S M Mizanur Rahman :
A step has been initiated to carry out direct investigation whether any Bangladeshi national was rescued alive or found dead in the graves traced recently in the jungle of Thai southern region.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam said, Bangladesh Ambassador Saida Muna Tasneem has been advised to meet the governor of Songkhla in Southern Thailand where mass grave of human trafficking victims was discovered.
“She (Tasneem) will also meet the police chief there to collect first hand information on reported Bangladeshi nationals and discuss areas of cooperation for combating trafficking syndicates which are active regionally,” he told The New Nation on Friday.
He said Saida Muna Tasneem reached the spot of the
first mass grave of human trafficking victims in Southern Thailand on Friday morning.
Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok had sought quick consular access to the Thai Foreign Ministry on May 2 soon after the international media reported the rescue story of Bangladeshi survivor in Songkhla.
He added since there was a five-day public holiday in Thailand on the occasion of Gautam Buddha’s birth anniversary, Bangladesh had to wait for getting permission.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand arrived in Songkhla region on Thursday. “Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok has already secured the consular access papers from Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to visit Sadao and interview the reported two Bangladeshi survivors — one adult and one minor — who are reportedly being kept in a hospital under police protection,” the State Minister for Foreign Affairs said.
He said after talking to the victims and meeting with the governor and head of police there, Saida Muna Tasneem would prepare a report.
“We are expecting that within a five to six days we would be able to know the facts,” Shahriar Alam said.
Apart from a two-member consular team of the Embassy, the Bangladesh ambassador is also being accompanied by an officer of Thai Foreign Ministry, he added.
This is the first such visit by any Bangladesh ambassador to assess the situation of reported trafficking networks which are allegedly luring some Bangladeshi people to take the risky sea route towards Malaysia.
A step has been initiated to carry out direct investigation whether any Bangladeshi national was rescued alive or found dead in the graves traced recently in the jungle of Thai southern region.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam said, Bangladesh Ambassador Saida Muna Tasneem has been advised to meet the governor of Songkhla in Southern Thailand where mass grave of human trafficking victims was discovered.
“She (Tasneem) will also meet the police chief there to collect first hand information on reported Bangladeshi nationals and discuss areas of cooperation for combating trafficking syndicates which are active regionally,” he told The New Nation on Friday.
He said Saida Muna Tasneem reached the spot of the
first mass grave of human trafficking victims in Southern Thailand on Friday morning.
Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok had sought quick consular access to the Thai Foreign Ministry on May 2 soon after the international media reported the rescue story of Bangladeshi survivor in Songkhla.
He added since there was a five-day public holiday in Thailand on the occasion of Gautam Buddha’s birth anniversary, Bangladesh had to wait for getting permission.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand arrived in Songkhla region on Thursday. “Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok has already secured the consular access papers from Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to visit Sadao and interview the reported two Bangladeshi survivors — one adult and one minor — who are reportedly being kept in a hospital under police protection,” the State Minister for Foreign Affairs said.
He said after talking to the victims and meeting with the governor and head of police there, Saida Muna Tasneem would prepare a report.
“We are expecting that within a five to six days we would be able to know the facts,” Shahriar Alam said.
Apart from a two-member consular team of the Embassy, the Bangladesh ambassador is also being accompanied by an officer of Thai Foreign Ministry, he added.
This is the first such visit by any Bangladesh ambassador to assess the situation of reported trafficking networks which are allegedly luring some Bangladeshi people to take the risky sea route towards Malaysia.
