Threat of arrest leads port workers in Sittwe to halt operations

By Admin 29 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
29 December 2023, Sittwe

A regime threat has prompted ferryboat helmsmen and cargo workers at the BXT port in the Arakan State capital Sittwe to stop working. 

Residents said junta soldiers and police told ferryboat helmsmen and cargo workers on December 23 that they would be arrested and prosecuted if they transported goods from Phaungdaw jetty to BXT port, which connects the Arakan State capital to the Kaladan River.

“Regime soldiers and police told us that we would be arrested and prosecuted if we transported goods from Phaungdaw jetty to BXT port in Sittwe,” said a ferryboat helmsman.

At least 500 ferryboat helmsmen, boatmen and cargo workers rely on BXT port to earn a living.

“All workers and ferry boatmen dare not go to work due to the junta’s threat. The junta has prohibited ferry boatmen from docking at BXT port. We cannot do other work during this difficult time. I don’t know how to earn a living,” said another ferry helmsman.

Locals are struggling to make ends meet due to the regime’s prohibition, and the cargo workers are demanding that they be allowed to work for a certain period of time or with limited products.

A junta warship arrested 10 people travelling from Sittwe town to Pauktaw Township by boat on the evening of December 21 and family members are still unable to contact the arrestees.

“No one dares to go to Sittwe due to the junta’s arrests. Our villages have run out of food, and some took risks to buy food from Sittwe. People are starving here. Locals will go hungry in the long run. We would like to ask the regime to allow us to transport goods without limitations,” said a family member of the arrestees.

At least 50 ferry boatmen, residents, shoppers, travellers and students detained by Myanmar’s military at BXT Port on December 21 have reportedly been charged by the regime.

The grassroots in Arakan State are struggling to make ends meet due to food shortages and skyrocketing commodity prices triggered by the junta’s road and waterway blockades since renewed fighting began on November 13.