Arakan State truck drivers, merchants face difficulties due to military council’s strict shipping rules

By DMG 05 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
5 February 2022, Sittwe

Businesspeople say shipments of goods from mainland Myanmar commercial hubs such as Yangon and Mandalay to Arakan State are allowed only with the permission of the Arakan State minister for Security and Border Affairs.

Since February 2021, when the military seized power in a coup, trucks carrying goods that are stopped at the Ann checkpoint in Arakan State have not been allowed to pass without a permit from the state’s Ministry of Security and Border Affairs. The military government has said the permission requirement was instituted for security reasons.

“It is not difficult to apply for a permit [in theory], but the process of applying for a permit is difficult,” U Tin Aung Oo, chairman of the Arakan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told DMG. “It is a bit difficult to submit the truck driver’s name, registration number and vehicle number to the state’s Ministry of Security and Border Affairs.”

As a result, the movement of goods has faced bottlenecks and commodity prices have risen, affecting the people of Arakan State.

“If a truck leaves Yangon for Arakan State, it will take four to five days on the way to reach Sittwe. We have such difficulties and the flow of goods is slowed down,” said U Maung Win Shwe, an official from the Kay Thi Oo bus line plying the route between Yangon and the Arakan State capital Sittwe.

In order to discuss these problems, a meeting between bus line representatives and military council officials, including the state’s Security and Border Affairs minister, was held in Sittwe. Although the minister had promised the bus companies to work to address the matter step by step, it has not been resolved to date, U Maung Win Shwe said.

DMG attempted to contact Colonel Kyaw Thura, who is also a member of the Arakan State Administration Council, about the difficulties faced by truck and bus drivers, and traders, but he could not be reached.

Vehicles carrying rice and other food items were also subject to inspections in previous years amid clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), but drivers say the post-coup scrutiny of trucks and their cargo has been stricter.