Souce by:Narinjara News
7/1/2008
Mray Bon: Students from a rural village in Arakan State have not had the chance to attend school since the term began on 1 June, after their school building was set on fire by unidentified local residents on 9 May, 2008.
A villager said, "My children can not go to the school at present because the school was set on fire by unknown people when the authority used the school as a polling center during the referendum period."
On 9 May, a group of unidentified villagers from Rauk Kon Village in Mray Bon Township in central Arakan State ignited the primary school building because the authority was using the school as a polling center.
The school was completely damaged and rendered unusable by the blaze, but the government authority has yet to repair the building for students.
"The school in our village was gutted after after burning, but the authority has neglected to rebuild it. I am really worried for my children's education as there is currently no school in our village," the villager said.
In Rauk Kon Village there are 80 households and over 100 children who would be studying at the primary school if it were open for classes.
The authorities arrested five youths in the village on suspicion of setting fire to the school, and they are currently being detained at the Mray Bon police lockup without any trial or hearing in process.
The arrested youths have been identified as Maung They Win, son of U Hla Maung; Tun Mra Chay, son of Maung Nge; Maung Kyaw Naing, son of U Kyaw Hla, Aung Shwe Mra, son of U Kyaw Tun Tha; and Maung Kyaw Tha, son of Maung Hla Sein.
The police at first arrested many people from the village, including the school headmaster U Sein Thaung and teacher Ma Khin Thein, as well as village chairman U Ba Thin Oo. All but the five youths remaining in custody were later released.
