Offered incentives for those who want to return home provided with 3 months of food, 5-lakh kyats and rebuilding of burned houses.
The Nay Pyi Taw ministers of the Military Council pressured the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Rakhine state to return to their homes before the rains, and those who wanted to return home were offered an incentive 3 months of food and 500,000 kyats per family, as well as to rebuild the houses that were burned during the fighting.
However, most of the IDPs do not want to return because of the danger of landmines and the placement of military camps near the village.
U Saw Hla Aung, in charge of the Shitthaung monastery IDP camp in Mrauk U town, said, "The security situation is not good even if we go back to our hometown. They also cannot guarantee security. I said in front of them. We all want to return. But we did not dare to go back because the soldiers were stationed around the village. I said that we are all afraid. They said they are doing it calmly. As for us, we will be able to return if we are guaranteed a life where we can work and live in security. In other words, if something happens after returning from this place, it will not be easy for them to leave their home again. So they said they don't want to go back either."
On February 10, the group led by Minister of Natural Resources U Than Tun from the state government, including Chairman of Rakhine State Peace and Development Coordination Committee and Minister of Border Affairs Lieutenant General Tun Tun Naung and Minister of Social Work Relief and Resettlement Dr. Thet Thet Khaing, who are the Nay Pyi Taw Ministers of the Military Council, arrived at the IDP camps in Kyauktaw, Mrauk U and Minbya towns, and told them to return to their homes before the rains, according to IDPs.
Minister of Border Affairs Lt. Gen. Tun Tun Naung urged the IDPs to return home, but the IDPs unanimously said that they will return home only if the Military Council can guarantee their lives.
In the Shitthaung IDP camp in Mrauk U, villagers from Taung U, Wai Thar Li, Pauk Taw Pyin, Maung Thar Kone, Ywar Haung Taw village in Mrauk U Township and Tha Mee Hla, Sauk Khat in Rathedaung Township were forced to flee due to heavy fighting between Arakan (AA) and Military Council Army last March 2019.
On February 10, the Nay Pyi Taw Ministers also visited Maha Muni IDP Camp and Maha Kan Gyi Shin IDP Camp in Kyauktaw and met with IDPs.
In this meeting, Minister of Border Affairs Lt. Gen. Tun Tun Naung spoke for about 20 minutes about returning to their homes before the rains and providing food supplies, but IDPs were not allowed to submit any requests, said an IDP from the Maha Muni IDP camp who participated in the meeting.
"Our houses have also been burned, so we cannot return to our homes. I think we have to answer when they come to check and ask what the losses were. We hope that they will do something for those who have lost their homes and are unable to return home," he said.
There are more than 1800 IDPs in the Maha Muni IDP camp, who fled due to the fierce fighting between the AA and the Military Council in March 2019.
Among them are Na Ga Yar, Shwe Pyi Thit/Haung, Kyauk Gu Su, Myauk Taung, Thar Si, Ah Lel Kyun, Pyaing Taing, Mar Lar, Kun See, Laung Shey, Tinma in Kyauktaw Township and Thahtaykone, Seintsin, Yaychanwa in Paletwa Township in Chin State, are IDPs from Leikkhaung and Paletwa urban areas.
On February 10, the Military Council Ministers met with camp managers and representatives from 11 IDP camps in Minbya City at the Women's Domestic Vocational Training School to talk about repatriation and support.
According to the statistics of the state government, there are still more than 66,000 refugees in Rakhine State IDP camps.
They include IDPs due to the intense fighting between the AA and the Military Council from 2018 to 2020, and the IDPs due to the resurgent battles between the AA and the Military Council in 2022.
Initially, there were hundreds of thousands of evacuees, but some have returned to their homes due to the cessation of fighting.
However, the IDPs say that remaining IDPs are unable to return to their homes as the Military Council has not yet taken responsibility for the removal of landmines and remnants of military weapons near their villages and in the forests where the fighting has been intense.
