By Rohingya Eye | February 20, 2017
Maungdaw — The Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) arrested
six Rohingya figureheads in southern Maungdaw for skipping a meeting held on
Sunday (on Feb 19) in relation to National Verification Card also called NVC,
it has been reported.
The Rakhine (formerly known as Arakan) State minister,
Colonel Htin Lin; and the Maungdaw Township Administrator and his team visited
the village of ‘Alay Than Kyaw (locally called Haishshu Rata)’ yesterday
afternoon. Then, they summoned the local figureheads and representatives of the
village for a meeting related to the NVC at the village administration office
at around 2:30 pm.
Some local figureheads attended the meeting, while the
most skipped it, according to a local source. The Rakhine state minister
ordered the villagers through the meeting to accept the NVC. A Rohingya cleric
as well as other figureheads that attended the meeting questioned and opposed
the order.
After the meeting was over, at around 6:00 pm of the day,
the Border Guard Police from the Region 7 Camp conducted raids on the
residences of the six Rohingya figureheads that had been absent in the meeting
and arrested five of them (i.e. six figureheads). Meanwhile, the Border Guards
arrested the wife of another figurehead as he was not present in his house at
the time of the raids. They detained her in the police camp until her husband
came and handed himself over to the BGP to release her.
Three of them released later having forced them to agree
to accept the NVCs.
They are:
(1) Lalu (30), Jamil
(2) Nabi Uddin (50)
(3) Fayazu (70), Nurul Jamal
Meanwhile, three others have still been detained in the
BGP. They are:
(1) Dr. Rashid (75)
(2) Sayedullah (52), Moghul (he has been detained since
he surrendered himself to release his wife on February 19 evening.)
(3) Sayedullah (70), Ali Akhbar
The Rohingya people as a whole categorically reject the
NVC as it is meant to issue to the foreigners recently arrived in Myanmar and
valid for only two years. Therefore, accepting these cards will automatically
deprive the Rohingya people of their indigenous status with the identity
‘Rohingya,’ disqualify their citizenship rights by birth.
Additional Report: The Myanmar government has severely
restricted the movement of Rohingya people in Maungdaw for refusing to accept
the NVC. The BGP is not allowing the people to go past the checkposts across
Maungdaw without NVCs in their possessions.