Riyadh seeks info from Dhaka on Rohingyas

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni  

Kamran Reza Chowdhury

DhakaTribune:

June 11, 2013

Saudi Arabia goes ahead to legalise Myanmar nationals

Riyadh has requested Dhaka to provide documents on the Rohingya Muslims who entered Saudi Arabia through Bangladesh, as the country goes ahead to legalise Myanmar nationals, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has said.

Replying to a question from Awami League MP Nurul Islam, the minister told the House Monday that the BNP-Jamaat-government’s tacit support during 2001-2006, coupled with the corruption of the passport department helped the illegal Rohingyas to get Bangladeshi passports.

“They received passports mainly from the Chittagong office. They started working in Saudi Arabia with legal documents,” Dipu Moni said.

She said the Bangladesh consulate office in Jeddah stopped renewing passports issued during BNP’s rule. “I want to make it clear that the present government has not issued any passports to Rohingyas.”

The minister said the Saudi Arabian government, who seeks to legalise the Rohingyas, sought documents from Bangladesh proving that they entered the kingdom through Bangladesh.

Replying to another question from Nasimul Alam Chowdhury of the Awami League, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir told parliament that the Rohingyas’ efforts to sneak into Bangladesh were on, but no such intrusion had taken place due to the government’s vigil along the Myanmar border.

Up until January 1, he said, Border Guard Bangladesh had stopped 2,625 Rohingya Muslims from immigrating illegally and sent them back to Myanmar.

The home minister said the government had approved a plan to increase the number of BGB forces along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.