Sajek road blockade enters ninth day with logs set on fire, as army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman inspects Baghaihat camp

The indefinite blockade on the road to the Sajek Valley tourist centre in Baghaichhari upazila of Rangamati has continued for a ninth day. On Friday morning (30 October), blockaders felled logs at various points on the road and set them on fire in support of the blockade.

Security forces are patrolling important areas to keep law and order under control, it was reported.

Meanwhile, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman inspected the army camp in the Baghaihat zone of Rangamati on Thursday. He went to the Baghaihat zone as part of an inspection of army camps in the remote hill region. An army press release issued at night gave the information.

The release said that during the camp inspection, the army chief exchanged greetings with the deployed troops and enquired about various matters relating to the performance of their duties.

The army chief praised the troops for performing their duties with dedication and sincerity to maintain peace, stability and security in the hill region despite the hostile environment and limited facilities. He also instructed them to continue carrying out their assigned duties with the highest professionalism, vigilance and responsibility.

Present during the army chief's inspection of the Baghaihat zone were the army's Engineer in Chief, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 24 Infantry Division and Chattogram Area Commander, senior military officials from army headquarters and the area concerned, and troops of various ranks.

The Sajek Gono Odhikar Rakkha Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association have been observing the road blockade programme in a third phase since 22 October to press home five demands.

Their demands include punishment of those involved in the attack during the blockade on 22 October and a neutral judicial inquiry; compensation for traders harmed in Ujobazar and withdrawal of army and police members from there; bearing the cost of treatment of those injured in the attack; removal of the armed members of the JSS-Santu Larma group from Sajek and measures to stop extortion and oppression; and an end to arrests, harassment and searches of protesters' homes and businesses.

The Sajek Gono Odhikar Rakkha Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association began the movement on 11 October demanding the withdrawal of the Santu Larma-led JSS armed members from the Sajek area, security for local residents and implementation of assurances previously given by the administration. The movement was suspended from 16 to 21 October for Sharodiya Durga Puja. The two organisations then called the indefinite road blockade again from 22 October.

On Thursday 22 October, tension, clashes and gunfire broke out on the Sajek tourist road in Rangamati among law enforcement forces, blockaders and the two organisations over the indefinite road blockade called by the two local organisations.

Facing the blockade, 2,933 tourists were stranded in Sajek Valley. That morning, the Bangladesh Army and police escorted a convoy of tourist vehicles from Sajek towards Khagrachhari under security.

At around 10:30 that morning, when the convoy of tourists and security forces reached the Ujobazar area of Sajek, protesters and picketers blocked their path by putting up barricades on the road and setting tyres on fire. Even after long discussions, the blockaders refused to clear the way, creating tension.

With the blockade still continuing on its ninth day, vehicle movement on the Sajek road remains disrupted, and the army chief's inspection of the Baghaihat camp took place against that security situation in the area.