Police stop a three-wheeled motorbike taxi carrying Muslim Rohingya in Maungdaw township on February 1. (Si Thu Lwin/The Myanmar Times)
Maungdaw, Arakan State: Burmese Border Guard Police (BGP) personnel produced 20 Rohingyas including four females to Maungdaw court on September 29 for remand, where the court granted seven days, according to an officer from court who denied to be named.
“Now, they are kept in four miles riot police headquarters for more interrogations.”
BGP personnel went to near Bawli Bazar villages and arrested about nearly 20 villagers including females and males for not taking part in so-called population data collection or census since September 14, said, Amin, a local trader from the local.
Some of the arrestees are identified as—Maulana Nurul Islam (65); Hafez Abul Alam (25), son of Nurul Islam; Lalu (45), son of Mozer Meah; Abu Alam (43), son of Kadir Hussain; and Ms Tahera Begum (45), wife of Mohamed Siddique. After arrest, all the arrestees were sent to Maungdaw police station and detained there, said one of the relative of the victims, prefer not to be named..
The concerned authorities restrict the Rohingya villagers’ movement, cannot move from one place to another without showing their family lists, which were checked by immigration. The villagers, who did not participate so-called population data collection or census are barred from going to any place and give them many kinds of harassment. Even though, they are arrested by concerned authorities, with false and fabricated accusations such as —linked with Rohingya Solidarity Organization – RSO (a rebellion group), Rashid Ahmed, a local leader said.
The arrested villagers are innocent and have no links with said groups. It is a deliberate accusation to Rohingya community to harass them only. The Rohingya live under apartheid-like conditions, Rashid more said.
Burmese officials use the term Bengali to indicate that the Rohingya are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh even they have been living in Burma for centuries, Rashid more added.
Source KPN
Comments