‘We will sacrifice lives, not New Mooring Terminal’: Ctg Port workers vow to resist foreign operator

Highlights:

• Leaders give government five days to open talks with port workers and stakeholders
• Torch procession announced for 7 October
• Sit-in planned outside Chattogram Customs on 5 October
• Workers to join a human chain at Chattogram Press Club
• Leaders say the issue concerns the wider economy, not just port workers

Workers’ leaders at Chattogram Port have vowed to resist any move to hand over the New Mooring Container Terminal to a foreign operator, declaring that they are prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect the port.

Speaking at a protest rally in the Chittagong Port Colony area this evening (3 October), Nurul Azim, a leader of the Chittagong Port BNP-affiliated Sramik Dal, said workers would not allow the terminal to be handed over even at the cost of their lives.

“We clearly declare that, even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we will not hand over the terminal to anyone,” he said.

The rally was organised by the Chittagong Port Sramik Dal and the Bondor Rokkha Sangram Parishad to protest the proposed appointment of Dubai-based DP World to operate the New Mooring Container Terminal and the reported move to hand over the Chittagong Container Terminal and General Cargo Berth (GCB) to other operators.

Azim urged the government to engage with port workers and other stakeholders before making decisions concerning the port.

He said the workers were not opposed to the government or the prime minister but were protesting what they consider a wrong decision concerning the port.

“We are not outside the government. We have taken a position against this decision only because we believe it is wrong,” he said.

Ibrahim Khokon, coordinator of Bondor Rokkha Sangram Parishad, called on the government to reconsider the leasing and concession processes and open talks with workers and other stakeholders.

“We have faith in the prime minister. We want to ask him to collect information and find out whether there is any port in the world that has been completely handed over to a foreign company or operated through such privatisation,” he said.

He also said Chattogram Port handles more than 90% of Bangladesh’s seaborne trade and has no alternative as the country’s main international seaport.

“We do not support handing over any part of Chattogram Port to a foreign company, and we will not allow it,” he said.

He urged the government to withdraw from what he described as a self-destructive path and hold discussions with workers before proceeding with the proposed arrangements.

“If the government explains why it wants to hand over the New Mooring Container Terminal to DP World, we will explain why we want the terminal to remain under Bangladeshi management. We hope the government will consider our arguments,” Khokon said.

He also warned that workers would intensify their movement if the government did not respond.

Khokon said the organisers were giving the government five days to open negotiations.

As part of the programme, a torch procession will be held on 7 October by the Chittagong Port Sramik Dal and Bondor Rokkha Sangram Parishad, he said, calling on port workers and employees to join it.

He also urged port workers and employees to join a sit-in programme announced by the Port Protection Committee at the One Stop Service Centre opposite Chittagong Customs on 5 October.

He further said port workers would also join a human chain organised by an all-party workers’ and employees’ platform at Chattogram Press Club tomorrow.

Humayun Kabir, another coordinator of Bondor Rokkha Sangram Parishad, said the issue was not merely one concerning port workers but one that could have implications for the wider economy.

Addressing Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, he called for discussions with port workers before decisions are implemented.

“Any wrong decision concerning Chattogram Port will not be borne only by its workers and employees. The people of Bangladesh will have to bear its consequences,” he said.

The speakers also called on port workers to remain united in the coming programmes and pledged to continue their movement against the proposed leasing and concession arrangements.

The government approved a draft 15-year concession agreement on 1 October for the operation and maintenance of the New Mooring Container Terminal and its Overflow Container Yard by an international operator.

The approval has drawn opposition from sections of port workers, employees, and local stakeholders, who have demanded that the terminal remain under Bangladeshi management.