Model Villages and Militarization

The military regime in Burma has been conducting the most brutal campaign of Rohingya extermination by ethnic cleansing. It has been importing large number of people of Buddhist faith into the traditional Rohingya areas in North Arakan.

The Rohingyas’ concern about the “colonization scheme” is related to insecurity about their physical safety and forcible dispossession of their lands and also to fear that the Rohingya will become insignificant or negligible minority in their traditional homeland. The Rohingyas are not opposed to individual migration but only to large-scale state aided colonization schemes, which change the ethnic composition of an area.

The colonization of Rohingya homeland has a long story. Some anti- Muslim and racist first designed it during the independence struggle of Burma. For instance, late Genral Ne Win responsible for 1942 anti-Muslim pogrom in Arakan, who commanded the Burma Independence Army (BIA), troops from Bassein. The massacre resulted about 100,000 Rohingyas, a large exodus of them and complete devastation of hundreds of large Rohingya villages and settlements throughout Arakan. These vacated lands or traditional Rohingya areas had been occupied or filled up with Buddhist Rakhaings, causing serious demographic changes in complete disadvantage of the Rohingya community and their succeeding generations.

The colonization began to accelerate when General Ne Win, the same architect of the political machination of 1942 anti-Rohingya pogrom, took over the power from the civilian government in March 1962 and installed an autocratic rule under “ Burmese Way to Socialism” with his idiosyncratic policies. The colonization schemes have now reached an ugly peak under the present most abusive rule of military regime, manned with the followers ailing late General Ne Win, officially known State Peace and Development Council- SPDC, (until November 1997 State Law and Restoration Council-SLORC).

Nowadays, the momentum of colonization is greater than ever. Families of Buddhists faith, including ex-convicts, muggers, drug edicts, prostitutes and ex-army personnel are being brought in, from within and outside the country. The military is dotting the whole Rohingya homeland, particularly the three bordering townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung where 95% Rohingyas inhabit except Rathedaung, with hundreds of pagodas, monasteries and Buddhist temples followed by planned settlements, with a view to changing the age-old features of the Rohingya homeland and to making a clean sweep of the Rohingya people.

The whole Rohingya villages have been emptied and have been driven by the army from their homes, occupations and turned into either refugees or internally displaced. Rohingyas’ lands have been confiscated and distributed to the settlers. The Rohingyas have been forced to provide everything to the hostile settlers, from construction of houses, roads, pagodas, temples, giving away agricultural lands and cattle to all other needs and essentials. These settlements are being erected surrounding in Rohingya villages in all strategic places. On the other hand, the authorities seriously restrict the Rohingyas to renovate and maintain the existing mosques, religious schools and Muslim relics.

Muslim archaeological and historical places are remaining without renovation while disallowing them to build anything Islamic or Muslim’s with permanent structures. Many mosques and religious centers have been destroyed and closed down. It may be mentioned that the historically famous Sandikhan mosque, built 1430 by an Arakan King at Kawalong, Mrauk-U (Mrohaung) township was 75% razed to the ground. By the opposing of local Rohingya people, the rest 25% has been remained undamaged.

The oppressed and persecuted Rohingya people have been engaged in forced labor day in, day out in the so called “resettlement programs” of the Buddhist settlers while in sub-human condition. In addition to other forms of slave labor being extracted for the military purposes. It may trigger yet another exodus of the Rohingya Arakanese into Bangladesh.

The chief reason to settle the Rakhaings or other Buddhist communities is that they are hostile to Rohingyas--- as hatred has been systematically preached in their minds and with the depopulation of Rohingyas and substantial increase in Buddhist settlers.

The real aims of the colonization schemes of SPDC are:

1.To make the Rohingyas landless and homeless while forcing them to be on exodus by ethnic cleansing.

2.To use the new settlers sometimes as a buffer and sometimes as a cutting-edge in their Rohingya extermination and ethnic cleansing policies and plans.

3.To change the demography of the Rohingya homeland and in this way to make the remaining of the Rohingya community at least a manageable minority in Arakan.

4.To completely erase the Islamic cultural heritage and Muslim characters of Arakan and turn it into a purely Burmanized Buddhist zone.

5.To sow the seeds of discord and create lasting enmity between our two sister communities of Rohingyas and Rakhaings.

The regime is systematically arming these settlers and often use them to attack and loot the Rohingya villages in the surrounding areas.

The repression and discrimination against the Rohingyas is at the heart of an ethnic and religious cleansing in northern Arakan, one essential means of which is a policy of colonization. The goal of the Burmese government is to progressively empty Arakan of its Rohingya population and replaces it by the Buddhists Arakanese and Buddhists Burman today.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Burmese authorities intensified their policy of territorial, human and religious reconquest, which had already been going on for several decades.

The Burmese authorities justify this colonization by invoking history: the Buddhists have to get back the land they lost in the 1942 inter-ethnic riots, when the Arakanese Rakhaings were pushed dawn south by the Arakanese Rohingyas, while the Rohingyas were driven away from the center to the north by the Rakhaings, in order to restore the age-old balance between two communities. In reality, most of the people who are now living in the north Arakan are destitute villagers of the Sittwe region, Kyauktaw, Pauktaw, Myebon, Minbya and, Mrauk-U inhabitants.

However the Rakhaings and SPDC say that the new villages are being built at the vacant places from where` Rakhine villages were evacuated during the period of the 1942 Rakhine-Rohingya conflict. But, they never mentioned that over 300 Rohingya villages were damaged in Myebon, Minbya, Pauktaw, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, and Ponnagyunt Townships during 1942 Rakhine-Rohingya conflict. They (Rakhaings) also destroyed3 villages in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships. Where were the properties and lands of the Rohingyas? Who were the responsible for it?

Besides, most of the Rohingyas from Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, and Myebon townships have been forcibly displaced to the north over the past few years. For instance, in 1968, Major Saw Pru (Rakhine) forcibly seized some Rohingya People--- women, children, young and old--- from the said towns and put them in a cargo and brought to Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships. In that year, there was also a cyclone storm brewing over the Bay of Bengal crossed over to Akyab (Sittwe) coast of Arakan State.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Burma has denounced these forced relocations, which go hand in hand with serious human rights violations, notably in February 1993 and January 1995.

It is learnt that in Rathadaung Township, out of the 53 Rohingya villages existing in the township before 1995,only two remain in 1999.

According to International Federation of Human Rights League (FIDH), the policy of colonization through the construction of model villages started very soon after the independence from 1948 to 1978, most of these model villages were situated on the border in order to ensure the presence of loyal populations in a sensitive area, and to weaken any rebel movement. Again, since the beginning of the 1990s saw a multiplication of model villages in the Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships.

According to UNHCR, 14 villages were built in the year between 1991 and 1996. And also, according to an international NGOs, over 100 Arakanese Buddhist villages have been set up around Maungdaw and Buthidaung since 1950, compared to only 15 before then.

The central administration in charge of the colonization is the Natala, the policies of which are supervised in Arakan by the Rakhine State Peace and Development Council Chairman Western Command Commander in Ann Town, formerly in Sittwe. Model villages are designed for 100 families, each allocated on average two acres of land, livestock, farm tools and a house. In some cases, the newcomers even get food assistance. In spite of material supports, some prefer to leave again, generally because unemployment and because of a cultural and religious environment where they represent a minority.

In August 1991, Bertil Lintner, a Burmese specialist, figured that the number of troops increasing in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships as compared to previous year is one of the main consequences of the military presence is a dramatic increase of human rights violations in the area, which have led to the exile of tens of thousands of Rohingyas.

The colonization proceeds through “ model village” built in the richest parts of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships. The construction of model villages entails forced relocations of Rohingyas, relegated to the poorest and most isolate areas of the region, as well as the confiscation of their lands, which is then allocated to the newcomers.

The colonization of northern Arakan relies heavily on the army; the growing militarization of the region causes extra forced relocations of the population and additional land confiscation. Everything leads us to think that the government was above all aiming at a tight control over the territory through the army, the Nasaka, the military intelligence. The objective being two-fold: to prevent the Rohingyas from moving to other parts of Arakan and to avoid a massive departure for Bangladesh.

The policy of reconquest has also taken on a religious aspect, with the authorities launching a religious offensive aimed at increasing the Buddhist influence by constructing pagodas, temples and other communication centers. Lastly, the Rohingyas have a minimal access to education.

Both colonization and military occupation further accelerate the breakdown of an already weakened Rohingya society. The only solution left for the most vulnerable section of the population is the exile to Bangladesh.

Since last week of May 2004, the Nasaka border security forces of Burma resumed to build houses for newcomers and the Nasaka acting Director Lt. Col. Myint Oo evacuated 130 Rohingya houses from Myaw Taung (Wa-beg) and Kyi Kan Pyin (Kawa Bill) villages of Maungdaw Township to build 20 houses for newly arriving settlers, which are closed to the Nasaka Headquarters. These newcomers are arriving soon from central Burma to the Maungdaw Township.

Under the construction scheme, villagers are being engaged in building houses, a monastery, a school, a dispensary and a communication center, along with digging several ponds and wells. About 260 acres of lands were confiscated from Rohingya villages to provide the newcomers. The nearby villagers are compelled to abandon their agriculture works because of construction works for the newcomers without any wages. In addition, the villagers have to pay Kyat 3,000 to 6,000 per each family according to their financial status. Besides, they have to provide house-building materials including pillars, bamboos and etc.

Villagers have to pay forced labor 2 to 3 days constantly to their work site. Due to their absence from their houses, some villagers’ family members have been facing starvation because of having very little income.

So far, about 20 newly built villages for newcomers, locally known Natala village have been completed under the Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships in the northern part of Arakan.

The Rohingya villages are destined to be destroyed and its instead a new Buddhist settlement called “ Natala or Model village” will be created --- a massive project, with over 300 villages of 100 houses per village. The uprooted villagers are using makeshift houses for staying. The villagers’ infrastructure of existence has been ruined; they will have to leave the village of “ their own accord.” The Rohingyas’ basic rights to freedom of movement and livelihood as well as the rights to education and health systematically abused.

It now appears tenable that the draconian measures imposed on the villages over the past few years have all been part of a sinister real estate scheme.

The residents’ expulsion is looming; they will be compelled soon to move from their ancestral land. The villagers have been registered by the Burmese authorities as Burmese residents (as opposed citizens). ##

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