Return of Bangladesh nationals from Myanmar completed

03 December 2015
Return of Bangladesh nationals from Myanmar completed
Migrants, who are to be repatriated from Myanmar to Bangladesh, carry their belonging as they cross the Myanmar-Bangladesh friendship bridge at the Taung Pyo near the Bangladesh border, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, 08 June 2015. Photo: Nyunt Win/EPA

Bangladesh has completed the process of taking back all her nationals rescued in Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in May and June 2015, the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar said in a statement on 2 December.
With the return of the last batch of 48 verified Bangladesh nationals on 2 December 2015, Bangladesh authorities have successfully completed the entire process of repatriation within less than six months.
There were a total of 853 persons who were presented as Bangladesh nationals after being rescued by Myanmarauthorities in three successive rescue operations on May 21, May 29 and June 15, 2015 in the bordering seas. After fast-tracking the verification process, Bangladesh authorities have established the citizenship of 799 persons. They were repatriated to Bangladesh in seven batches.
There were 53 persons who have not been verified as Bangladesh nationals that included 8 UNHCR Refugee card holders and 11women and children from Myanmar. These women and children were in shelters in Bangladesh as unregistered Myanmar residents, the statement said.