Businessmen, mostly Arakanese, are suffering severe setbacks while trading with Bangladesh because of myriad restrictions imposed by local  Burmese junta authorities on the western Burma border, said a businessman in Maungdaw.

“There are various restrictions by local authorities on businessmen on the western Burma border. We cannot conduct our business freely. Despite procuring permission to trade with Bangladesh, we are facing many restrictions,” he said.

Nasaka, Burma’s border security force has imposed different restrictions on businessmen travelling to Bangladesh without ascribing any reason.

“The Nasaka allows ferry boats to leave for Teknaf in Bangladesh from Maungdaw only at 4 pm every day but not at other times of the day. We are allowed a seven-day visa to visit Bangladesh but we have to go by ferry boat to Bangladesh crossing the Naff River,” he said.

By the time traders arrive in Teknaf, it is nightfall and they lose
the opportunity of conducting business there, he added.

If any businessman wants to go to Bangladesh with the seven-day visa, they have to submit an application to Nasaka headquarters, local sources said. After Nasaka issues the permission the traders have to visit the immigration office to collect their visas.

“The Nasaka officials issue the permission around 2 pm every day making it very late. After receiving permission from Nasaka we have to go to the immigration office to submit our passport for visa. The immigration office issue visas at 4 pm each day. This delays going to Bangladesh by ferry boat,” the businessman added.

Even though many businessmen face this problem every day, they have to go Bangladesh every evening.

“When we return to our town of Maungdaw from Teknaf, it is midnight. All the businessmen face the problem daily. But the authorities have not changed their time table to suit businessmen,” he said.

Senior junta authorities in Naypyidaw always say when they visit Maungdaw that the regime encourages local businessmen to trade with Bangladesh for development of the region but actually the authorities are creating problems for the businessmen in terms of border trade.