Two kidnapped educators returned safe to Arakan State

By DMG 24 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
24 June 2022, Maungdaw 

Two kidnapped educators from Maungdaw who were abducted last week have been returned to Arakan State after being briefly held for questioning by Bangladeshi authorities following their release from captivity. 

The pair were reportedly handed over at the Myanmar-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge in Taungpyo Letwe, Maungdaw Township, at about 10 p.m. on Thursday. The two educators were turned over to a Myanmar Border Guard Force (BGF) contingent by a delegation from the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) based in Cox’s Bazar, after being summoned by Bangladeshi authorities for questioning. 

Primary school headmaster U Bo Win and schoolteacher Daw Ohmar Kyaw from Thinbaw Hla village in Maungdaw were released in Chan Chaung village, near the Naf River in Bangladesh, on the morning of June 23, according to Ko Aung Thant, the younger brother of the headmaster. 

“The two teachers arrived in Taungpyo Lewe at around 10 p.m. yesterday and they will be transported to Maungdaw under police escort. They were sent back by Bangladeshi authorities. The two teachers are in good health and are expected to arrive in Maungdaw [town] at 10 a.m.,” said an official. 

The pair went missing on June 16 while travelling along with members of the Thinbaw Hla village administration to the township education office. They were kidnapped by a group of armed men near Kyaukchaung village. 

Family members began to pay ransom money for the pair’s release on June 18, the day after the kidnappers phoned and demanded 5 million Bangladeshi taka (about K100 million, or US$54,000). 

The families had to borrow money from township authorities and the government, and the education department also contributed some funds, said an official of the Arakan State Education Department.  

An assistant primary teacher from Buthidaung Township said it was unacceptable that family members had to scramble to gather a partial ransom payment after their loved ones were kidnapped while on duty. 

“My feeling is that it is unacceptable. They were abducted while they were travelling for duty, and were not making a personal trip. No one can guarantee if a similar incident may happen or not. What if public servants can’t afford to make partial payment for ransom?” she said, adding that the kidnapping would discourage other teachers from continuing in their jobs. 

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The Arakan Army chief, Major General Twan Mrat Naing, has alleged that the two educators were abducted by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The organisation has rejected that accusation as false.