP) were refusing the offer of the shelter homes. Around 70 people have signed the letter of rejection.

Having the signatures of the people on the paper, the U Kyan Aye, left at around 5:00PM of the day. Before leaving, he said that he would submit the letter to the higher authorities.

None of the IDP (Kyauk Phyu Township) has been threatened or arrested by the authorities for the refusal of the offer yet. However, they (the IDP that signed on the letter) are worried that they will be troubled by the authorities sooner or later.

On September 24, U Kyan Aye, the head of Pauktaw Township Administration, paid a similar visit to the ‘Sintet Maw (Sandama)’ IDP camps and held a meeting with the camp committee regarding the issue.

The Muslim people, both Kamans and Rohingyas, fled from their hometown ‘Kyauk Phyu’ for ‘Sintet Maw in Pauktaw Township’ after their homes and villages have been burnt down and razed by the state-sponsored Rakhine (Magh) terrorists in October 2012. Attempt to make them permanently live in the IDP camps and to not return them their original homes and lands is a plan by the government to render them homeless and landless.

Myanmar’s Township Administrative Authorities in Buthidaung Township demolished a mosque and a religious school being repaired after they had been damaged by the Cyclone ‘Komen’ last Thursday. 

The President Thein Sein gave instructions to repair any sanctuary structures damaged by the cyclone during his visit to the township post the natural disaster. However, U Than Shwe, the township administrator of Buthidaung, has ordered the Islamic sanctuary committees to stop repairing the sanctuary structures or pay him humongous amount of bribes for the repairs. [Please Read the Earlier Report: Township Administrator Threaten Sanctuary Committees in Buthidaung]

The administrator U Than Shwe, a Rakhine extremist, has threatened some sanctuary committees in the township and extorted Kyat 1 Million to 2 Million for repairing mosques and other sanctuary structures. He then demanded Kyat 10 Million each from the Sanctuary Committees in ‘Alay Chaung (Ali Yong)’ village and ‘Attwin Nget Thay’ village respectively. None of the committees was able to pay such humongous amount of ransom money.

Hence, last Wednesday, he summoned the committee members of Alay Chaung’ village to his office and ordered them to demolish the mosque erected. However, the committee members responded “we won’t be able to demolish a Mosque once it is erected. It is not permitted in the religion of Islam.”

The next day, U Than Shwe ordered the administrator of Alay Chaung village to hire workers to demolish the mosque. And then, the mosque was subsequently demolished.

“The mosque was fully destroyed during the cyclone. Hence, it was being rebuilt and re-erected. It was not fully built but only the roof was covered with Tin. The tin roof was taken down by the hired workers,” said a villager in Alay Chaung.

Similarly, the administrator of ‘Kin Taung’ village, upon the instruction of U Than Shwe, demolished the roof of the Tafiz Religious School which was under re-construction after it had been damaged by the storm. The reason behind the demolition is that the School Committee has refused Kyat 10 Million bribes for the repair works.

Restriction on Freedom of Religion and Belief is one of the many fundamental human rights violations being committed against Rohingyas by the Myanmar’s ultranationalist governments throughout decades.

 A gang of drunken Myanmar’s Security Forces known as Hlun Htein attempted to rape a 21-year-old Rohingya girl in Sittwe (Akyab) Township last night. 

The gang of security police forces, being high on alcohol, broke into the residence of Mr. Khalu @ Yusuf at around 1:30AM on October 1. Three of them, then, dragged his daughter, Ms. Kharisa, out of the house as another security force shut her mouth tightly. Tearing off her clothes, they began to attempt to rape her in gang.

Meanwhile, she struggled and managed to take the hand off her mouth and screamed for help loudly. Her father came out of the house and shouted for help to his neighbors. As his neighbors arrived at the place in crowd to rescue the girl, the Security Forces ran away.

15 minutes later, 14 Security Forces arrived at the place of the incident to arrest the victim, Ms. Kharisa, and her father. However, they could not arrest them because the villagers confronted the criminal security forces. When many more villagers started to gather, they left the place for their camp.

Two people were injured during the confrontations with the Security Forces that attempted to rape the girl in gang. The security police forces serve under the Battalion-36 which is very close to the place of the crime and the Sittwe University.

“The police forces daily abuse, beat and rob Rohingyas passing by their camp. Sometimes, they pretend to be normal civilian Rakhines (Maghs) and some other times, as Security Police Forces in uninform to torture and rob the Rohingya passers-by.

Although the locals often complain to their commander Major Wunna Zaw, no action is taken against the brutal and barbaric security forces. Hence, they are committing crimes against Rohingyas with impunity,” said a local Rohingya in Sittwe.

 Rakhine extremists plot to launch terror attacks on Muslim Rohingyas during the forthcoming Eid Festival. 

The Rakhine extremists in various townships in Arakan state are posing threats to the local Rohingyas that they will attack and kill them (the Rohingyas) during the Eid Festival (on which Muslims sacrifice animals and perform pilgrimages in Makkah city).

“The Rakhine extremists in the townships such as Kyauktaw, Minbya, Myebon, Akyab (Sittwe), Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Maungdaw are saying ‘Bengalis (referring us) will kill animals and we will kill them’ said a worried local Rohingya in Buthdaung.

Since recently, the locals have been spotting some stranger Rakhines suspected to be militants from Arakan Army (AA) roaming in Buthidaung and Maungdaw.

They are been being encountered in many villages in northern and southern Maungdaw, in Taung Pyo sub-township and in the downtown and northern villages in Buthidaung.

Sometimes, they roam around and carry out their activities in the uniforms of Border Guard Police in northern Maungdaw. And at night, they hold meetings in the Buddhist monasteries and the Rakhine villas and do the plotting.

“We are worried seeing their terror plots,” said an elderly Rohingya in Maungdaw.

Besides, early this month, Myanmar’s military seized piles of lethal weapons and arms from the Rakhine Buddhist monastery named ‘Hle Myat Nar Zaydi’ at Zaydi Taung hamlet of Kachcha Pek Kan Pyin village in Buthidaung Township.

 Myanmar’s military and Border Guard Police (BGP) have been committing rapes against Rohingya women in Buthidaung Township since recently.

The armed forces (the military and the BGP) have been committing the rapes against the women at their gun-points especially in the village of ‘Phaya Pyin Aung Pha.’ Partnering with the armed forces in the crimes are the administrator of the village, Maung Chan Thar (a Rakhine extremist), and his collaborator named Mr. Kasim.

“Every day, the administrator of ‘Phaya Pyin Aung Pha’ village, Maung Chan Thar, the military base at the office of the village administration and the BGP from ‘Nyaung Chaung’ Camp raid the resident of poor man named Mr. A (not the full name) at quarter 1 in the village. They force the man out of his house and rape his daughter Ms. T (not the full name).

Due to the continuous and constant rapes by them, Ms. has now become like a prostitute,” said a local in the village in a worrisome tone.

“When the neighbors try to prevent, they are threatened to be killed or be arrested. Therefore, they are too helpless,” he added.

Similarly, Ms. Z (daughter of) Mr. AB hails from quarter 8 of ‘Phaya Pyin Aung Pha’ village had flee her home as she was unable to bear up often getting raped by the military and the Border Guard Police.

Besides, they are attempting to rape Daw Sarah Khatun (daughter of) Mr. Sanaullah hails from the same place. However, she is still saved.

On the other hand, the BGP from Nyaung Chaung Camp arbitrarily arrest local Rohingyas on pretext of possessing ‘illegal Bangla Phones’ and beat them for ransom.