3 Nasaka Deserters Arrive in Bangladesh

soure from Kaldan Press, 11 Aug 2008

Dhaka: Three men arrived on Friday in Bangladesh after deserting their posts with Nasaka, the infamous border security force based in western Burma.The three were identified as Thwe Naing, Private No. TA 360757, Zaw Myo Tun, Private No. 360756, and Aung Than Win, Private No. 353584. They were serving at Nasaka headquarters in Kyi Kan Byint in Maungdaw. Ko Zaw Myo Tun said, “We were tortured by officials in Nasaka and the officials also urged us to oppress the local people. We do not want to oppress people, so we deserted from Nasaka.” The three men are now sheltering in Bangladesh and are preparing to apply as refugees with the UNHCR office there. “We are preparing to seek safety as refugees with UNHCR if we have the chance, because we are worried about our security here,” he said. According to a local source, most Nasaka men ranked as privates are facing hunger as their salaries are insufficient for their survival, and many men have deserted Nasaka due to this hardship. He said, “The monthly salary is only 21,000 kyat for a Nasaka man, but in Maungdaw, the price of ordinary rice is 25,000 kyat a [50-kilogram] sack. All private Nasaka men are facing hunger due to their salary being inadequate for their daily survival.” “[Hunger] is also another reason for us to desert from the law enforcement of Nasaka,” another deserter Ko Thwe Naing added. Many Nasaka men on the western border are now involved in many sectors of corruption in order to get extra money from outside their jobs to maintain their daily life. #