(Prothom Alo, 7 November 2002)
Abdul Kuddus Rana, Cox Bazaar
In Cox Bazaar, there has been a mad rush of people grabbing land and building houses on the sites of the cremation grounds and padogas (religious facilities) of the Rakaine people. One segment of corrupt people have been grabbing the land for themselves. As a result of land grabbing and leveling of the hillside, a two hundred year old pagoda has been destroyed. Another pagoda faces a similar threat. As a result, the Rakhaine people are facing many problems in freely conducting their religious ceremonies and worship.
The Nakhrudong Jadi (pagoda), built approximately 150 years ago on top of Jadi Hill in Cox Bazaar, is now in a pathetic state. In the last few years, hundreds of houses have been built on all sides of the pagoda, sparing only the stairway to the pagoda on the hill top. Gangsters from the town have build dens among the houses, engaging in crimes and drug dealing.
On site, it can be seen that the hillside around the pagoda has been leveled to build many temporary dwellings. Local people as well as Rohingyas from Myanmar and people from Noakhali, Kutubdiya, Rangpur,and Faridpur have settled there.
The Theikeyangdong Jadi (pagoda) which was build approximately two hundred years ago on top of a hill in Baidyerghona district near the above-mentioned pagoda, was destroyed approximately one and a half years ago. The lamd grabbers kept leveling the hillside around the pagoda until the pagoda collapsed and fell down 400 feet from the top of the hill. Some one thousand five hundred Rakhaine people and other Buddhists of the locality used to carry out their religious ceremonies and worship at this pagoda.
Mr. Sharif Badsha, Mr. Ramija Begam and Mr. Manirul Islam, who have illegally grabbed this land in Baidyerghona district, say that they bought the land from a government official four or five years ago for some ten to twenty thousand taka, and proceeded to build on it. Noone stopped them from doing so.
Approximately 30,000 people of the Rakhaine community live dispersed in Teknaf, Cox Bazaar, Khurushkul, Maheshkhali, Choufaldandi, Ramu, Habrang,Chakoria and various other localities. They are the constant target of abuse and oppression by various gangsters and extortionists.
A leader of the Rakhaine Buddhist Welfare Association states that the land grabbers have in recent years not only taken the land of two old historical pagodas, but also several acres of land beloning to a hundred year old pagoda on top of a hill in Lot Ukhiyaghona area along the Ramu-Naikhyengchari road, as well as the cremation grounds below it. A cremation groumd in Naitangpara in Teknaf, the central cremation ground at Rakhainpara village in Choufaldandi, several acres of land belonging to the cremation ground (by the jetty) at Dakkhin Rakhainpara village in Maheshkhali, and three acres of land belonging to the cremation ground at Rakhainpara village in Madhukhali, Hayrang, have been grabbed in recent years. Currently there is a mad rush of people building houses on the grabbed land. Upon visiting the Rakhaine cremation ground in Teknaf several days ago, this reporter found that four families from Myanmar had grabbed a considerable amount of land to build half-pukka and bamboo houses there. The path to the cremation ground is about to be blocked off as a result. OC Mohammed Farid of Teknaf police station says that he has not received any complaints from anyone about this matter.
The four hundred and fifty Rakhaine families in Hayrang area of Chakoria district are in the most pathetic situation. Approximately 3 acres of a seven acre cremation ground have been grabbed by influential people of the area, who have built stores and buildings on it. The Rakhaine people are held virtual hostages of the local Chotan Bahini gangsters. On October 13th, the gangsters attacked Rakhainpara village and stole 217,000 taka from the Rakhain people there, injuring the merchant Mr. Afrachi Apu Rakhaine and three other people. In an attack prior to that the Rakhaine people had been robbed of 80,000 taka.
OC Mainuddin of Chakoria police station states that the police are watching to make sure that the Rakhaine people are not subjected to further attacks or oppression.
Mr. Mankyam, President of the central chapter of Rahkaine Buddhist Welfare Association says that the Rakhaine people now have their backs to the wall, and have no choice but to carry out a movement to regain the lands of their religious places and to fight for their own survival.
An official of the district administration affirmed that Rakhaine pagodas, cremation grounds and surrounding forests totalling more than a hundred acres had been illegally grabbed, and stated that the government had decided to expel the illegal occupants.
(Translation by Japan CHT Committee)