Myanmar’s junta claimed on Tuesday that its authorities had arrested 12 people involved in the trafficking of over 250 Rohingya people from Bangladesh refugee camps and Rakhine State to Malaysia through sea and land routes in November and early December.
The 12 people, including one man who led the arrangements and two drivers, were arrested on December 9 and 16 along with the vehicles they used on five different occasions to transport the trafficked Rohingya victims, the military’s statement claimed.
The detained traffickers were also responsible for the deaths of 13 Rohingya men whose bodies were found dumped by the roadside on December 5 in Yangon’s Hlegu Township, said the military. The 13 victims belonged to the last group to be transported by the traffickers, it added.
The regime claimed that the traffickers were traced after its authorities detained 12 Rohingya people, including a 14-year-old boy, who were trying to go to Malaysia illegally at a compound in a village called Shwe Nant Thar in Yangon’s Mingaladon Township on December 8. The compound is just a few miles away from where the bodies of 13 Rohingya were found three days earlier.
Citing the testimonies of the six male and six female detainees, the regime claimed that they travelled by boat from a refugee camp in Bangladesh on November 14 along with 24 other Rohingya people and entered a village in Rakhine’s Rathedaung Township “illegally.” They spent six days at that village with 36 other Rohingya people until four “brokers” took them away in a boat bound for Ayeyarwady Region.
The 72 Rohingya people then spent three days at sea until they reached a village on the Ayeyarwady coast. From there, they were crammed into vehicles, including in the hot, suffocating space of a tanker truck’s storage tank, to be transported to a village in Yangon Region, where they spent 15 more days. During their stay, 60 of them were taken by different brokers, until there were only the 12 who were arrested remaining. The military also said that the brokers charged each victim 700,000 kyat ($335) for transportation from the village in Ayeyarwady Region and for their stay in Yangon.
The 13 Rohingya people whose bodies were dumped on the roadside in Hlegu left Sittwe on December 4 and travelled to Yangon via Magway Region along with 20 others. They were also carried in a tanker truck and were found dead inside the tank “with foam coming out of their mouths” when the truck arrived in Yangon’s suburban Hlaing Tharyar Township, the regime statement said. Their bodies were dumped on the side of a road in Hlegu on the evening of the same day, it added.
The regime said that the traffickers occasionally opened the lids on top of the tank while in transit to allow in air for the people inside, but kept them closed at other times, especially when passing through checkpoints.
The regime’s statement made no mention of the 20 remaining Rohingya people who survived the trip. It also said that its authorities are carrying out investigations to make arrests of others involved in the trafficking ring. Myanmar Now is unable to verify the military’s claims on the arrests of the traffickers independently.
Most of Myanmar’s more than one million Rohingya have fled the country in recent years due to ethnic cleansing campaigns by the military. They have been subject to restrictions on their freedom of movement and other basic rights for decades.
These restrictions have made them vulnerable to human traffickers, who promise them better living conditions and work opportunities in Malaysia and other countries in the region.
Many are arrested in transit as they make the dangerous journey from Rakhine State to the Thai-Myanmar border or coastal areas in the country’s south. They are then charged with immigration offences that carry sentences of at least two years in prison.
Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the activist group Free Rohingya Coalition, said in a statement to Myanmar Now on Wednesday that the individuals described by the regime as traffickers were only involved in transporting the victims, and were not the ones leading the whole trafficking process.
He pointed out that the “lengthy” process of transporting Rohingya with no freedom of movement to Yangon would not be possible without the “unofficial permission” of local authorities.
“The trafficking gang won’t be able to take the victims out of Rakhine State without the involvement of local authorities,” he told Myanmar Now.
He added that while many Rohingya people might agree to be trafficked to escape the situation they face, they are still victims of exploitation and should not be charged or imprisoned if caught.
“These people are trafficked. They don’t travel on their own. They shouldn’t be charged under any act. They are the victims,” he said, adding that they should also be allowed legal assistance for their defence.
He said he was also sceptical about the actual cause of death for the 13 who were found dumped near Yangon. Citing sources who saw their dead bodies at Yangon General Hospital and photos of the bodies, Nay San Lwin said there were signs of torture and suggested that the military was trying “to cover up its crimes.”
“The acts of the junta are proofs that the genocide hasn’t stopped yet; it is ongoing.”
