Blockade Paralyses Sajek Tourism as Locals Point to a Struggle Over Dominance and Extortion

The unrest in Sajek, one of the hill region’s leading tourist spots, could be prolonged. That impression emerged from speaking on the ground in Khagrachhari with protesters, businesspeople, elected representatives and hill leaders.

A review of the activities of regional organisations in the hills and the positions of the security forces and the administration also points to long-term instability in Sajek.

A continuous blockade called by two hill organisations created severe paralysis in Sajek. Businesspeople say the situation has created a deep crisis for the local tourism economy and livelihoods. Even though the blockade programme has been withdrawn, tourism operators fear it will take time for the situation to return to normal.

Concern has grown because talks between the blockaders and a high-level government delegation produced no immediate solution.

Khagrachhari MP Wadud Bhuiyan, who took part in the talks, said in an interview that the government wants to resolve the problem strategically. In his words, meeting the protesters’ demand by removing one armed group to make room for another is not possible for the state forces or the government. The government wants to establish peace by driving all illegal armed groups out of the Sajek area.

The Sajek Karbari Association and the Sajek Gonoodhikar Rokkha Committee, the hill organisations behind the blockade, put forward the presence of the “armed JSS Santu group” as the main reason. The committee’s convenor, Babudhan Chakma, alleged that an armed group has been positioned in Sajek’s Machalong area since 31 August.

Babudhan Chakma said: “They have been positioned there for almost two months. They beat and threaten the elders in charge of every neighbourhood and village, snatch mobile phones and collect excessive extortion. Several hundred families there are living away from their homes. Removing them from that area and creating a peaceful environment is our main goal.”

When several hill organisations began a third phase of blockade in Sajek in October, the tourism sector fell into a severe crisis. On 22 October, the day the third phase began, gunfire was exchanged with security forces while tourists were being brought back from Sajek, according to the army’s account.

In a statement, the ISPR said on behalf of the army that armed men fired 30 to 40 rounds while 3,000 tourists were being evacuated safely, and that the army fired back to bring the situation under control.

Babudhan Chakma, however, said all the men and women of Sajek took part in the movement, that more than fifty people were injured when baton charges were used against them, and that their shops were vandalised and damaged. After the army’s baton charge, he said, the blockade programme turned into a five-point demand.

Although Sajek Valley falls within Rangamati district, it is reached by road through Khagrachhari. More than 500 jeeps travel daily from Khagrachhari to the Sajek hills carrying tourists and goods. Sajek has more than 150 hotels and resorts, and locals say tourism there generates financial transactions of at least Tk 3 crore every day.

Control and dominance over the Sajek area previously rested with an organisation called the UPDF. The JSS has now displaced them and taken position there, and that, it is being said, is the context in which the instability has appeared.

Wadud Bhuiyan brought the question of dominance to the front as the root of the Sajek crisis. In his words: “Earlier one armed group stayed in that area and dominated it. Now another armed group has driven them out and taken control. That is the main problem.” He also said large-scale extortion takes place there, and that authority and extortion money are the two forces at work.

Md. Mir Hossain, general secretary of the Khagrachhari Road Transport Jeep Owners’ Association, said: “We have to pay a token every year. If we do not pay, they beat our drivers and set vehicles on fire. We are hostages to them. We have to pay two to three thousand taka in extortion for every vehicle every year.” He said business there has to be done by paying four organisations — UPDF, UPDF Reform, JSS and JSS Reform.

Rahul Chakma John, organising secretary of the Sajek Cottage and Resort Owners’ Association, said: “Extortion exists everywhere; here it is a bit different. We pay annually, and then we pay again when bringing in goods.” He added: “We want business to reopen quickly. These troubles happen every few days. We finished our studies and went into business. Facing these problems again and again, we entrepreneurs are losing the patience to do business.”

The Jana Samhati Samiti, or JSS, meanwhile, does not acknowledge the existence of any armed group in the Sajek region. Sajib Chakma, information and publicity secretary of the organisation’s central committee, said in an audio message: “The Jana Samhati Samiti has not declared an armed movement and is not conducting one; so the question of the JSS having armed members or an organisation does not arise.” He alleged that the protesting organisations are “pocket organisations” of the UPDF.

The UPDF has also denied fuelling the movement or the existence of an armed group. UPDF organiser Michael Chakma said his organisation has public support in the Sajek area and supports the movement’s demands, but claimed the protesting organisations are organisations of ordinary hill people.

Mir Hossain said he and the transport businesspeople want a permanent solution and peace — that there should be no armed men and that they should not be hostages to any armed group. In his words, their expectation is that thousands of tourists from across Bangladesh should be able to travel freely and without fear in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.