At least six residents of Kyauk Taw township located at upper Kaladan river have reportedly gone missing after they were arrested by the junta forces. The military personnel picked up three of them from a restaurant near Mahamuni Pagoda.
Presently, U Hla Maung Than (a 43 years old rice mill owner from Kadi (A) Thazin village), Maung Che (b) U Maung Thet Soe (39, from Apa Wa village), U Kyaw Hein (a local traditional practitioner from the Kawiradana IDP camp), U Maung Saw Tha along with two other villagers have no contacts with their families.
The rice mill owner U Hla Maung Than along with Maung Che were detained by the 539th battalion commander based in Kan Souk village. They went to meet the commander on 2 October as he invited the villagers for some discussions.
U Kyaw Hein was arrested when he went to the station refugee camp for medical treatments on the night of 19 July and since then he went missing. U Maung Saw Tha along with two other villagers were arrested on 1 August.
Daw Hla Aye San, wife of the rice mill owner, informed Narinjara News that she went to the battalion office and met the commander.
“But we did not get any news about him. Now it's been more than ten days that we haven't heard anything. If my husband was arrested, we should know where he is kept. I am worried about my husband with the others,” she added.
U Hla Maung Than and Maung Che were understood to be in the 539th battalion office, but she did not see them there.
Maung Che’s wife also stated that if he was arrested, the family should be informed about his whereabouts. She urged the authorities to release him at the earliest and her husband was not committing any crime.
The military council continues arresting civilians every day from different parts of Rakhine State. Some of them are yet to be released and they are not allowed to contact family members.
At the same time,they are also not produced in the court. So the concerned families are passing difficult times as many people were tortured during army interrogations and some were punished under various laws.
