Arakan people deported from Malaysia extorted for huge sums to secure release from junta detention
Arakan (Rakhine) ethnic people detained at a monastery in Thanlyin Township, Yangon Region, after being deported from Malaysia are being extorted by the junta and its allied Pyusawhti militia members, who demand up to 10 million kyats (MMK) for their release.
Locals and members of Yangon’s Arakanese community said they also face the danger of being sold as military conscripts.
Of the 1,476 Myanmar nationals deported from Malaysia, 429 were Arakan ethnic people.
Of these, 217 are held at Thanlyin Sasana Biman Monastery, while the remaining 212 are detained at the town hall in the western part of Hlaingthaya Township.
They have now been held for over a month.
Soldiers and police officers in civilian clothes have been deployed around the monastery in Thanlyin. Arakan people who come to inquire about or contact those in detention are also being arrested and interrogated.
“It's impossible to know exactly who is allowed to visit Sasana Biman Monastery or how many people have been released. Everything is being kept completely in the dark. If you want to find out anything, you first have to negotiate with the Pyusawhti thugs in the area. They then connect you with junta officials,” an Arakan man from Thanlyin said.
“People who have come to take detained Arakan men home told us that they have to pay between 3 million and 10 million MMK per person to secure their release. No one dares to report this extortion.
According to the latest information circulating, ward administrators and Pyusawhti members have even reached the stage of arranging to sell the detained Arakan men for military conscription,” he added.
Some local media outlets have reported that Thanlyin Township Deputy Administrator Arkar Kyaw and ward administrator Kyaw Zin Latt have been working together to sell some of the Arakan people deported from Malaysia as military conscripts.
However, NMG has not been independently able to verify these allegations.
Those being held are provided with only inadequate food, just enough to keep them alive. However, junta authorities have not turned away outside donations and food supplies brought in for the detainees.
“The Arakan people are being held just like prisoners. At night, when soldiers get drunk, they scold them. They threaten to send everyone into the military and say that older people will have to work as cooks. They often demand money from them to buy alcohol. Every morning, they make everyone line up and count how many people are there. Even if family members want to take them home, they can only do so if they have connections with the Pyusawhti thugs. I've also heard that everyone still being held will be forced into military service within the next two months,” a woman close to Sasana Biman Monastery said.
The junta has claimed that some of the detainees in Hlaingthaya have already been released.
However, in practice, only those with influential guarantors willing to vouch for them and those able to pay 5 million MMK have secured their freedom. The remaining detainees, who cannot afford to pay, are still being held by junta forces.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has said that Malaysia will seek clarification from Myanmar over reports that around 300 people deported from Malaysia remain in military detention facilities in Yangon.
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