An emergency act that bans the gathering of more than 5 people was imposed in Maungdaw District. The decision to implement act 144 followed the recent abolishment of the notorious government Nasaka border guard force in Arakan state.
After the Nasaka was dissolved and replaced by a national police battalion many Rohingyas in the country took advantage of the opportunity to visit their relatives in Maungdaw Town. The border guard force that was started by started by former Gen. Khin Nyunt regularly harassed the Muslim population. Extortion, arrests and even torture were commonplace. A politician that didn’t want his name used alleged that town authorities that were tired of seeing so many Muslims brought the act in.
“The authority announced the emergency act 144 was only for Rohingya community and not for the Buddhist community. The authority also declared that no one will enter and pray inside Mosques. Mosques and Madarasa remained closed for Rohingya Muslim. This month is the holy month but the authority isn’t allowing the Rohingya community to pray in the religious places,” the politician said.
The Thein Sein government has recently allowed Muslims in Mektila to pray in Mosques that were closed for months following the March violence, but these measures aren't being applied to Maungdaw where most of the residents are Muslim.
