Maungdaw, Arakan State: Burma’s border security force, or Nasaka, continues to arbitrarily extort money from the Rohingya community in Maungdaw Township. Nasaka personnel collect money by making allegations that Rohingya people are illegally holding mobile phones, are involved in human trafficking, or border crossing without permission, said a local elder who asked not to be named.
“Recently, the Nasaka’s collaborator, the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) Chairman Mamoon Rashid of Powet Chaung Village Tract of Maungdaw Township, accompanied by Nasaka personnel, extorted Kyat 40,000 from Nur Islam (40), son of Nazir Ahmed, who hails from Naichaung Village of Maungdaw Township, over the allegation that the victim had received his son-in-law at his home as a guest without giving any information to the concerned authorities. However, the Nasaka’s collaborator also extorted Kyat 350,000 from the victim again for the same allegation.”
The victim was arrested and brought to the Nasaka camp. His legs were put into stocks and the victim was severely tortured for extortion money.
Besides, the village chairman along with Nasaka personnel also extorted Kyat 300,000 from Abul Kalam (35), son of Abdul Aziz, hailed from Balu Khali (Thee Chaung) Village of Maungdaw Township on July 1, over the accusation that recently the victim had an altercation with a widow named Shamshu Naher (30) of the same village. But, this situation was already mediated by the local elders. Later, being informed, the Nasaka came and extorted the said money from the victim without giving him any trouble. This means, the Nasaka extorts money from the Rohingya community, according to a local villager who declined to give his name for security reasons.
In addition, since February, the said Chairman with the help of Nasaka personnel also has been collecting money from the villagers of Pawet Chaung Village Tract of Maungdaw Township for road construction along the Burma-Bangladesh border where a barbed wire fence was built. The chairman collected Kyat 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 30,000 and 35,000 per home as per each family’s financial status. The villagers who had worked on road construction were excluded. Sometimes, the GE military unit provided Kyat 500 per worker per day, said a villager who had already provided money to the chairman.
On the other hand, in Maungdaw South, especially in Nasaka Area No. 7 and 8, since last month, the Nasaka has been extorting money from the villagers by putting mobile phones into their homes secretly and accusing them of holding the phones illegally, arresting and extorting money from them. This is an unbearable situation in our area, said a local elder who prefers not to be named.
Similarly, two collaborators of the Military Intelligence Agency (MIA), Lailaa and Hussein, are harassing the Rohingya community with the power of the MIA. “The two collaborators are saying that, ‘You are called by an officer, and you must come to the office. If you are not able to go to the office, you will be blacklisted from Maungdaw,’” according to an elder from Maungdaw.
“The two collaborators have harassed the Rohingya community in the rural area where the rural people hate them and will make problems for them. So they have started in municipal area now.”
According to a local elder from Buthidaung Township, “Everyday, at least 30 villagers per village have to go to army camps to do forced labor in Buthidaung Township. The have to work tilling the paddy fields, to grow seedlings, to carry wood from the forest for brick fields, and renovation work in the camps and other cleaning works.”
