Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the Malaysia-bound trawler that sank in the Bay of Bengal was carrying those Rohingyas who used to live outside the camps and they were trying to move away illegally.
“Rohingyas came to Bangladesh previously in 1992… many of them are in camps while many others are outside. It might have happened that Rohingyas outside the camps were trying to go to Malaysia illegally. However, their death is unfortunate,” he said.
The foreign minister made the comments while talking to reporters after attending a programme arranged by World University of Bangladesh at the National Museum.
He also stressed the need for strengthening the camp’s security to prevent illegal migration. “We’ve provided enough security to those who’re in our camps. We want to keep them (Rohingyas) within a barbed-wire perimetre lately. We’ll look into the matter,” he said.
The bodies of at least 15 people were retrieved while 73 others rescued alive after a Malaysia-bound trawler carrying Rohingyas capsized near the Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal early Tuesday.
Turning to the Bangladeshi nationals stuck in China amid the coronavirus outbreak, Momen said the government will not take any more initiative to bring them back. “With an increase in the intensity of the coronavirus situation, no Bangladeshi will be brought back from China right now. However, the government will take the next step if anyone comes back at the personal initiative,” he said.
He also said the Chinese government is providing Bangladeshis staying in China with everything, including regular food and water. The foreign minister mentioned that the on-arrival visa facility for Chinese nationals to Bangladesh has been suspended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. “Since we’ve friendly relations with China, the on-arrival visa facilities had been provided for Chinese citizens… but we’ve stopped it for now,” he said. “Our country is very densely populated, so our quarantine also has some problems,” Momen said while talking about those quarantined at Ashkona Hajj Camp.
He also said those who are now in the quarantine centre will be kept under observation for a few days more.
