Rohingya Man Hunted by Myanmar Police for Speaking to UN-led Foreign Diplomats
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| Photo: MOI |
RB News
October 3, 2017
Maungdaw -- The Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) has been chasing a Rohingya man for speaking to the UN Officials and the Foreign Diplomats during their visit to Maungdaw on Monday (Oct 2), sources say.
The UN Officials and the Diplomats visited the village of PanTawPyin (locally called Nol Boinna), one of a few Rohingya villages remained unburnt, in southern Maungdaw in two groups: one at around 12:30pm and another at 1pm. The authorities had the groups of diplomats meet with some villagers coerced and instructed in advance (by the authorities) as to what to say to them (i.e. the diplomats).
"The authorities had the groups of diplomats meet with the temporary in-charge of the village, Anwar, and his team who had been coerced before-hand to say good about the government like 'people at this village could live peacefully. The government looks after us. They always come and help us.' There was also no choice for them but to follow the government order as the authorities always tagged along with the diplomats. It was not an unfettered but planned and closely-watched trip for the diplomats," said a local villager to RB News.
While the diplimats were speaking to the villagers led by the village in-charge, a local Rohingya man speaking in English interuptted and explained the real situation of Rohingya on the ground. He vividly explained how the Burmese armed forces and the Rakhine extremists torched his house, too.
No sooner did the diplomats leave the village, the BGP have started an operation to hunt him down. But he knew he would be arrested for speaking to the diplomats. So, he fled the village before that, the villager added.
At around 5pm, the commander of 'Maggyi Chaung' BGP Camp sent 2 BGP personnel to bring the temporary in-charge of PanTawPyin village to the camp for investigations regarding that issue. Fearing of tortures and arrests, the village in-charge fled after giving impressions to the 2 policemen that he would follow them.
It has been learnt that the army lodged a report to their superior regarding the issue and commander in-charge of the region and he replied "the English speaking man have made allegations. He's a terrorist. Because of terrorists like him, the government's intugrity is affected."
Many villagers are now afraid to live in the village and attempting to flee to Bangladesh because of the raids being carried out and threats being posed by the BGP in regard to the English speaking Rohingya man who explained the real situation to the groups of diplomats.
[Reported by MYARF; Edited by M.S. Anwar]
