Maungdaw, Arakan State: An Army battalion Commander Lt. Col Kyaw Thura (42) raped a young Rohingya girl on June 10, in Maungdaw Township. The Commander came to Maungdaw Township from Buthidaung Township to supervise erecting of fences on the Burma-Bangladesh border, said a close relative of the victim.
The victim is identified as Noor Khatun (24), daughter of late Noor Mohamed, hailed from Darguadil (Kyauk Hlaikhar ) Para of Maungdaw Township. She has only her old mother and two younger sisters, and has no male member.
The commander with 110 soldiers have been living at Kyauk Hlaikhar government primary school which is very close to the victim’s house since they were transferred to Maungdaw township. The Commander observed the situation of the victim’s house and also collected information about the victim through the local collaborator, said a local villager on condition of anonymity.
On that day, at about 1 am, the Commander , accompanied by a local collaborator went to the victim’s house and asked the victim’s mother through the collaborator to open the door as Nasaka (Burma’s border security force) had come for checking the family list. Hearing the voice of the local collaborator, the victim’s mother opened the door. The army Commander entered the house with a pistol and raped Noor Khatun after threatening other family members. The collaborator stood guard outside the house. At the meantime, it was raining very heavily and the screams of the victim’s family members could not be heard. So, no one came to the rescue, according to a close relative of the victim.
The following day morning, the victim accompanied by her old mother complained to the local people and the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) members to take it up with authorities and take action against the culprit. But, no one dared to report the rape to the authorities as they feared retaliation by the army.
The widow, mother of the victim, did not get any help from any quarter to complain to higher authorities. If there is no action against the rapist, rape cases will increase in northern Arakan, said a village elder on condition of anonymity.
One of the VPDC members said, “If we inform of the incident to the concerned authorities, the army will take action directly or indirectly against us. At that time, no one will come to save us.”
The Burmese Army which came to Maungdaw Township on April 2009 from Buthidaung Township to supervise the erection of fences on the Burma-Bangladesh border, cheated local villagers of wages. Villagers are involved in forced labour, have to pay donation, face arbitrary harassment, are being looted of their vegetables and fish from the shrimp projects, and Rohingya girls are being raped, said a college student.
