By Qutub Shah
In the wake of its attempts to forcibly bengalize the ethnic Rohingyas, Myanmar government has been adopting measures one 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 documents, 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.
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