Nasaka metamorphosing into gangsters in Northern Arakan
Maungdaw, Arakan (KPN): A Rohingya man was beaten and critically injured by the Burmese border security force, Nasaka, yesterday afternoon, a school teacher from Bawli Bazaar (Kyein Chaung) said.
Sergeant Kyaw Win, from Kyein Chaung camp arrested and beat up Rohingya villager, Mohamed Safi Alam (49), without any reason, until he fell unconscious, a local villager, who was an eyewitness, said.
The local villagers rushed to the spot and tried to save Safi Alam and took him to the local village clinic for treatment, the eyewitness said.
Some villagers and relatives of Safi went to the Nasaka camp and complained and reported to the officer about the incident. The officer said the camp will take care of his treatment and will take action against Sergeant Kyaw Win, said a close aide from the camp.
However, no help had been forthcoming till now.
On April 29, Htint Sein, a Nasaka officer from Nasaka camp of 14, without uniform and Zaw Shwe, of the Rakhine community, who is a collaborator of the Nasaka, asked for a permission paper, while Bashar (Baydu) son of Kaseim (62), who hails from Khayoung Chang Village, under the Shweza Village Tract, was building a roof for his house on the lower part. They had an argument and the situation rapidly became tense, while the Nasaka officer attacked him with a sword and seriously injured him, according to sources.
Seeing the injuries of their father, his two sons attacked the officers and collaborator, while the officer was wounded on his shoulder and attacked with the sword. The Nasaka arrested more than twenty Rohingya villagers, in connection with the incident, but the villagers were innocent, the sources said.
Nasaka, from Aung Mangala Nasaka out post, has been looting goods from Amina Bazaar (market) of Maungdaw Township, on every market day (on Tuesdays and Saturdays) from the Rohingya community. No action has been taken, when the villagers complained to the concerned authorities. So, the Nasaka continues to loot goods from the market regularly on market days.
The Nasaka also injured 32 Bangladeshi fishermen, and looted goods worth Taka 2 million from them on April 12, while they were fishing in the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh’s territorial waters, near Saint Martin island of Bangladesh, Abdul Zalil, one of the boat owners said.
The Nasaka also troubled the fishermen in the Naff River, some time ago, when they fired on the fishing boats of Bangladeshi fishermen when they were fishing in Bangladeshi territorial waters. One fisherman was killed and two others were injured on April 8, by Nasaka firing, said Nazir Ahmed, who was injured by Nasaka.
Some time earlier, Nasaka also abducted Bangladeshi fishing boatpeople for money. In the last week of March 2009, a fishing boat owned by Kasim, Mohamed and Nur Hussain of Shapuri Dip was abducted by Nasaka from Bangladeshi territorial waters, while fishing in the Naff River. However, it was released after taking money from the owners.
They (Nasaka) are not security personnel from Burma, but they are robbers and gangsters from Burma, said the cattle trader Committee Chairman, Rashid Ahmed.
The authorities such as the police, Nasaka and Sarapa (Military Intelligence) extort money from the Rohingya community on charges that they are involved in drugs smuggling, cross the Burma-Bangladesh border without permission, have relatives abroad, are linked with human trafficking, and are in possession of mobile phones, are involved in money exchange, receive money from their relatives abroad, among other accusations, according to a local trader.
The Nasaka, which was established in 1992, to control the border area, has become the most powerful group in the area. They do not care for any one and they rule their duties area ruthlessly. Especially in Northern Arakan (Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung),where mostly people from the Rohingya community live and the Nasaka continue to behave like dreaded gangsters in the area, according to a political group.
