Police Torment The Rohingyas At Aung Mingalar, Sittwe

Akyab (Sittwe), Arakan - There are a few houses in few Rohingya quarters such as Aung Mingalar, Kyaung Gyi Road, Kun Tan and Mowlake left after the consecutives burning of Rohingyas’ houses that started in early June. Rohingyas in these quarters don’t have the freedom to do any business, buy anything and move freely yet. 

At 7:50 PM last Thursday (December 6, 2012), Police arrested two Rohingya teenagers from Kyaung Gyi Road Quarter, who were on their way about to the quarter of Aung Mingalar from that of Bu May. There is a rumor that the two teenagers were sentenced to two months imprisonment. “According to an Ordinary Police officer, they were sentenced to two months imprisonments. However, they got arrested on 6th December evening and so the court can’t have enough time to imprison them so. Till date, even the families of the teenagers themselves don’t know their whereabouts” said a friend of the teenagers to RB News. 

In Sittwe, the curfew order is imposed from 10PM to 4AM and the two teenagers were arrested at 7:50PM. They are: 

1. Hamid Hussein S/o U Iliyas (Age 15) 
2. Mohammed Shafique S/o U Kamal Hussein (Age 15) 

Due to the restrictions in movement, Rohingyas and their shops in the quarter of Aung Min Galar are dependent these Police (Region Control Police). So, Police hike the price of the goods tremendously and sometimes they take away money saying that they will buy goods for them (Rohingyas) and never come up. Such kinds of cases are very common today. For the fear of being persecuted, Rohingyas dare not ask the Police why they do so” said a local of Aung Mingalar to RB News. 

He continues “we can’t go out of our quarter even to buy vegetables. Police always threaten us. We have no jobs. We are just surviving on foreign assistances. Even some of those assistances are grabbed by Police. We don’t get enough assistance either.” 

The two police officers from Region Control Team who have been torturing and giving different kinds of troubles since June 2012 are Inspector Soe Myint and Khun Myo Naing (an ordinary police officer). “Their behavior is worse than robbing. The way they anguish Rohingyas is extremely biased. Inspector Soe Myint was transferred to “Ye Chan Pyin.” Another one came in his place and we don’t know who he is yet. Police Khun Myo Naing is a Shan and together with the new Police inspector, he torments us too much. We have to always be afraid of them” said a local in the village.

Translated into English by M.S. Anwar.