Cox’s Bazar Correspondent: 173 Bangladeshi citizens have returned from Myanmar after being detained for a long time. They were all imprisoned in that country’s prisons. The 285 Myanmar BGP members who fled here will return from Bangladesh on the ship in which the Bangladeshis came on Thursday.
On Tuesday (April 23) morning, Myanmar Navy Ship Chin Duin departed from Sittwe Port in Rakhine State with Bangladeshi nationals and arrived at Cox’s Bazar BIWTA Wharf around 1:30 PM on Wednesday (April 24).
Counselor of Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar, ASM Sayem, told BBC Bangla, “Those who have been sent back were detained for illegal entry into Myanmar at various times. They are being sent back only after it is confirmed that they are citizens of Bangladesh.
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said in a press conference about the Prime Minister’s visit to Thailand on Monday that if the ship with the stranded Bangladeshis reaches the country on Wednesday, the BGP members who escaped from Myanmar will be sent back to their home country on that ship.
Out of these 173 returnees, 144 Bangladeshi nationals were imprisoned in Myanmar jails for various terms.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar, said that among the 173 people sent back from Myanmar, the largest number of citizens are from Cox’s Bazar district. 129 of them live in Cox’s Bazar.
Of the rest, 30 are from Bandarban, 7 from Rangamati, and one each from Khagrachari, Noakhali, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Rajbari, Narsingdi, and Nilphamari districts.
Meanwhile, knowing that the missing loved ones are returning, relatives, including parents, brothers, and sisters, have been waiting since morning at the Ghat area of Nunyarchhara BIWTA in Cox’s Bazar.
Chaneyara Begum, a resident of the Kharankkhali area of the Hnila Union of Teknaf, said, “My brother Khorshed Alam (30) went missing 12 years ago. Yesterday, I got the news that many Bangladeshis are being brought from Myanmar prisons. So I am waiting for my brother. My mother died of grief, crying for her son.
Farida Khatun of Ukhiya’s Palangkhali Madhya Farir Bill area said, My son Arfat Hosan (20) was a CNG-powered autorickshaw driver. 14 months ago, he fell into the hands of brokers and disappeared from the house, saying that he was going to Malaysia. After nine months, I received his letter and confirmed that he is in Myanmar prison. I got news through close relatives that they are being brought from Myanmar. I’m still not sure if my son is there. Still, I brought a book of hope to get my son.
The same thing was said by the residents of Palongkhali village, Zabekunnahar, Hajera Khatun, and Jamila of Nunia town in Cox’s Bazar, Badi Balam Shah Alam of Ukhia, and Nurul Islam of Hazampara in the Teknaf Baharchhara union.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar said that among these 173 people, 144 Bangladeshis were convicted and imprisoned in various prisons. All of them have already completed their sentences.
The remaining 29 have not yet completed their sentences but were brought under special amnesty during this repatriation initiative.
They were held in Sittwe prison before being sent back to Bangladesh. After their identities were confirmed on Wednesday, they were picked up on a ship of the country’s navy through tight security.
ASM Sayem, the counselor of the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar, said, “First of all, the Bangladesh authorities have checked whether the arrested citizens are legal citizens of Bangladesh or not.” The process of repatriation starts only after that is confirmed.
Why were the Bangladeshis arrested in Myanmar?
Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar is about 350 km. The Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar said that Bangladeshi people had crossed the border illegally and entered Myanmar at various times in the last few years.
Embassy official Sayem said, “None of the citizens of Bangladesh who entered Myanmar illegally had any kind of document.” When we were informed from various places that they were Bangladeshi citizens, we started to verify.
The embassy says some of these Bangladeshis crossed the border and tried to go elsewhere through Myanmar, while others were detained by the country’s security forces after entering the country illegally.
The courts of Myanmar also sentenced those detained at various times according to the country’s laws. 144 people have completed the sentence given by the court.
Sayem said that although the remaining 29 people have not completed their term, they were pardoned after taking the initiative to send them back to Bangladesh so that they could return to their country.
After that, the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar held several rounds of meetings with the country’s government and started the process of sending them back. From there, a list of 173 people was made one by one, and they were picked up on a Myanmar Navy ship through strict security.
