President of US-based Rohingya Concern International (RCI), Mohiuddin (alias) Maung Sein, has said the fencing of the Burma-Bangladesh border is a foolish move on the part of the Burmese military junta. The ruling junta did not even take neighboring Bangladesh into confidence, when they decided to fence the border, he added.
Since March 6, the Nasaka has been building up stocks of cement bags, iron rods, bricks and barbed wires for this project. These goods were brought from Sittwe (Akyab), the capital of Arakan State by a cargo ship to Maungdaw. Besides, some workers (Rakhine and Rohingya) including engineers and masons were also brought to Maungdaw Town from Sittwe, a trader from Maungdaw said.
The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) authorities think by doing so they can silence the international community, showing that they care about the suffering Rohingyas.
The authority has asked for laborers from nearby villages, through the VPDC, to work for the project. The authority has called for 300 workers from nearby villages, to work daily for the project, said a schoolteacher from Aley Than Kyaw village.
The solution to the Rohingya crisis is not fencing the border, but restoring the Rohingya citizenship rights and respecting human rights by letting the Rohingya live as human beings with dignity and honor. The border fence will not deter the Rohingya from seeking security and they would be compelled to find alternative ways.
Currently, many army personnel have been deployed in Maungdaw Township, and some have been taking up position along the Naff River bank, including the beach and some have also been taking shelter in the mountains near the Burma- Bangladesh border. They are looting vegetables from farmers and looting fish from fishermen, said a farmer from the locality.
The more the SPDC invents new ways to further tighten their grip on Rohingya, to suffocate them, the more the situation will worsen and the global public opinion and the attitude of ASEAN, will go against the Burmese military junta, the RCI president added.
So, it is the responsibility of neighboring countries, ASEAN and UN to seek a solution for the suffering Rohingya people in Burma, instead of a temporary solution of halting the Rohingya, who are risking their lives in order to find a safe shelter.
Recently, the exterminating campaign has been accelerated by killing of innocent Rohingya by Nasaka( Burma’s border security force) and Sarapa (Military Intelligence) based on fabricated and false accusations. No action is taken against the culprits. Recently, four fishermen and one shopkeeper were killed by the authority, a student said.
RCI expressed their concern at the worsening situation of Rohingya in Arakan and urged the international NGOs and all Governments to exert pressure on the SPDC Government to stop all inhuman activities against innocent Rohingya civilians in northern Arakan State.
RCI also urged the United Nations to send a fact-finding mission to Arakan, so as to bring the real facts happening in Arakan to the forefront, as the SPDC military junta was distorting the reality of the Rohingyas condition, compelling them to confess to Bengali ethnicity instead of Rohingya identity and ethnicity.
