Kaladan News

Dated: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Burma and Bangladesh to exchange 200 prisoners


Cox’s Bazar, March 08: Bangladesh and Burma are going to exchange about 200 prisoners, according to police sources from Cox’s Bazar.

Nearly 115 Burmese prisoners languishing in Bangladesh prisons will be sent back to their homes on March 12, following a diplomatic negotiation between the two neighboring countries.

Burma has also decided to release 75 Bangladeshi prisoners from different jails of the country, according to a police officer.

Presently about 172 Burmese prisoners are in Cox's Bazar jail, transferred from different jails, awaiting repatriation to Burma. However the Rangoon authorities have agreed to accept only 115 prisoners in the first batch.

At least 300 Burmese prisoners, including several Arakanese insurgents, will remain in Bangladesh, as their jail term is not yet finished.

The decision was taken as a sign of warm relationship between the two countries following the visit of Burma Foreign Minister Nyan Win to Bangladesh, Bangladesh local paper reported. ##

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