Buthidaung: The Burmese junta plans to shift 600 Burmese Buddhist families from Burma proper to Buthidaung Township in Arakan to settle in model villages currently under construction, said a source close to the authorities.
"They are reportedly coming to our township before the Burmese New Year in April 2010 from Rangoon and other parts of Burma to settle in five model villages. The authorities are now constructing the five model villages in southern Buthidaung," the source said.
Five model villages are being constructed on the banks of the Mayu River between Phon Nyo Lake and Ngwe Daung Village in Buthidaung Township. Ngwe Daung Village is located on the western bank of the Mayu River and is close to northern Rathidaung Township about 20 miles north of Sittwe.
"The authorities have constructed 120 houses as well as a primary school and a hospital in each model village. It is likely to settle 120 families in each model village," a villager from the area said.
The authorities are now forcibly rounding up Burmese people, who are homeless and living in illegal areas in Rangoon and Mandalay, for settlement in Buthidaung Township.
According to a report by the VOA Burmese section, Burmese authorities recently said that 500 Burmese families living in an illegal area on Mudita Road in North Okkalarpa in the former capital Rangoon will be shifted to settle in Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships in Arakan.
The authorities told the families that if any family did not wish to move to Buthidaung and Maungdaw, the family would need sign a form, the report added.
The military authorities have long supported Burmese settlers by providing agricultural land, cattle, and tractors when they arrive in the model villages. It also arranges for schools, hospitals, and monasteries for them from government revenue.
In northern Arakan State, there are now over 40 model villages built by the military authorities with over 20,000 settlers living in them. The authorities construct the Buddhist model villages in northern Arakan to balance the population between Buddhists and Muslims.
