Kaladan News

Dated: Wednesday, April 6, 2005

 

SPDC Authorities Checking Family Lists in Northern Arakan

 

Buthidaung, April 04: Family lists of Rohingya people in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, Burma have been checking by Nakapa (including army, immigrations and police).

 

A team consisting of two immigrations, three police and a military captain of the Battalion No.551, in total 6 members, at first, went to Khandaung village of Buthidaung Township on 19th March 2005, was checking the family lists and continued to other villages, said a village elder.

 

The team after going to a village, collects the family lists of each houses, and checks the family members according to the family lists, after getting out all the family members from the houses, the village elder further added.

 

While checking the family lists, if the team found extra family members out of the family lists, they were arrested and sent to the police station. The extra members are those who were cancelled from the lists by the authority before checking family lists as they were in foreign countries for earning money or other cases at that time.

 

If the team finds less than the family members in a family list, the head of the family has to pay as a fine Kyat 20,000 per one of the absentee. If he fails to pay the money, he is sent to jail, said a relative of arrestee referring not to mention his name for security reason.

 

If the team finds a new born child that was not enlisted in the family list, the head of the family has to pay Kyat 10,000 to enroll in the family list. There are many new born children who were not registered in the household lists, as the concerned authorities delay to register the new born children, another village elder said.

 

When asked a village elder said, “At least two times per year, SPDC authorities come to our village and check our family lists. Its aims are to count how many Rohingya people have been reduced by their systematic oppression per year and to extract money from the villagers.”

 

This is the first time, after the Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt’s sack, the checking of the family lists is similar to former military intelligence (MI). We believed that the situation of the country would be changed after sacking General Khin Nyunt but nothing has been changed, said a school teacher.##

 

For more information please contract at:

Mobile# +88 011 227 138

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.kaladanpress.org