The Arakan State military council has been working to relocate Muslim refugees from Kyauktalone camp for the internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kyaukphyu Township to a new location, according to spokesman U Hla Thein.
The council plans to build a village away from their current camp, said U Hla Thein, who is also the Arakan State attorney-general.
“We are building a village some distance west of Kyauktalone IDP camp,” he told reporters on Tuesday. The regime has built a clinic, school and water reservoirs at the proposed site for the Muslim IDPs, he added.
Kyauktalone IDP camp is home to more than 1,000 Muslim IDPs from 363 households. The IDPs have complained of difficulties in all aspects of day to day life, such as healthcare, education and business, since arriving at the camp.
A Muslim from the IDP camp who asked for anonymity said he does not want to move to the new location for fear that he might face more troubles there.
“We don’t want to move. That place is secluded and far from the town. It is an isolated area,” he said. “We can’t find jobs even here, and it might be more difficult if we get there. But what else can we do when we are told by authorities to move? We don’t want to move out of here. Even if we can’t go back to our original place, we want to stay here if possible.”
The current camp near Kyauktalone Pagoda was opened to house Muslims from urban Kyaukphyu following the waves of sectarian violence that roiled Arakan State in 2012. The regime plans to relocate the camp to a new location some two furlongs from the current camp.
IDPs have been told that each household will be given a house on the land plot measuring 40x20 feet at the new location.
Some IDPs complain that the new site is isolated and far from the town, as well as being close to military-owned property and prone to flooding during the rainy season.
“We want to stay close to the town because only by doing so can we have harmony with Arakanese people, and be able to restore good relations with them,” said one manager of the Kyauktalone IDP camp.
“Placing us in isolated areas makes us more vulnerable. And we are concerned that this might retrigger sectarian conflicts,” he added.
The affected Muslim IDPs have little trust in pledges from the regime to build houses, provide schooling and healthcare, and create business opportunities at the new location.
Former Kyaukphyu Township lawmaker U Phoe San said the regime should take measures to ensure that relocation of the Kyauktalone IDPs does not prompt a fresh wave of communal violence.
The plan to close displacement camps for Muslim IDPs is part of a national strategy on resettlement of IDPs and the closing of their temporary camps, introduced under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government in 2018. At the time, K2 billion was granted from government funds for the resettlement of Kyauktalone IDP camp residents.
