Myanmar ‘rescues two boats carrying 208, most of them Bangladesh nationals’

Myanmar, under mounting international pressure over illegal migrant, says its navy has rescued two boats with 208 people on board.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 22 May 2015, 08:57 AM
Updated : 22 May 2015, 10:27 AM

Tin Maung Swe, a senior official of Rakhine state, claimed the migrants included around 200 Bangladesh nationals.  

Quoting a news agency report, Thai newspaper Bangkok Post uploaded a report of the rescue on its website on Friday. 

This was the first instance of migrant rescue by Myanmar, amid mounting call for settling the issue. 

Rohingyas in Myanmar have been travelling to other countries, especially Malaysia, to flee from persecution. Bangladesh nationals seeking to escape poverty are also falling prey to human smugglers.

The issue has become a centre of a raging international debate after a mass grave of migrants was found in Thailand.
The Thai crackdown, however, prompted the smugglers to abandon ships full of migrants, many of them hungry and sick, in the Andaman Sea.
Myanmar's military Commander-in-Chief General Min Aung Hlaing has reportedly said some "boat people" landing in Malaysia and Indonesia this month are likely pretending to be Rohingya Muslims to receive UN aid and that many had fled neighbouring Bangladesh.
The remarks are sure to spark concern after the United States lambasted Myanmar this week for failing to address the cause of the crisis, which observers say stems from Myanmar's refusal to recognise the Rohingyas.
Most of Myanmar's 1.1 million Rohingyas are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions.
Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes with Buddhists in the western state of Rakhine in 2012.
Many Rohingyas have long complained of state-sanctioned discrimination in Myanmar and are denied citizenship.
Myanmar, however, denies discriminating against the group and claims that is not the source of the problem.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday pledged assistance and ordered the navy to rescue thousands adrift at sea, and a Thai official said Myanmar had agreed to attend an emergency conference on the crisis.
Malaysia and Indonesia have also said they would let as many as 7,000 migrants currently adrift on the seas to come ashore temporarily, but no more.