Naypyitaw (Myanmar) November 17: A senior official of the Bangladesh border guards has expressed confidence about arresting any Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) members who might have fled to Bangladesh.
This was stated by the Director General of the Bangladesh Abul Hossain Border Guards at a coordination meeting with his Myanmar counterpart in Nay Pyi Taw on November 14, Myanmar Times reported.
The meeting also addressed the issue of repatriation, the situation in Rakhine and good relations between the Bangladesh and Myanmar border organizations.
The Bangladesh border guards assured the Myanmar government that they would arrest and put on trial suspects involved in the attacks in northern Rakhine State who have since then fled to neighboring Bangladesh.
“They [Bangladesh border guard officials] said that they would not allow even an inch of their land to be used as shelter for terrorists,” said Police Brigadier General Aung Htay Myint of the cross-border crimes department of the Myanmar police.
“They assured that they would arrest and put on trial those terrorists,” he added.
The two sides discussed the 66 suspected ARSA terrorists who have fled to Bangladesh, which was reported by the Myanmar government at a high level meeting of the ministers of Home Affairs of both countries last month in Nay Pyi Taw.
Bangladesh officials called on Myanmar to begin as soon as possible the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Muslims from the northern Rakhine who fled after the outbreak of violence in the region.
Myanmar Brigadier General Aung Htay Myint said the two countries have already reached a mutual understanding on the issue of repatriation.
Myanmar will start immigration inspection of refugees after signing a memorandum of understanding when the Bangladeshi Prime Minister visits Myanmar. The visit is yet to be scheduled.
Should border issues arise between the two nations occur, Bangladesh’s leadership has given instructions to resolve it based on the 1982 Agreement between the two countries, said Abul Hossain, Director General of Border Guards of Bangladesh.
(The featured image at the top shows ARSA leader Ata Ullah with his followers somewhere in Rakhine State. Photo:Dhaka Tribune)
