Junta fines, releases dozens of detained vendors in Kyaukphyu

By Admin 20 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
20 December 2023, Kyaukphyu

Dozens of vendors detained by the regime in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, were fined and released on December 19, according to local residents.

Thirty-one locals selling vegetables, fish and prawn at different locations in Kyaukphyu, and two ferry boatmen were arrested on December 18 and 19 for violating a ban on people entering or leaving the town.

The regime imposed a fine of K20,000 each on the vendors except two ferry boatmen from Gonechein Village.

“A fine of K20,000 is not much, but we don’t have such an amount of money. We have to borrow money from others to pay a fine of K20,000,” said one released vendor.

Among the detainees are six from Gonechein Village, eight from Taungyin Ward, 13 from Kyauktalone IDP camp and six from Aungcedi Village.

Two ferry boatmen, U Thein Win, 46, and Ko Han Win Aung, 36, are still detained. They are said to be the breadwinners in their families and family members are calling for their release.

“Ko Han Win Aung makes a living as a ferry boatman to support his 90-year-old mother. His mother has been struggling to make ends meet since his arrest. His mother will be in trouble if he is not released,” said a relative of Ko Han Win Aung.

Gonechein and Aungcedi villages, and Kyauktalone IDP camp, are located about five miles from Kyaukphyu and vendors regularly go to Kyaukphyu by three-wheeled and regular motorbikes to sell vegetables, fish, prawn and chicken.

The military regime detained at least 70 locals selling vegetables in Kyaukphyu at about 4 a.m. on December 4 for violating a ban on people entering or leaving the town, but released the detainees on bail at around 12 noon the same day.

The junta’s Kyauk Talone checkpoint outside Kyaukphyu on November 13 imposed a ban on people entering or leaving Kyaukphyu town. The regime also imposed a ban on sea transport for one month, from November 19 to December 19.

As Kyaukphyu is an island town, residents rely heavily on other townships for purchasing food supplies. The grassroots in Kyaukphyu are reportedly living on a subsistence diet of porridge alone as food supplies have dwindled due to the junta’s isolation of the town.