The Narinjara News

(2-3 September 2008)

www.narinjara.com

 

 

NEWS IN ENGLISH

 

Sittwe Residents Forced to Stand Sentry

Bangladesh Imports Rice from Burma for Ramadan

Dhaka Proposes Direct Road Link with Burma and Thailand

 

 

 

NEWS IN BURMESE

http://www.narinjara.com/burmese.asp

 

 

Bangladesh Imports Rice from Burma for Ramadan

Arakanese Education stipend should be obtained by brilliant and poor students

Some qualified students suffer from lack of financial support to attend the medical collage

A youth who stabbed riot police produced before the court on 29 August

Sittwe Residents Forced to Stand Sentry

Shwan Ar Shin and USDA members in Sittwe are silence in the fear of counter attack by monks

 

 

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Narinjara News

Sittwe, 3 September 2008

 

Sittwe Residents Forced to Stand Sentry

 

Authorities have forced residents in Sittwe to perform sentry duty in their respective wards during the night for the last few weeks, with the reasoning that criminals may enter the wards to commit crimes, one townsperson reports.

 

He said, "The authority has beefed up security strongly in Sittwe since last month, but now the authority has forced ordinary people to do sentry duty around Sittwe. We are going to sentry posts to guard every night under the supervision of the ward council."

 

According to a local resident, many additional forces are being deployed in Sittwe this month because it last year's Saffron Revolution also occurred in September.  However, authorities are not satisfied with just the government forces, so have arranged for people to stand as sentries in all wards in the city.

 

"I think the high authority is anxious about the security of Sittwe, where the anti-government demonstrations could appear at anytime because of the dissatisfaction of the people with the government is increasing in Arakan State day after day," he said.

 

Moreover, in some wards in Sittwe, ward councils have been collecting money from some households if they are unable to send someone to perform sentry duty.

 

"Our ward council led by U Maung Than Kyaw from Rupa (south) Ward is collecting 2,000 kyat from a house if a household member can not be sent for sentry duty," he said.

 

A source said some wards in Sittwe are doing sentry duty throughout the whole night, while some wards only have people stand watch for three hours from 7 pm to 10 pm.  The wards located in the downtown area of Sittwe are only posting sentries for three hours a night.

 

Many people in Sittwe are suffering from the nightly sentry duty because they are unable to spend any time with their family.

 

In Arakan State, many people support the monks who are preparing to stage demonstrations against the military government because they are facing an economic crisis that makes it difficult to maintain their daily life.

 

Because of these problems, the authority is worried that a large demonstration led by monks will emerge in Sittwe much like the last Saffron Revolution.  The authority has increased security in the city and recruited local residents to sentry duty in an effort to quell any potential protests.#

 

 

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Narinjara News

Cox¢sbazar, 3 September 2008

 

 

Bangladesh Imports Rice from Burma for Ramadan

 

Bangladesh imported 4,352 tons of rice from Burma through the Teknaf border point in the last two months for the holy period of Ramadan that started on Tuesday.

 

According to a report of a local newspaper, the rice was imported from Burma in the months of July and August to meet the demand in the local markets during the religious holiday.

 

Bangladesh was reported to have imported 3,467 tons of rice in August and 885 tons in July.  However, it was not clear whether this rice had been imported via legal or illegal channels.

 

Burma exports rice to Bangladesh two ways through the Teknaf border point - one is illegal and the other is not. Most of the rice from Arakan State is smuggled to Bangladesh illegally via sea routes.

 

Many domestic animals, including cattle, chicken, and goats from Burma are also exported to Bangladesh at inflated prices to meet demands during Ramadan.

 

A border source said that large quantities of Burmese fish and timber are being exported by Burmese traders from coastal areas to Bangladesh through the Teknaf border trade zones.

 

The border trade between Bangladesh and Burma was halted in the months following Nargis but has since returned to normal and many goods and raw materials from Burma are being sent to Bangladesh on board cargo ships.#

 

 

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Narinjara News

2 September 2008

 

Dhaka Proposes Direct Road Link with Burma and Thailand

 

Bangladesh has proposed direct road links with Burma and Thailand to improve its business ties with the nations of Southeast Asia.  The proposal was made by Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury to the Burmese and Thai foreign ministers during the Bimstec meeting in New Delhi.

 

An official report from Bangladesh stated that Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury made the proposal on Friday during his meetings with Burmese Foreign Minister U Nyan Win and Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag.

 

The 10th Bimstec Ministerial Meeting was convened in New Delhi on 29 August with the intent to forge stronger ties and map out transportation and trade links between countries.

 

Foreign ministers from Bangladesh, Burma, India, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka attended the meeting.

 

Bangladesh has plans to build a road linking it with Burma, but the plan has yet to be implemented, even though the agreement between the two countries was made over five years ago.

 

Bangladesh believes that the road link will also provide access to China, eventually building connections between Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, and China.

 

Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Ifthekhar during the meeting said, "This is still a very preliminary stage in the thought process. Bangladesh will benefit immensely from a road leading to the East, particularly to China and the ASEAN bloc via Burma.  There seems to be a growing interest of these countries in this idea, which is good for all of us."

 

 

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Narinjara News (NN) was founded by a group of Arakanese in exile in Bangladesh from Burma in 2001 seeking to voice for the people depriving of human and democratic rights and to pave the way for them who are struggling for those rights. The Narinjara News is an independent organization, not affiliated with any political party or organization. Any opinion or advice relating to our News Agency is warmly welcomed and please email to: narinjara@...

 

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