Narinjara News

Cox’s Bazar, 2nd June 2005

Burmese Authority refuses to accept another 151 Burmese prisoners from Bangladesh Jail

Burmese authorities recently refused to accept 151 Burmese prisoners from Bangladesh jails but the reason is unknown, said a report from a local Newspaper.

The prisoners were gathered in Cox's Bazaar district jail by Bangladesh authorities from several jails in Bangladesh just soon after the first batch of 172 Burmese prisoners were handed over to Burma on 27 April.

According to the report, Bangladesh authorities requested at least four times for Burma to accept the remaining Burmese prisoners. About 151 remain in the second batch, but Burmese authorities have refused the requests.

Bangladesh authorities arranged the prisoner repatriation program after Burmese prisoners requested the government to send them back to Burma as soon as possible.

There are a number of prisoners that have been languishing in the Bangladesh jails for several years since their sentences have been served.

According to one Burmese prisoner, some prisoner's jail terms have been completed for over 5 years in Bangladesh, but they are still living in Bangladesh jails.

Though the first batch of 172 prisoners were sent back to Burma by Bangladesh authorities on 27 April after negotiations, this time the repatriation of Burmese prisoners from Bangladesh has been delayed due to Burmese authorities refusal to accept them.

Local Bangladesh authorities will urge Burma to accept their people from Bangladesh jails through government to government exchanges.

At present, there are over 400 Burmese prisoners remaining in Bangladesh jails, most are fishermen who had mistakenly overstepped the maritime boundary in Bay of Bengal. #      

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