Dockers strike against B'desh interim govt's decision to lease key port to foreign firms

Dhaka, Nov 1 (PTI) Hundreds of port workers staged a mass hunger strike on Saturday to protest the interim government's decision to lease out Bangladesh’s main commercial seaport in southeastern Chattogram to foreign operators, amid a volatile political landscape ahead of the February elections.

"The decision has been taken against the national interest. This decision will not be accepted under any circumstances," Anwar Hossain, leader of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), an apex body of worker unions, told the rally at the port city.

The token hunger strike, joined by activists from various workers' and political organisations, came a month after the port workers began protests against Professor Muhammad Yunus’ plan to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to UAE-based operator DP World.

The protestors said the NCT at Chattogram port -- Bangladesh’s main trade gateway -- was built with “domestic funds and modern technology” while it emerged as the country’s “most successful container terminal”.

Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment exporter and relies heavily on Chattogram port for most of its imports and exports.

Soon after assuming power after last year’s violent street campaign that toppled then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, Yunus insisted the facility -- strategically located on the Bay of Bengal -- should be handed over to the “best operator in the world”.

His insistence sparked immediate reactions among security experts and protests in the political arena, which faded from public focus amid subsequent political turmoil.

However, it resurfaced in September when Yunus said Bangladesh never explored the full potential of the Bay of Bengal, though it was “an integral part of our country” and expressed his government’s desire to upgrade ports at southwestern Cox's Bazar, Matarbari, and Maheshkhali.

“These ports can foster a regional economy and strengthen economic ties with Nepal, Bhutan, and the 'Seven Sisters' (of India), benefiting all parties," he said at the ceremonial signing of the July Charter.

Bangladesh Ocean Going Ship Owners' Association (BOGSOA) Chairman Azam J Chowdhury earlier said, "It makes no sense to lease the terminals that we developed and have been operating for the past 40 years".

SKOP leader and former Chattogram port general secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar said at the demonstration that the state must protect public assets rather than lease or sell them. Bahar also urged Yunus to ensure a free and fair transfer of power through polls.

The protest was staged, defying a police ban against rallies or street marches by the port workers, while the SKOP leaders said the hunger strike was the first step against the government decision.

They warned of coordinated labour actions, including sustained work stoppages and blockade of port operations, if the government failed to discard the plan.

The state-run BSS news agency said DP World expressed interest in operating the port's New Mooring Container Terminal, and Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk expressed desire in the Laldia Container Terminal on the outskirts of the port city.

The Shipping ministry’s senior secretary Mohammed Yousuf said that "agreements are expected to be signed by December" between the foreign operator and the interim government.

On October 12, the official said two more terminals — Laldia, also in Chattogram, and the river port of Pangaon in Dhaka — would also be leased to foreign companies for 25 to 30 years.

Yunus earlier said his government would offer the container handling task to "best" and “most experienced” international port operators to turn the port into a world-class facility. Several security experts feared the decision might eventually endanger Bangladesh’s sovereignty.   “I urge the countrymen not to allow themselves to be the victims of baseless opposition and propaganda. Continue your strong support for the interim government’s port management move. Resist those who oppose it,” Yunus told a nationwide television address in June this year.

In the same address, Yunus said, “The people we are bringing in to manage the port have not threatened the sovereignty or national security of any country they’ve worked in”.

The Chattogram Port handles over 90 per cent of Bangladesh's maritime trade and nearly all of its container traffic. PTI AR GRS GRS GRS