The most ancient city of Arakan, known historically as Danyawaddy, which existed in the 6 century BCE, was destroyed by bulldozers for construction of a railroad that passed over the walled palace grounds, said a historian in the region on the condition of anonymity.

He said, "We submitted an appeal letter to the minister of railway three months ago, asking them not to construct the railroad over the ancient palace of Danyawaddy because it is a precious historic site for Arakanese people, but they neglected our appeal. Now the railroad is being constructed over the ancient palace," he said.

The authority started construction of the railroad in the last week and it is now passing over the site of the palace.

"There are many alternative paths for constructing the railway to bypass the ancient palace, but the authority always plans to construct the railroad over the ancient city sites in Arakan State. Every Arakanese believes the government wants to destroy the invaluable Arakanese historic sites on the pretense of the railroad," he said.

The current military government is not willing see such historic sites preserved in ethnic areas in Burma due to its plan of Burmanization. Because of this, the military authority is often trying to destroy such historic sites in Burma to remove them from public sight....