Sittwe: Burmese junta authorities are forcing residents in Sittwe to perform sentry duty in their respective wards at night for the past few weeks, to prevent criminals entering wards, a townsperson said.

"The authorities have beefed up security in Sittwe since last month, but now it is forcing ordinary people to do sentry duty around Sittwe. We are going to sentry posts to do guard duty 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 of the first anniversary of the Saffron Revolution in September. However, authorities are not satisfied with just government forces, so have arranged for people to do sentry duty in all wards in the city.

"I think the higher authorities are anxious about the security in Sittwe, where anti-government demonstrations could take place anytime because the dissatisfaction of the people with the regime is increasing in Arakan State by the 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 member cannot be sent for sentry duty," he said.

A source said residents from some wards in Sittwe are doing sentry duty throughout the night, while some wards only have people standing 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 because of night 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 regime because they are facing economic crisis that makes daily survival difficult.

Because of these problems, the authorities are worried that a large demonstration led by monks will be held in Sittwe much like the last Saffron Revolution. The authorities have beefed up security in the city and recruited local residents for sentry duty in an effort to quell any potential protests.