Take for instance the situation that Muslims mostly from the Rohingya community in Arakan state has to face. As a community it has to seek permission before marrying, the movement of community members is restricted, they are not allowed to renovate existing mosques or build new ones. Permission to marry comes through after palms are of the local authorities greased, which is the Nasaka or Burma’s border security force or the Town or Village Peace and Development Councils. Muslims are forced to shave their beards and are told how many children they should have.

In a social environ such as this it is hardly surprising that a bridegroom would be arrested for talking to his fiancée. What would seem appalling to the civilized world is a daily affair in Arakan state populated by Rohingya and Rakhine communities.

In Maungdaw town in Arakan state a bridegroom was arrested by the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) members last month for talking to his fiancée in his aunt’s house. The bridegroom Md. Anwar (25) belongs to Konzar Bill (Kan Hpoo) village in Maungdaw Township, according to reports in the Myanmar media in exile.

Anwar was recently engaged to a girl of 20 in keeping with Islamic law only after he procured permission from the local authorities. The marriage was delayed because the bride had lost her national identity card.

The bridegroom visited his mother-in-law’s house to fix the date of the wedding. But the members of the Village Peace and development Council detained Md. Anwar and handed him over to the Nasaka. The youth continues to be under detention for over two weeks now. He is said to be denied food in detention and his family is sending his food, reports added.

The Nasaka, media reports said demanded 500 bamboo poles from Anwar’s mother-in-law, 500 bamboo poles from his father and another 500 from his paternal aunt for his release. The current price of 100 bamboos is Kyat 20,000 to 25,000. The relatives of the detained are said to be at a loss and the victim continues to be detained.

The level of persecution of the Rohingya by the junta authorities is unbelievable. It has been forcing hundreds of the community to flee to Malaysia for some time now. They have been in the news as boatpeople from Myanmar who were detained and set adrift on boats with its engine taken off allegedly by Thailand authorities, off the coast of the country. A few hundred were rescued by Indian authorities in the Andaman Sea and some off the coast of Indonesia. Many were reported to have drowned causing a raging debate in the international community.