Maungdaw, Arakan State: The authorities of Maungdaw District Peace and Development Council (DPDC), or Mayaka, seized Muslim graveyards in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State in the last week of June.
 
The DPDC authorities accompanied by Township PDC and Village PDC members seized the graveyards of "Bagonah" of Nasaka area No.6 and "Gowyah Khali" of Nasaka area No,7 in Maungdaw Township last month to set up Nasaka camps among other purposes.
 
The authorities also ordered the villagers not to burry their dead in the graveyards.
 
Before seizing the graveyards, members of the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC), former-Soldiers Association of Natala villagers and officials of the land-survey department discussed about the lands which they planned to seize on the orders of the higher authorities.
 
The three departments took bribes from farmers who did not want their land seized. They took at least Kyat 100,000 to 300,000 per acre from the farmers. Members of the land-survey department in Maungdaw Township built houses which were semi-pucca buildings. Earlier, their houses were thatched roofed houses.
 
There are places available to build Nasaka and army camps in Maungdaw township. Why did the authorities have to seize Muslim graveyards to set up Nasaka camps? asked a village elder.
 
The authorities had earlier also seized Muslims' graveyards to set up army and Nasak camps, to build pagodas among other buildings. They seize Rohingya Muslims' lands to force the Rohingya community to become landless farmers, said a student from Buthidaung.