“According to the Rakhita Roadmap, Muslim Businessmen Should Not Be Allowed to Establish Themselves in Northern Rakhine,” Reports Say.
The United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) is continuing to seize properties owned by Rohingya business owners under the pretext of links to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), according to local sources.
In the Kanyin Tan ward of Maungdaw town, although hundreds of houses and plots had already been seized with red signboards posted by AA forces, eyewitnesses reported that yesterday AA troops returned and sealed off about a dozen more properties.
Most of the properties being seized are reportedly houses, land, workshops, and shops owned by Rohingya businesspeople.
“After they captured Buthidaung, AA confiscated everything owned by Rohingya businesspeople in the town, citing ARSA involvement. They even took properties from those who had absolutely no connection to ARSA and were in fact victims of ARSA’s threats,” a Rohingya businessman from Buthidaung told AEN.
“Claiming someone is linked to ARSA is just a convenient excuse. In reality, this is about targeting a specific ethnic group who have gained influence and economic strength. If you suppress their wealth and power, it becomes easier to dominate the group,” said Maung Nyosaw, a Rakhine affairs analyst and writer. “If you look at the buildings and land seized in Buthidaung and Maungdaw, it’s clear AA is deliberately removing Rohingya businesspeople.”
In Buthidaung, in Wards 2 and 3 and near the Nat Pan Gwin junction, several buildings, houses, and shop lots owned by Rohingya residents have been unlawfully confiscated by AA, according to the local Rohingya community.
In Maungdaw Township as well, thousands of buildings, land plots, and shop spaces owned by Rohingya businesspeople have been seized by AA citing ARSA involvement.
At a meeting in the Kyain Chaung Sub-Township of Maungdaw District, the local administrator U Aung Paw reportedly told Rohingya community leaders:
“According to the Rakhita Roadmap, Muslim businessmen should not be allowed to become influential in northern Rakhine. The top leadership has not approved it, and Rakhine people are not happy with it either.”
This was confirmed by a source who was present at the meeting.
A former Rohingya businessman from downtown Buthidaung stated:
“Not even 10 percent of Rohingya businesses that existed before AA took control of the region are still operating now.”
Analysts noted that the tactics being used by ULA/AA to seize civilian homes and properties—such as accusing individuals of terrorist links, red-marked signboards, and designations—mirror the methods of Myanmar’s military junta.
Photo caption: Recently seized civilian house and land in Kanyin Tan ward, Maungdaw, under AA control.
The Arakan Express News
