Armies collect paddy in Rathedaung Township

Boys assisting people across a broken mud and log Rural Rathedaung

Rathedaung, Arakan State: Armies from Rathedaung Township have been collecting paddy from Rohingya villagers since December third week from their hired arable lands to Rohingya villagers after seizing from them, a village farmer said preferring not to be named.

“The armies collected 13 Tangs (one Tang = 35 kg) per acre from the villagers. The arable lands were owned by Rohingya villagers, but these were seized by armies earlier for their purposes and again hired to the Rohingya farmers year by year at the rate of 13 Tans per acre.”

This year, in 2012, Rohingya farmers fully did not able to grow paddy in their hired arable lands from the armies because of violence in June between Rakhine and Rohingya communities. But, army forcibly collected paddy for those arable lands in which they were not able to grow paddy during violence, said another villager from the locality.

The armies seized 200 acres of arable lands only from the Tha Pay Taw village tract of Rathedaung Township. In similar way, the armies moreover seized arable lands from other Rohingya village tracts of eastern Rathedaung Township.

The villagers are facing difficulties, as they have no paddy to pay army, so they have to buy paddy from outside to fulfill the demand of armies, said a local youth.

At present, Rohingya villagers are not free from movement restriction in Rathedaung Township. They have to get permission from Village Administration Officer (VAO) after paying Kyat 200 per head and also have to inform to local Nasaka camp to go to market. But all the villagers are not allowed to go to market, only for shopkeepers, said a villager elder on condition of anonymity.

Amnesty International's T. Kumar to Speak at the Islamic Society of North America's Convention

Amnesty International's T. Kumar to Speak at the Islamic Society of North America's Convention Advocacy Director T. Kumar to Speak on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) Contact: Carolyn Lang, clang@aiusa.org, 202-675-8759 /EINPresswire.com/ (Washington, D.C.) -- Amnesty International Advocacy Director T. Kumar will address the Islamic Society of North America's 49th Annual Convention "One Nation Under God: Striving for the Common Good," in regards to the minority community of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) on Saturday, September 1, at 11:30 am at the Washington DC Convention Center.

American Buddhists Promote 969 Movement With Website

Irrawaddy News: July 9, 2013 A group of American Buddhists has launched an English-language website promoting the 969 movement, in response to negative media surrounding the ultra-nationalist Buddhist campaign in Burma. The website aims to dispel “myths” about the movement, with a letter from nationalist monk Wirathu to a Time magazine reporter whose article about 969 was banned in Burma. “We’re not officially endorsed by Ven Wirathu at this time but will send a delegation to his monastery soon,” a spokesperson for the site said via email, adding that the group would create a nonprofit to coordinate “969 activities worldwide in response to religious oppression.”

Rohingya Activist Nominated for Human Rights Award

PHR congratulates Zaw Min Htut, a Burmese Rohingya activist, on his nomination for the 2011 US State Department Human Rights Defenders Award . Zaw Min Htut has been working for Rohingyas’ rights through the Burmese Rohingya Association of Japan since he fled Burma in 1998. Prior to that he was a student activist in Burma, and was detained for his participation in protests in 1996. In Japan, Zaw Min Htut has organized protests at the Burmese embassy and has written books on the history of Rohingya.

The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Search This Blog