Police block workers' red-flag march toward Chattogram Port
When officers blocked the procession, workers sat down on the road and held a street rally instead.
Police stopped a red-flag march of the Chattogram Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP) in Agrabad this morning (10 December) as the group headed toward the port to press for the suspension of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) leasing process and the cancellation of lease deals for Laldiar Char and the Pangaon terminal.
The standoff briefly heightened tension in the area. When law enforcement blocked the procession, workers sat down on the road and held a street rally instead.
Hundreds of workers from different labour organisations joined the programme, which began at 11am.
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The rally was chaired by Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, general secretary of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal's Chattogram divisional unit and former CBA general secretary at the port. The event was conducted by Iftekhar Kamal Khan, joint secretary of the Trade Union Center (TUC) Chattogram district committee.
Speaking as the chief guest, Tapan Dutta, president of TUC Chattogram district and a member of the Labour Reform Commission, said SKOP has been rolling out a series of programmes – memorandum submissions, press briefings, demonstrations, hunger strikes, blockades and torch processions – and public support has grown with every step.
He argued that the government has no authority to take such decisions on the eve of the national election schedule.
Tapan said, "Chattogram Port is the economic lifeline of the country and a highly strategic asset. An unelected interim government has no moral or legal basis to decide on leasing key installations, he added. Handing such facilities to foreign entities, he warned, would undermine the country's sovereignty and security.
Nurullah Bahar dismissed allegations of widespread corruption in port operations, calling them an attempt to mislead the public. He strongly objected to claims by an adviser to the shipping ministry who suggested that Tk2.5 crore in bribes changed hands daily.
"You were in power for the last year and a half. If corruption was happening, you owe the public an explanation," he said.
Other speakers included Bangladesh Sramik Federation president SK Khoda Toton, Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal's central organising secretary SM Jamal Uddin, Trade Union Association president Khorshedul Alam, BF TUC joint secretary Izwanur Rahman Khan, Socialist Labour Front leader Helal Uddin Kabir, BLF Chattogram divisional general secretary Nurul Absar, National Labour Federation general secretary Zahed Uddin Shahin, Dock Workers Party president Md Harun, general secretary Taslim Hossain Selim, and Port Workers Party general secretary Ibrahim Khokon, along with Abdul Baten, Shafiqul Rahman Majumdar and Abdur Rouf Liton.
