Authorities Pressure Rohingyas Not To Say Police Robbed Them

RB News 

September 10, 2013 

Maungdaw, Arakan – After the police robbed three Rohingya houses in Northern Maungdaw Township on September 8th and 9th, the authorities have pressured the Rohingya victims not to tell say they were robbed by the police. 

On September 9th at 2 am, about 15 police robbed two Rohingya houses belonging to Abdul Rahman, son of Larlu and Shuna Miah, son of Shaker Ahmed in Fawki South hamlet. The houses are in the Laung Doun village tract of Northern Maungdaw Township. As the police asked them to open the door in the Burmese language to check the guests, they opened the doors. The police robbed gold and cash worth over 11 million kyats from those two houses. They opened fire twice to threaten the houses’ owners. 

Before arriving to Fawki South village, the police passed by Kyain Chaung North village where the village security men (villagers) asked them who they were. Instantly, the four security men were beaten inhumanely by the police. One man got seriously injured and sent to Maungdaw hospital through Kyaing Chaung local hospital. After being beaten, one of the security men went to Kyain Chaung police outpost. He informed them that they were beaten. The police at the outpost said that the outpost officer was unavailable and they couldn't do anything. The police shouted at the security man to go back to the village and do his own work. 

“The security men informed the outpost after they were beaten. But the outpost said the officer is not available and they can do nothing. Although our people informed the police station timely but it seems they are somehow connecting to this robbing case. That’s why they didn’t like to follow up immediately. Now the news spreading around that the police from that outpost, Zaw Zaw Aung is connecting to those police who robbed the houses. The responsibility of the police is to protect the properties of the public. But the central government is giving the salary to the police from our state to rob the Rohingya houses, to torture, to extort the money and to rape the Rohingya women.” a Rohingya told RB News.

The robbery victims families were brought to police station and they were threatened. They pressured them to say that the robbers were not wearing a police uniform but wearing some other uniform. 

Similarly, about 10 police robbed a Rohingya house of Akbar in Ngan Chaung village of Northern Maungdaw Township on September 9th at around 12 midnight. The police repeated the same story as they wanted to check the guests. They robbed 2 pairs of earrings worn by two daughters of Akbar, as well as cash, totalling over 2 million kyats. The family of Akbar was brought to both the Kyain Chaung and Maungdaw police stations.

The authorities pressured them to tell that the robbers were not police but that they were from a neighbouring country. Although the robbers were police, the authorities are trying to hide the reality by pressuring and threatening the Rohingya victims.