By KPN
August 04, 2014
Maungdaw, Arakan state: Rohingya community in Maungdaw is under heavy threats and oppressions by the authority as they keep resisting a forced scrutiny by the government classifying them “illegal Bengali” immigrants, Khalil, a village elder from Maungdaw north. “The Burma Border Guard Police (BGP) of BGP headquarters and number six commanding office arrested eight villagers on July 31,nights and August 1 because of not going to BGP headquarters for meeting which the BGP invited the elder from Borgar Bill village. BGP arrested 4 persons on night of July 13 and other were picked up in the daytime from the village.”
“The elders were not gone to BGP headquarters for asking to accept census collecting or recent so called population data collecting, in which Rohingyas are identified as “Bengali” in place of “Rohingyas,” Kalil more added.
On that day, some Rohingya villagers from Borgar Bill village of Kyauk Hla Khar (Dargardill) village tract of Maungdaw north were called to BGP headquarters to accept and to participate in census, but villagers did not go to police headquarters. Therefore, police along with 11 trucks went to the said village at night and surrounded the village to arrest the villagers, but most of the villagers fled away from the village to avoid the arrest of police. However, some of the villagers had been arrested by police and brought to their camp and have been detained there so far, according to a village elder who denied to be named.
Seeing the situation, villagers were fleeing from the village after closing doors of homes, so the BGP personnel entered the homes after breaking the doors and to those who were arrested by police were severely tortured, a woman from the village said preferring not to be named.
Some arrested villagers are identified as—Nur Alam (55), son of Sayedur Rahaman; Mohamed Nur (30), son of Nur Alam; Basu (20), son of Azala; Moulvi Shobu Alam (35), son of Mohamed Abbas; Zahir Ahmed (60), son of Abdu Soban; Mohamed Iddris (18), son of Zahir Ahmed; Nurul Ameen (22), son of Ahmed Khobir and Nazirul Rahaman (17), son of Jaffar, said Shamsu, a youth from the locality.
The all arrestees are keeping in the BGP headquarters and BGP appeared with all arrestees to Maungdaw court with allegation of not obeying the order to get remand and it was known that court had given permission to take back to their headquarters, said an officer from Maungdaw, denied to be named.
Some collaborators of authority are trying to gain the process of so called population data collecting in Maungdaw district, organizing the Rohingya community –mostly their relatives – and processed in some places – Taung Bazar and in municipal area of Buthidaung and some villages of Maungdaw south and Ngakura, said Mohamed Arif from Maungdaw.
“Most of the Rohingya community are worrying on the situation which the authority had started to arrest Rohingya with allegation of not obeying the order and upsetting about the action of government that block the rights and freedom of expression,” said Halim, a Human Rights watchdog from Maungdaw.
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