Security guarantees remain stumbling block to Tinma villagers’ return

By DMG 16 Nov 2021

DMG Newsroom
16 November 2021, Kyauktaw 

Arrangements will be made to help displaced Tinma villagers in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, who have repeatedly sought their own return, but only once their security is guaranteed, said U Hla Thein, a spokesman and attorney-general for the Arakan State Administration Council. 

The local government has not yet been able to fully guarantee the safety of the Tinma villagers if they were to return, U Hla Thein said. 

“The Tinma villagers have not been able to return home yet because we fear that the management team will not be able to provide specific assistance if there is a problem with their return. The villagers are expected to be repatriated only when security is guaranteed and landmines are cleared,” he added. 

Tinma villagers have made repeated requests to the Arakan State Administration Council and the commander of the military’s Western Command for permission to return home. 

Most recently, the villagers sent a letter to the chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC), Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on November 1, but so far nothing has changed. 

If the Arakan State Administration Council will help the villagers return home, they need to do so as soon as possible, said Venerable U Wayamida, abbot of the Tinma village monastery. 

“The villagers are demanding that they return to their homes when the area is stable,” the abbot told DMG. “There is no fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army for the time being. If the Tatmadaw and the AA can negotiate, everything will be resolved. We are demanding the needs of the displaced villagers [be met]. It would be good if the Arakan State Administration Council cleared landmines and provided housing for the villagers.” 

In March 2020, the Tinma villagers fled their homes amid clashes between the military and Arakan Army, with dozens of houses torched after the village was largely emptied of its inhabitants. 

U Maung Tun Nyunt, an internally displaced person (IDP) from Tinma village, said he wanted to return to work in his hometown because he had been living in an IDP camp for a long time and was struggling to make ends meet. 

“We need financial aid to support our children’s health and education because of the long stay in the IDP camp. It will not be OK for us if we are not provided with financial assistance. If we return home and earn a living by farming, we no longer need to worry about our children’s education and health,” he added. 

Prior to the March 2020 exodus, Tinma village had about 700 households with a population of more than 4,000. 

Dozens of houses were damaged or destroyed by fire in the villagers’ absence, and many more homes have fallen into disrepair in the months since Tinma was abandoned, according to residents who paid a visit to the village in March of this year.

As many as 1,000 homes from more than 40 villages were reduced to ashes as a result of the two-year armed conflict (2018-20) between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Arakan State, according to data compiled by local civil society organisations.