173 Bangladeshis are returning home from Myanmar

173 Bangladeshis detained in Sittwe prison in Rakhine state of Myanmar are returning home today. Yesterday morning, the naval ship carrying Bangladeshi citizens left Chin Duyin Sittwe port. The ship is coming to Cox’s Bazar to take back members of the Myanmar Defense Forces who have crossed the border to Bangladesh due to the conflict in Rakhine. The Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon said that among the 173 detained 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. The ship will reach the sea border of Bangladesh today on Wednesday. They will then be handed over to the relevant authorities in Bangladesh.

The embassy also said that after receiving the information about the arrival of the Myanmar ship in Bangladesh, it was informed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh. The embassy plans to repatriate detained citizens quickly and easily. 144 ?verified Bangladeshi nationals who have completed their sentences or received amnesty from various prisons in Myanmar were brought to Sittwe Prison. Besides, the issue of release of 29 other Bangladeshi nationals who were imprisoned has been highlighted to Myanmar. Based on this, the sentence was waived and sent to their country.

It should 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 last year.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon and the Bangladesh Consulate in Sittwe have been working to repatriate the remaining Bangladeshi nationals since that repatriation.