Breaking News | Inquiry Commission Arrived Kyaukaw Yesterday

Arakan, Burma 

Sunday, 9th September 2012 

In early August in Kyauktaw Towship, a place about 40km away from Arakan capital Akyab (Sittwe), under the direction of Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), Rakhines suddenly carried out many offensive attacks against Rohingyas. Consequently, many Rohingyas were killed during the attacks and more than 350 Rohingyas’ houses were burnt down. Many Rohingyas were killed and thousands were displaced and they are now struggling for survival. Contrarily, Rohingyas in Kyauktaw neither killed a Rakhine nor torched even a single house of Rakhines because they were believers of religious and communal harmony. Unfortunately, their vulnerable plights fail to catch international attention and hence subsequently ignored. 

According to a Rohingya from Kyauktaw, the inquiry commission set up by the president Thein Sein arrived Kyauktaw yesterday. The commission team cordially with Rohingya victims. Later, Rohingyas handed over a written statement to the team on the narrative of Rakhines’ attacks and other details about the violence. They are eagerly waiting to welcome OIC Facts Finding Mission and USA Investigation Team. 

As the aftermaths of the violence against Rohingyas and taking advantage of the situation, three police officers in Maung Daw such U Tin Hla, U Aung Kyaw Kham and U Hla Sein have intensified the persecutions against Rohingyas such as arbitrary arrests, extortion of money and even raping Rohingya girls in Maung Daw (Town Area) and in its adjacent villages. They have mostly been arresting shopkeepers and extorting ransom money (e.g. 30 Lakh Kyats) besides giving severe tortures. Therefore, Rohingyas could not come out of their houses due to fear of being arrested by the mentioned police officers. Rohingyas are already dehumanized, demoralized and economically crippled. The District Police Chief and NaSaKa (Border Security Forces) Chief are also turning blind eyes to the vulnerable plights of Rohingyas and evading the heinous crimes of the three police officers maybe because they are getting their shares from them. Therefore, Rohingyas in Maung Daw would like to plead President Thein Sein to take actions against the three police officers. And these police officers have been in the same place, Maung Daw without any transfers for decades. 

The police in Maung Daw started a fresh bid of arresting senior members of Rohingya community, their learned people and some of their figure heads as soon as the inquiry commission set for Arkan from Yangon. They are being arrested for arbitrary reasons. It is said that police are arresting and locking up more learned man and figure heads from Rohingya community so that Rohingyas cannot meet the Inquiry Mission set up by the President and other forthcoming investigations and explain the crimes committed against them. 

On Friday around 11am, a Rohingya figure man, U Maung Kyaw from Quarter 1, was arrested for no reason and subsequently sued. We are not sure yet under what cases he was charged. On Saturday (yesterday), around 17 Rohingyas from Quarter 5 in Maung Daw were arrested. There were numbers of senior members were arrested from ShweZa village, too. They are doing all these arrests to make Rohingyas unable to explain their tragedies to the coming investigations. 

Therefore, Rohingyas from Maung Daw would like to send a message to the inquiry commission to meet Rohingya members exclusively and separately. Or else, they will be unable to explain what crimes were done against them because Rakhine authorities are making all the efforts to make the mission unsuccessful by not giving enough chances to Rohingyas. 

Reported by Nurul Islam 

Compiled by M.S. Anwar