January 3, 2018
Despite threats by the La Wa Ka and the Hlun Htein, Rohingya villagers in Walish Para, Akyab, remained steadfast in their resolve not to register under the controversial National Verification Scheme (NVC).
On Saturday, La Wa Ka officials and government collaborators along with a detachment of Hlun Htein forces called a meeting of Rohingya villagers. During the meeting, a La Wa Ka official said that unless the Rohingyas accepted the NVC card, their movement will be restricted and they will even be barred from going to the sea for fishing. On the other hand, if the Rohingyas agreed to the NVC proposal, steps would be taken to ensure their citizenship. Such movement restrictions, often imposed by government forces have previously led to extreme food shortages as Rohingyas remained cut off from their livelihood sources e.g. agricultural fields, waterways and the woods.
The fishing village of Walish Para would face an imminent food crisis if Rohingyas are barred from the waterways.
In spite of the threats, one of the Rohingyas stood, and said that taking steps to gain citizenship is something that foreign nationals residing in the country might do. But Rohingya, he said, had lived in this land for generations and they had citizenship in the past. So Rohingyas are not foreign nationals, they don’t have to take steps to take citizenship, as it should be granted to them without any further ado. He also said accepting the NVC would mean they are actually foreign nationals, e.g Bengalis, whereas they are indigenous to the soil of Arakan. He also alleged that the government had never kept any promise to the Rohingyas.
He said that the Rohingyas in Walish Para would rather starve to death rather than register as foreign nationals under the hated NVC scheme. His speech was approved by murmurs from the rest of the crowd.
Following the speech, the government forces left in a hurry.
