Sittwe University Students and Three-Wheeler Drivers Clash, School Closed Temporarily

By Tun Tun
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Sittwe: Sittwe University closed for a few hours yesterday after a clash broke out between Sittwe University students and three-wheeler drivers after the drivers had increased their fares, said one student.

The incident occurred suddenly at 1:00 pm at the Sittwe University entrance gate after the drivers increased their fares from 100 Kyat to 200 Kyat for a trip between downtown Sittwe and the university.


"Because of the clash, there was unrest at Sittwe University. The authority quickly closed down all entrance gates of Sittwe University for nearly two hours and did not allow any students to leave the university compound during that period," a student from Sittwe said.

The conflict ended after Sittwe University authorities negotiated between the students and drivers on the fare increase on routes between downtown Sittwe and the university. However, around 30 students marched on the streets from the university to the intersection located near the largest generator in Sittwe after the clash.

Another student said, "We were unsatisfied with the increased school taxi fare. Because of this we marched in the street to voice our concern about the taxi fare increase. But we withdrew our protest when we reached the intersection of the largest generator after the university authority promised us the taxi fare would not increase again."

The university authority sent all students back to the homes in a school vehicle in order to avoid any untoward incidents.

Speaking to Narinjara, a mother of a student from Sittwe University said, "My son arrived back safely in the evening by a bus that was arranged by the university authority. I heard there was a clash between students and taxi drivers at Sittwe University. Now I am happy because my son safely arrived back home."

The university authority pressured the taxi drivers not to collect more than 100 Kyat from students for a route between downtown and campus.

In 2009 and 2010, students from Sittwe University and Sittwe Technological University staged similar protests in the Arakan Capital against increasing bus fares.