By: Camp Correspondent
Buthidaung Township, Arakan State — May 16, 2025
The Arakan Army (AA) has begun conducting a forced census-style population check on Rohingya communities in Buthidaung Township, raising deep concern among residents who say the method mirrors the military junta’s longstanding surveillance tactics.
On May 15, AA troops entered villages such as Nanyar Kone and began going door-to-door, collecting detailed personal data and photographing every family member. Each household was required to pay 500 kyats per photo, and they were informed that an additional 10,000 kyats must be paid later to receive updated household records.
“It’s not just documentation—it’s surveillance,” said a resident from Nanyar Kone. “They are even including our relatives who live abroad at the bottom of the family list. Why? What are they planning next?”
Community members say the documents being issued bear the AA’s administrative seal but deliberately omit any mention of the word “Rohingya”, instead listing ethnicity as “Muslim.” Many fear this is a calculated erasure of Rohingya identity, echoing decades of state-level efforts to strip the community of their name, history, and rights.
Adding to the unease, women were barred from wearing burqas during the photography process, something villagers describe as a direct intrusion on religious and personal dignity.
“It reminded us of how the Myanmar military used to do this every year since 1992,” said a local schoolteacher. “It’s the same method, just under a new name.”
Residents report that every family member was photographed individually, regardless of age. The process — standing in lines, answering questions, and paying per head-felt less like registration and more like control.
“This isn’t about governance—it’s about power,” said the schoolteacher. “What the military did with their regional laws, the AA is now repeating.”
For many Rohingya in Buthidaung, who have faced generations of displacement, statelessness, and surveillance, this latest move signals not inclusion, but deeper entrapment. While armed actors change, the tactics of domination remain chillingly familiar.
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