Myanmar Regime Arrests Traffickers After Bodies of Rohingya Dumped   

By The Irrawaddy 21 December 2022

Twelve traffickers have been arrested in Yangon after the our bodies of 13 Rohingya migrants had been discovered dumped by the roadside on the sting of Myanmar’s industrial capital, the army regime stated on Tuesday.

The 12 detainees helped transport a complete of 255 Rohingya from Bangladesh refugee camps to Malaysia by way of Rakhine State in 5 separate circumstances of trafficking, stated the regime.

They charged every migrant 700,000 kyats (round US$250), it added.

The our bodies of 13 Rohingya males had been discovered dumped by a roadside in Hlegu Township on the outskirts of Yangon on December 5. The regime stated they had been amongst 33 Rohingya dropped at Yangon within the newest operation by the 12-member trafficking community. The victims reportedly suffocated to demise.

Social media posts by Rohingya rights activists stated the our bodies additionally confirmed indicators of beating. The Irrawaddy couldn’t independently confirm their feedback.

There have been frequent arrests of Rohingya in Yangon, Mawlamyine and Karen State as they flee refugee camps in Bangladesh and Rakhine State in western Myanmar, the place Rohingya have lived and confronted persecution for generations.

Regardless of the danger of jail phrases on immigration fees, Rohingya proceed to flee Rakhine to work in Thailand and Malaysia, pushed by poverty and institutionalized discrimination.

After Rakhine, they make a stopover in Yangon, helped alongside the way in which by a community of brokers at transit factors reminiscent of Myawaddy in Karen State and Kawthoung, Tanintharyi Area on Myanmar’s southern border with Thailand.

The regime has vowed authorized motion in opposition to traffickers and Rohingya individuals who illegally enter Myanmar. In November, 71 Rohingya folks had been arrested in Hlegu.

Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Germany-based Free Rohingya Coalition, stated the arrests had been a part of a coverup to hide regime officers’ involvement within the trafficking.

“Rohingya can’t transfer in Myanmar with out official permission. It’s not possible for numerous Rohingya to finish up close to Yangon with out officers’ data. All officers concerned have to be investigated and face motion. The arrest of 12 folks is only a cowl,” he stated.

Greater than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017 after the Myanmar army launched a clearance operation following assaults on army and border guard outposts allegedly carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Military.