Day 6: Rohingya and Population Census in Arakan

 

4^th April 2014

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4^th April 2014

Sittwe (Akyab) Township, Arakan State

At 10 O’ clock this morning, Rakhine state immigration deputy head, U Kyaw Yein Oo, and other officers visited the village of Aung Mingalar Quarter, Sittwe (Akyab) township. He met some 30 Rohingya seniors and some Rohingyas to discuss on the population census. Rohingya seniors greeted and welcomed the officers. After that, U Kyaw Yein Oo, played his own mind games saying “we will come here to survey population census very soon. We will either keep blank or write down ‘Muslim’ under the ethnic category in the census form. Even President of the country officially says that there is no Rohingya in Myanmar. So, we will not register you as Rohingya. Yet if you don’t want to participate, we will not force you to do so. But if you don’t take part, you may face with some bad consequences afterwards.”

Therefore, a 73-year-old ex-government servant, other Rohingya seniors, an 18-year-old Rohingya girl and other youths discussed in details on what the officer said regarding the census. And the ex-government staff nicely responded “the term ‘Muslim’ doesn’t represent any ethnicity. Every follower of Islam is called a Muslim. Our ethnicity is Rohingya. So, we would like to claim as our ethnic identity. We won’t able to accept any other term but that.”

“Previous governments in Myanmar officially recognized the term ‘Rohingya.’ I am shocked to know that only the current government is suddenly claiming that there is no Rohingya” stated the ex-government staff accompanying with many historical evidences. To which the immigration head replied as “it is none of business to know how and what the history of Rohingya was. Our job is just to listen to the orders given from higher authority.”

Thus, the said Rohingya questioned the immigration officer “is there any official order from Naypyitaw government banning the term ‘Rohingya?’ Is it true that the term ‘Rohingya’ will not appear in the system when you count start counting, analyzing and computerizing the total population after the completion of the census survey?” The immigration head replied “yes, there has been an official order banning the term ‘Rohingya’ issued. And the latter question is also true.”

Rohingya Young Girl Talking to Deputy Immigration Head (Photo Courtsey: Saed Arkani)

They discussed on the topic until 11AM of the day and the crew of the immigration head left the village afterwards. And Special Branch (SB) Police recorded the details of the people that discussed on the topic with the immigration head. (Ro Myochit Report)

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Around the same time, a group of census enumeratos visited the village of Thakkay-Pyin (Sakki Fara). They are said to have entered every house and asked the details of the households. As usual, the left the village without carrying out census as the people claimed ‘Rohingya’ to be their ethnic identity. (Hussain Report)

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2- Minbya Township, Arakan State

Military Torture People for their Rohingya Claim

The captain of the Military Division 380 in Minbya Township has been torturing Rohingya people of the village of Lat-Ma for their claim of ‘Rohingya’ as their ethnic identity during the recent census surveys. Since yesterday, he has been beating up and torutring children and old people alike. He says “why did you claim to be Rohingya? So, now suffer.” Then, he starts beating up people. Till date, he has beaten up around 15 people. (Aung Aung Report)

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2- Paletwa Township, Chin State

There are around 30 Rohingya households in the township of Paletwa, Chin state. It has been learnt that authority has completed census surveys by forcing the households to provide their details and kept the ethinic category in the census form blank. (Hamid Arkani Report)

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3- Buthidaung Township, Arakan State

This morning, Commander of Military Operation Command (MOC-15) at Buthidaung township summoned Dr. Bashir and U Jahanghir (Aung Min) respective Rakhine state MPs representing Buthidaung township and Maungdaw township, U Rafique (a Rohingya senior) and other senior Rohingyas to his base. He asked Rohingya seniors to encourage their people to choose neither Bengali nor Rohingya but another term in between as their ethnic identity. They responded saying that claiming ‘Rohingya’ is the desire of the people and they are helpless in that. They would be unable to ask the people to do so.

Later, all of them were summoned by the Maungdaw District Administration to his office at 1:30PM of the day. What they discussed about in the meeting has not been known yet. (CR Report)

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4- Maungdaw, Arakan State

Enumerators Deceive Rohingya Families

On 30^th April 2014, a team of census enumerators together with military and security force visited the village of Zumra Fara of Lake-Yaa (Kuir-Khali) village tract under Taung-Pyo sub-township, northern Maungdaw. They entered house by house and asked each household of family head name, age and numbers of the members of the families and household number. Some naive Rohingyas answered the questions as they asked. However, they left after just asking these four questions. In this way, they managed to ask the details of 21 households. Then, they handed over a cesus survey completion card to the households and said your families can now travel to Yangon. When some other households claim their ethnic identity ‘Rohingya’ first, the crew left the households without carrying out the census.

Around 2PM on 31^st April 2014, another team of census enumeration asked Zahid Hussain (son of) Zaw Mulluk, a 13-year-old Rohingya boy, of his ethnic identity in the same village (Lake-Yaa village). He claimed ‘Rohingya.’ Therefore, a census enumerator manhandled him by squeezing his neck tight. (CR MYARF Report)

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An Enumerator Squeeze Rohingya Boy’s Neck for Rohingya Claim

Around 10AM toay (4^th April 2014), a crew of census enumerators togther with usual security personnels visited the village of Ye-Aung-Chaung of Mi-Htaik village tract under Taung-Pyo subtownship, northern Maungdaw for census survey. They summoned the villagers to the premise of Primary School at the village. Some villagers arrived at the school. The crew inquired a man of his ethnicity and religion. He answered ‘Rohingya.’ So, the crew asked him “are the remaining people are of the same opinions?” The people answered ‘Yes.’ Afterwards, out of doing no census, he handed the card with wrtings “we have completed survey census on the families of school teacher Khalid Hussain and other eight families” on it. The team asked them to keep it for three months. The census crew included 1) U Win Hlaing, headmaster of the primary school 2 Ye-Aung-Chaung, 2) U Nyo Thar, 3) U Maung Kyaw Nu, 4) U Kyaw Htay, 5) U Kyaw Thein Maung, 5) U Tun Chay and two more enumrators together with Security Force. (CR MYARF Report)

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Village Administrator Extort Money in the Pretext of Expenses for Census Enumerators

“On 1^st April 2014, the village administrator, U Saw Hla Chay, of Zawmadata (Laambaguna), southern Maungdaw, forcibly raised Kyat 3,000 to Kyat 5,000 per household in the prextext of food, transportation and accomodation for the groups of census enumerators. It has been long been annnounced by the government and UNFPA that no one would need to pay any money for them. Yet, he raised around Kyat 400,000 in total using his puppet, U Karimullah, the ex-chairman of the village. But they didn’t need to use that money for the enumerators. Yet, they are not returning us our hard-earned money” said villager. (HD MYARF Report)