Dhaka: 173 Bangladeshi nationals are returning home from Sittwe Prison in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon reported this information on Tuesday (April 23).
This morning, Myanmar’s naval ship Chin Duin left the Sittwe port with these Bangladeshi citizens. The ship is coming to Cox’s Bazar to pick up members of the Myanmar Defense Force who were forced to cross the border to Bangladesh due to the conflict in Rakhine State.
The ship is expected to reach Bangladeshi waters by Wednesday (April 22) and the Bangladeshi nationals are expected to be handed over to the concerned authorities later.
According to the embassy, out of 173 Bangladeshis, 129 are from Cox’s Bazar, 30 from Bandarban, seven from Rangamati and one each from Khagrachari, Noakhali, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Rajbari, Narsingdi and Nilphamari districts.
As soon as the Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon received information about the Myanmar ship’s visit to Bangladesh, it raised the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs of Bangladesh and the concerned authorities of Myanmar. In a plan to quickly and easily repatriate the maximum number of verified Bangladeshi nationals, the embassy has taken the initiative to bring 144 ‘verified Bangladeshi nationals who have completed their sentences or been pardoned’ from various prisons in Myanmar to Sittwe Prison. In addition, the release of 29 verified Bangladeshi nationals, who are still incarcerated or under trial, was also brought up to Myanmar. On the basis of which the sentence is waived and they are also sent to the country.
It is to be noted that 29 Bangladeshi citizens who completed their imprisonment in Myanmar were sent home through the flag meeting held between the border guarding forces of the two countries on October 3. The Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon and the Bangladesh Consulate in Sittwe have been working tirelessly to repatriate the remaining Bangladeshi citizens in Myanmar since that repatriation. Representatives of Bangladesh Embassy, Yangon and Bangladesh Consulate, Sitoy have been physically present for the past few days to coordinate with local authorities, conduct verification process and issue travel permits to returnees.
Bangladesh Time: 1649 hours, April 23, 2024
TR/SIA
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