Maungdaw, Arakan State: On April 2, Major Aung Hin Zaw, the Commander of Nasaka Area No. 3 of Burma’s border security force (Nasaka) ordered residents to vacate a village within twenty seven days without giving any reason, said a Naska aide who asked not to be named.
Major Aung Hin Zaw, the commander of Nasaka Area No. 3 went to Latpuya Village on April 2 and ordered the villagers to evacuate the village within 27 days, otherwise, the Nasaka will abolish the village. However, the Commander did not specify a new place for the villagers to go. As a result, the villagers are passing their days and nights with a panic-stricken situation, said a businessman from the locality.
“There are about 140 houses in the Latpuya Village, and the people have their projects nearby, such as farms, paddy cultivation, fishing projects, tree plantations, etc. How can the villagers abandon all their valuable financial projects? If they abandon these, they will die in the future.”
One of the village women said, “I was born here, and I will die here. I don’t want to transfer to any other place. We are told to abandon our homes and properties here, but I will never go to any other place.”
“The Nasaka do not care about the Arakanese Rohingya villagers, and the authorities order anything whenever they want to the villagers for their (Nasaka) wishes. No other concerned authorities interfere with the Nasaka in the northern Arakan,” said a local elder from said village.
