Maungdaw, Arakan State: Two minor boys were severely tortured by Burma’s border security force (Nasaka) on March 2 because of their presence at a river port.  It was alleged that they went there after crossing the barbed wire fence, said a close relative of the victims.

The victims were identified as Md. Hassan (15), son of Raza Ali, and Nayem Ullah (14), son of Nurul Islam. Both of them belong to Kunthee Pin village of Maungdaw Township.  

On March 2, after sunset, the two boys went to Kuthee Pin river bank port with two yokes to carry goods, while passengers were coming to the port from Maungdaw Town.  But they were arrested by the Nasaka of Nan Tha Daung village out post camp and taken to their camp. They were tortured at night on the allegation that they went to the river port after crossing the barbed wire fence. Actually they went there along the river bank, the relative added. 

On March 3, the parents of the boys accompanied by victims’ relatives went to the Nasaka camp. They were released after the parents paid Kyat 85,000. They were severely tortured at the camp, and they took three and-a-half hours to reach their homes from the Nasaka camp, although it is half an hour’s journey. At present, they are taking medical treatment from private clinic.

“I am very surprised that how the Nasaka is able to torture the said two small boys barbarously. They have not such kind of children. They are not human being!!,” a village elder asked with anger.  

The victims have to provide two gallons of petrol to the Nasaka camp as tax per month.

The Burmese Army troops, who came to Maungdaw town from Buthidaung for supervision of the fence on the border, frequently enter villages and loot goods of wealthy villagers while the poor villagers are on sentry duty at the village sentry post and barbed wire fence.  Every night 5 to 8 villagers from each village have to go to the fence construction site at night for sentry duty. One villager has to watch eight pillars at night. Army personnel also loot fish from the fisherman, said a local businessman who declined to be named.

The villagers of Kunthee Pin village, Taungbro (Right), Taungbro (left), Ray Aung Chaung, Chakma Khata, Mae Diek and Lapu Kya  have to be on night sentry duty every day for the fence. It is an extra duty for the Rohingya community in north Arakan after construction of the fence on the Burma-Bangladesh border. All night, they are at the sentry post and have to sleep at daytime. So, they have no time to work for supporting the family, said a village elder.   

The villagers went to the Nasaka camp and complained of the army’s looting. But, the Nasaka told them to avoid clashes between the army and villagers.

Besides, 48 Rohingya households were relocated from Taungbro (Right) of Maungdaw Township on February 20 for the barbed wire fence construction on the Burma-Bangladesh border. The relocated families are in a nearby mountain where they cannot cultivate.

The Burmese authorities are crippling the economy and growth rate and also destroying religious constructions of the Rohingya community. 

Burma denies the Rohingya citizenship, travel or marriage without first seeking permission. They are often subjected to routine forced labor. Most are illiterate with little opportunities in the mountainous and poor Arakan State, said a school teacher.

The systematic persecution of the Rohingya by Burma's military rulers makes the ethnic group one of the world's most oppressed people.

"The authorities randomly destroy Rohingya houses, extort money and taxes from them, prevent them from leaving their villages and give them no chance of earning a livelihood or ever having any documentation. The Rohingya are trapped in an endless cycle of abuse, poverty and repression. The Rohingya are probably the most friendless people in the world. They have nobody on their side," UNHCR’s McKinsey said.