KALADAN NEWS
Dated: Thursday,
January 13, 2005
Surrendered Burmese Insurgent Entered Bangladesh
Maungdaw,
Jan-13: Seven members of Democratic Party of Arakan
(DPA) re-entered Bangladesh
on January 2, 2005 that
surrendered to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) troops on 21 December 2004, said Maung Ni from
Maungdaw
Town,
Arakan
State, Burma.
Some DPA members including 100
family members have surrendered to the SPDC troops, based in Platwa township
of Chin
State with 20 modern guns from Chittagong Hill Tracts
of Bangladesh, he more added.
The surrendered DPA members have
been shifted to Maungdaw
Township
after their surrender and placed them at a monastery of Maungdaw
3-mile. They were not allowed to move freely without the permission of the
concerned SPDC authorities and have to work for troops. So, they felt uneasy
and like a prison for them, said a Rakhine from Cox’s
Bazar, who requested not to mention his name.
The seven DPA members are not
originally from Arakan
State,
they are inhabitants of Bandarban District, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Bangladeshi citizens. There are
many Bangladeshi Rakhines or Marmas
got memberships in DPA while it formed in Bangladesh
soil, he further said.
On January 2, in hopes of
escaping from that monastery, the said seven Bangladeshi of DPA members again
fled to Bangladesh
by boat with cooperation of 4-local people of Aung Bala
model village
of Maungdaw
Township. These four people were arrested by Burmese military and put in jail,
he continued.
The DPA members were forcibly
collecting money from local people, robbing Bangladeshi banks, and abducting
local businessmen and also killed Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) or armed forces with
the cooperation of Bangladeshi members of DPA, while they were present in Bangladesh
soil, said another Rakhine from Cox’s Bazar who also preferred not to mention his name.
According to a Rakhine intellectual from Chittagong,
the Buddhist people of Bandarban District of Chittagong Hill Tracts prefer to call them Marmars or Rakhines but the Rakhine people who are living in Rangamati
and Khagrachari Districts of Bangladesh
proudly prefer to call them “Magh” and claim that
they are the descendants of India’s
Magada
State.
All the groups of Magh, Marama
and Rakhine have responsibility to fight for the
freedom of Arakan, as they received helps from Arakan’s Kings in ancient period for their settlement.
When asked from the said
intellectual, the reason of Bangladeshi people surrendered to SPDC troops,
said, “It is clear that with hoping of getting more facilities from the SPDC
authorities.”
The DPA is a member organization
of National Council of Union of Burma (NCUB) and Arakan
National Council (ANC), which is recently formed. This DPA is also a split
group of National United Party of Arakan (NUPA). ##
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