A Border Guard Bangladesh personnel stands behind the detained Myanmar’s Border Guard Police personnel seeking refuge at Bangladesh’s Whaikhyang along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, in Teknaf on Wednesday. — AFP photo
At least 329 Myanmar troops, including their commander and civilian officials, fled the conflict zone in Rakhine and took shelter in Bangladesh in the past four days, while Dhaka and Naypyidaw continued discussions over their repatriation process.
Bangladesh foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen held a meeting with representatives of different ministries on Wednesday to discuss Bangladesh’s priority for the quick repatriation of the Myanmar escapees.
Following the meeting, Momen told reporters that Bangladesh preferred Myanmar to evacuate their troops by air, but Myanmar asked whether they could ferry them by ship through the deep sea.
‘Our priority is to repatriate them as quickly as possible in the safest way possible,’ he said, adding that Bangladesh ambassador to Myanmar Monwar Hossain would convey the message to Naypyidaw.
Monwar told New Age on Wednesday evening that he had a meeting with Myanmar foreign minister Than Swe, also the deputy prime minister, in Naypyidaw over their troops fleeing Rakhine state into Bangladesh for shelter.
‘Myanmar authorities have told us that they want to take back all those troops taking refuge in Bangladesh by ship from Cox’s Bazar without delay. They have a plan to ship tomorrow,’ he said.
Foreign secretary Momen said that if the number of Myanmar troops increased, they would be taken to a transit camp, which Bangladesh had prepared for Rohingya repatriation. He said that one Myanmar officer at the rank of lieutenant colonel had entered Bangladesh.
Over 300 of a 600-manned battalion have already entered, and one hundred more are likely to reach, he added.
Talking to New Age, two senior officials who attended the meeting said that they were collecting detailed information, including biometric data, of those who were now at shelter homes under the custody of Border Guard Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban.
‘Their security and protection are also our priorities,’ said the official.
Retired Major General Shahidul Haque, who had served as a defence attaché in the Bangladesh embassy in Myanmar, suggested Bangladesh engage third parties, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, to maintain neutrality in the process.
He believed sending Myanmar troops to Maungdaw or Sittwe by waterway using a Bangladeshi vessel would be considered assistance to the Myanmar regime against the Arakan Army.
The retired general also said that it would not be wise to ferry them by waterway or spend Bangladeshi taxpayers’ money on their repatriation.
The ICRC in Dhaka office said on Wednesday that discussions are ongoing directly between the authorities of Bangladesh and Myanmar on the modalities of repatriation of Myanmar Border Guard Police personnel.
‘Should the ICRC be approached to play an intermediary role to facilitate their safe return in its capacity as a neutral and independent actor, it will consider the best way it can fulfil this role in consultation with authorities on both sides,’ it said.
On Wednesday, 63 more Myanmar troops entered Bangladesh through the Whaikhyang border in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar, increasing the total number to 329.
The BGB officials said that those include the Myanmar army, border guard police, immigration officials, police, and members of other agencies.
A few of their family members have also entered Bangladeshi territory since Sunday due to conflict in Myanmar.
Bangladesh border guards took them to safe shelters after disarming them.
After reviewing security at the Naikhyangchari bordering area, the newly-appointed BGB director general, Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, told the media on Wednesday that Dhaka and Naypyidaw were talking about the immediate repatriation of the Myanmar soldiers.
He said they had already spoken to the Myanmar defence attaché in Dhaka to this end, and the Bangladesh foreign ministry did the same with their Myanmar counterpart.
Asked about their willingness to be repatriated as the soldiers might face trial on their return, the BGB chief said that they spoke to the personnel, who were willing to return home.
‘It is an internal matter for Myanmar whether a trial will be held upon their repatriation,’ he said.
At least two people were killed and several others were injured in bordering districts Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar due to heavy firing in bordering Rakhine in Myanmar this week.
Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer Adnan Chowdhury told New Age that a meeting on Wednesday decided to suspend the movement of all waterways vessels between Teknaf and Saint Martin from February 10 until further notice.
He said that the decision was taken based on recommendations from the director generals of the BGB and Bangladesh Coast Guard over ongoing troubling situations inside Myanmar.
Quoting ethnic Arakan Army rebels, Thailand-based Irrawaddy reported on Tuesday that the group had seized two Myanmar junta battalion headquarters in Mrauk U and Kyauktaw townships, Rakhine State.
Bangladesh foreign minister Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday discussed the issue with Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar and their national security adviser Ajit Kumar Doval in New Delhi during his ongoing three-day visit to the Indian capital.
His visit took place just a few days after Ajit Doval’s visit to Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday.
Doval held a meeting with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina during his weekend trip to Dhaka, according to Indian media reports.
New Age