Bangladeshis Among Boatmen Arrested by Nasaka

Narinjara News
1/2/2007

Burma's border security force, Nasaka, transferred on Sunday to Bangladesh authorities the list of names of Bangladeshis who were recently arrested on a boat by Burmese authorities, reported a source close to Nasaka.

On 20 December, 2006, Nasaka forces arrested 56 Muslim people on a boat that was headed to Malaysia. 15 of the 56 arrestees are from Bangladesh, he said.

Burmese authorities handed over the list of names and addresses of the 15 Bangladesh nationals.

A source reported that of those arrested, 41 are Burmese Muslims from Maungdaw Township, while the other 15 are Bangladeshis from Teknaf and Cox's Bazar.

According to a local source, the 56 had left for Malaysia on a machine boat from Teknaf, a border town of Bangladesh opposite Maungdaw, around 2 a.m. on 13 December. A day later the boat's engine failed just northwest of Akyab, the capital of Arakan State.

After the engine failure, the boat floated at sea for five days. On 19 December, two fishing boats from Akyab saw the boat and towed it to the coastal area of Maungdaw at the request of the stranded passengers.

At that time, the Nasaka patrol team spotted the boat being towed by the other two boats, and seized the boat, arresting the passengers and crew.

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