Myanmar to release 30 Bangladeshi prisoners

 

The 30 Bangladeshis were returned today and Myanmar officials mentioned the possibility of the return of the remaining 100. 

"We contacted the Bangladeshi authorities for the transfer of those people who were put in jail. After inspecting the list of the to-be-transferred, they informed us that they would take 30,” said Saw Naing, chief officer of Maungdaw district immigration.

“We are now working on the transfer of over 100 remaining prisoners," he added. 

Bangladesh’s border security force handled the transfer of the 30 Bangladeshis, who were temporarily detained at Buthidaung Prison and Sittwe Prison in Rakhine State, waiting for the transfer.

Twenty-six Bangladeshi prisoners were transferred back to Bangladesh on the third week of March after they served prison sentences for illegally entering Myanmar. 

The two countries have reinforced their respective border forces as tensions escalated following an allegation that a soldier from Border Guard Bangladesh was shot dead during a clash on May 28. On that day, Myanmar troops had fired on two men in yellow camouflage uniforms who had entered 25 metres into Myanmar territory, killing one man while the other retreated across the border. 

After the incident, Bangladesh Foreign Ministry summoned the Myanmar ambassador to protest the gunfire, demanding an immediate investigation. The Bangladesh embassy in Yangon presented a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protesting the incident and demanding the release of the BGB troop and a thorough investigation.

Reacting to the protest, the Myanmar ambassador has already explained about the clash and submitted evidence to the Bangladesh government.

Myanmar government warned that it would not tolerate any violation of its territory, but said it would use diplomatic means to resolve the incident in view of existing bilateral friendly relations and good neighbourliness. 

On May 7, barbed wire were set from Myanmar side at the Myanmar Bangladesh border fence in Maungdaw.