The Commander of the Western Command Brig. Gen. Maung Oo, accompanied by Da Sa Ka Commander of Akyab (Sittwe), visited the northern Arakan on 1st June 2002, and instructed the local officers to confiscate 750 acres of Rohingyas’ farm lands from Nwa-Ron-Daung (Khoror Dale) village tract in Maungdaw North, told the Kaladan Press by an owner of the confiscated land.
On arrival at Maungdaw on the day of 1st June, Brig. Gen. Maung Oo held a meeting, in the Na Sa Ka headquarters, with Lt. Col. Soe Twe, the chairman of District Peace and Development Council (DPDC) and Lt. Col. Aung Ngwe, the commander of Na Sa Ka headquarters in Maungdaw Township. Although details of the discussion were not known, it was reported that they had discussed mainly on the progress of works for so-called model villages (so-called Natala villages) that have been established by the military authorities, he further added.

Brig. Gen. Maung Oo, accompanied by Col. Khin Naing Thein, the Commander of Military Operation Command (MOC) No.15, visited the two townships of Buthidaung and Rathedaung between 2-3 June, and inspected the progress of works of the projects related to Natala
villages for new Burman Buddhist settlers.

On 4th June, they came back to Maungdaw and, after a halt, proceeded their journey to a extreme border village of Taungbro Left, under Na Sa Ka sector No.3 in Maungdaw North, where they hurriedly discussed with local Na Sa Ka officers for a few minutes and then at
once proceeded to Alaythan Kyaw, a place 12 miles south of Maungdaw, under the Na Sa Ka sector No.7, to see by themselves the condition of the Natala villages that have recently been established by them, a source in the Na Sa Ka said.

On 5th June, Brig. Gen. Maung Oo and team left Maungdaw for Akyab in a speedboat. 3 days after their departure, the commander of Na Sa Ka sector No.6, Maj. Than Tun, as per instruction of Brig. Gen. Maung Oo, had confiscated about 750 acres of Rohingyas’
lands from Nwa-Ron-Daung (Khoror Dale) village tract, a place about 4 miles north of Maungdaw. Earlier, on May 13, about 300 acres of lands, belonging to both Rohingya and Rakhaing communities, had already been confiscated by the Na Sa Ka, and so this confiscation of lands, for the second time, from the same village tract is done within a span of two months, sources said.

Now is the season for paddy cultivation. However, most of the Rohingya farmers have become landless while their remaining farmlands are being progressively confiscated. Being landless and jobless and having no opportunity to work except forced labour, the Rohingya
farmers are now in acute difficulties and miserable condition. This is a deliberate policy of the ruling junta to cause the people of Arakan into serious famine-like situation in future. Burman Buddhist settlers have been regularly brought into northern Arakan from Burma proper to settle down on these confiscated lands and to grab more lands of the local
people and thereby to gradually pushing the Rohingya inhabitants either into the internally displaced people or refugees, said a retired government servant.

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