Maungdaw, Arakan state: Several villagers were injured by Hluntin (riot police) in northern Maungdaw Township on July 22nd because they refused to participate in the government’s efforts to collect population data, said a villager known as Salay.
“At about 9:00am that day, a group of Hluntin and some immigration officers went to Ray Aung Chaung Village in northern Maungdaw and forcibly attempted to collect population data. However, the villagers refused to participate because the authorities wanted to write ‘Bengali’ instead of ‘Rohingya’ on the form.”
After the villagers refused to participate in the data collection process, Hluntin and immigration officers reportedly broke into Mr. Aman Ullah’s house and injured both him and his wife Ms. Dildar, whose hands were broken by the officers. A village elder who asked to remain anonymous said that shortly after the attack a crowd of villagers approached the officers to stop them from committing more violence, and in response Hluntin officers fired 15 rounds of bullets into the air to disperse the crowd.
The elder also said that other villagers, including Mohamed Noor; Sayed Allam; Abu Baker; Khana Guraya; Noor Mohamed; and others were injured by Hluntin officers.
The authorities ceased their attempt to collect population data around 3:00pm that day because villagers closed their doors and ran away from their homes. However, Hluntin officers were reportedly waiting for the villagers to return to the village.
This is the first time the authorities have used coercion and violence against villagers in order to collect population data, said a youth from the region.
In the wake of these attacks, villagers in the region are now extremely concerned about being physically attacked for refusing to participate in the date collection process, said a businessman from the village.
