A fishing boat owner from the area said the naval force based in Mhyaw Taw Oo Village in Man Aung Township has been forcibly collecting monthly tolls from the local fishing boats after passing an order that reads “any boat that comes to fish in the sea where its naval ships are patrolling must pay monthly tolls and any boat that does not comply with the order will be seized”.

“We have to pay a toll of Kyat 10,000 to 15,000 per month to the naval force based at Mhyaw Taw Oo Village for fishing in the sea between Rae Island and Tike Island in the township. If we do not pay the toll, our boats will be seized as ordered by the force”, said the fishing boat owner.

He said Major Aung Ngwe, the in-charge of the Mhyaw Taw Oo Naval Station passed the order.

According to the local fishermen, the sea off the coast between Man Aung and Ramree townships is abundant with many species of fish and as a result many fishing boats from those townships and others nearby come to fish there. The naval station is near to that spot of sea, and has been forcibly collecting tolls from all the boats coming to fish there.

Another fishing boat owner from Kyauk Ni Maw Village in Ramree Township also confirmed the illegal tolls being collected from their boats by the Mhyaw Taw Oo Naval Station.

“We have already paid official taxes to the department of fisheries not just for our boats but also for our fishing rights in the sea, but the Naval Station in Mhyaw Taw Oo Village has been forcibly collecting illegal tolls from us under the threat of seizing our boats if we do not pay”, said the boat owner.

He said the in-charge of the naval station told them that it had to collect tolls from the boats in order to pay for fuel and other necessities needed by the ships patrolling the sea while they undertake surveillance of the area.

However it is not only the naval force, but also the nearby police station in the area which is levying illegal tolls on the fishing boats, said the sources. The police station in Kamar Village in southern Man Aung Township has been collecting a toll of Kyat 12,000 from an engine-boat and Kyat 5,000 from a row-boat per month under the ruse of adding to a so-called “Police Family Fund”.

In Kyaukpru Township, which is closely situated to the townships of Ramree and Man Aung, the district fisheries department has recently collected a tax of Kyat 25,000 from each fishing boat as a license fee without providing an official receipt, as well.

The local residents in Arakan said the illegal and forcible taxations by the army, navy and police forces is the main factor behind the ongoing impoverishment of the state. If the new President U Thein Sein led government genuinely desires to eliminate poverty in the Arakan State, which is the second poorest state in Burma, then it should stop these types of atrocities and extortions by its forces deployed in the region.