Bangladesh rejects condition by Myanmar for release of paramilitary soldier
DHAKA, June 24 (NsNewsWire) — Bangladesh has rejected the condition set out by Myanmar for the release of a soldier of paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) held captive by its neighboring country’s Border Guard Police (BGP).
Asked if the Bangladeshi government would reject the suggestion by Myanmar that the soldier will be released once Bangladesh takes in 550 boat people found adrift at sea, Bangladeshi State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists Tuesday that Myanmar is with a condition unacceptable for Bangladesh, reports Xinhua.
Abdur Razzak, who became father on the International Father’s Day, would be brought back through the flag meeting, he added.
BGB Director General Major General Aziz Ahmed had earlier said Razzaq will be returned “honorably” and “unconditionally”.
“I had a talk with our Defence Attach (DA) in Myanmar Brig Gen Mahbub around 19:00 p.m. today (Monday), who informed me that he had a meeting with Myanmar home ministry today (Monday). Myanmar home ministry has informed (him) that BGB Naik Razzaq will be returned honorably with his personal weapon, ammunition etc unconditionall,” BGB chief Ahmed said in a message to the journalists Monday night, shortly after Bangladesh media reported that the Myanmar authorities imposed new condition to the Bangladeshi government on returning abducted BGB soldier Razzak.
BGP has reportedly said it will release Razzak if Bangladesh takes in 550 migrants who are among the 770 migrants rescued by the Myanmar navy on May 29. Bangladesh officials say they are now trying to verify whether any of them is a Bangladeshi citizen.
BGP reportedly opened fire at a patrol trawler of BGB in the mid river in Teknaf on June 17 and abducted one of its members. The incident also left a BGB soldier wounded. The border guards of Bangladesh and Myanmar had then fired on each other’s patrols on the Naf River along the border in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, some 391 km southeast of capital Dhaka. Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on that day told journalists here that a “misunderstanding” led to the exchange of fire between border patrols of Myanmar BGP and BGB.
He said shooting erupted as BGP mistook BGB men to be smugglers or human-traffickers.
“Through a flag meeting the abducted BGB nayek Abdur Razzak, 40, would soon be brought back to the country,” he then said.
The incident sparked widespread anger in Bangladesh after a picture of Razzak with blood dropping from his nose in handcuffs has been posted on the BGP Facebook page.
BGB on Friday sent e-mail and fax messages to BGP, protesting Razzak’s captivity.
The Myanmar ambassador to Dhaka has already been summoned by the foreign ministry and asked to repatriate the BGB member, Asaduzzaman added.
In his parliament speech, Haji Mohammad Salim, a member of Bangladesh Parliament, on Monday questioned the capacity of BGB as its member was abducted and kept detained by BGP.
“Keeping Razzak handcuffed means 160 million Bangladeshis are being kept handcuffed,” he said.