KALADAN NEWS

Dated: March 16, 2004

 

Continued Extortion of Money in Northern Arakan

 

Maungday, Mar-16: Nasaka (Border security Forces) extorted Kyat 700,000 from a Rohingya villager in Maugdaw Township, Arakan State, Burma on 29 February 2004, said Ali Miah, of the same village.

 

Sayed Hossain (42) son of Khalilur Rahman, from Odaung village of Maungdaw south was arrested on 27th February 2004 by a team of Nasaka from sector No. 8, with an allegation of human trafficking, he further said.

 

According to Mohd. Alam, a relative of the victim, the reason behind the arrest is that Sayed Hossain is a wealthy person in the area. The Nasaka and Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) members, on several occasion, tried to extort money from him. On 26th February 2004, at about 10:00 pm a team of Nasaka accompanied by Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) members went to his house and demanded Kyat 5 million which could not meet, whereupon he was carried to the Nasaka Sector No. 8 HQs where he was tortured with fabricated charge of human trafficker.

 

However, after 2 days of suffering in Nasaka camp, as there was no other way out, he finally was to bribe Nasaka a such of Kyat 700,000 for his release  through Karim Ullah, VPDC Chairman of the village.

 

Similar cases are common phenomenon in the northern Arakan, especially in Rohingya areas. “We are always in fear of extortion, forced labor and many kinds of restrictions.  We have no alternative except leaving homes or die”, said Amir Hakim, an elderly man of the village.

 

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