Myanmar Government Will Takeover Burned Land in Rakhine

The plan for the redevelopment of areas destroyed by fires, which the government has blamed on Rohingya insurgents, is likely to raise concern about prospects for the return of the 480,000 refugees, and compound fears of ethnic cleansing.

"According to the law, a burnt land becomes government-managed land," Minister for Social Development, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye told a meeting in the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Win Myat Aye also heads a committee tasked with implementing recommendations on solving Rakhine's long-simmering tensions.

Read: Myanmar Suu Kyi Under Pressure as 125,000 Rohingya Flee Violence

Citing a disaster management law, he said in a meeting with authorities on Tuesday that redevelopment would "be very effective". The law says the government oversees reconstruction in areas damaged in disasters, including conflict.

There was no elaboration on any plan or what access to their old villages any returning Rohingya could expect. The minister was not immediately available for comment.

Human rights groups using satellite images have said about half of more than 400 Rohingya villages in the north of Rankine state have been burned in the violence.

Refugees arriving in Bangladesh have accused the army and Buddhist vigilantes of mounting a campaign of violence and arson aimed at driving Rohingya out of Myanmar.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has rejected U.N. accusations of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in response to coordinated attacks by Rohingya insurgents on the security forces on Aug. 25.

The government has said about half of Rohingya villages have been abandoned but it blames insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army for the fires and for attacking civilians.

The government says nearly 500 people have been killed since Aug. 25, nearly 400 of them were insurgents. It has also rejected accusations of crimes against humanity, leveled this week by Human Rights Watch.

The crisis has led to tension between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

REUTERS