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Published : 31 May 2014, 03:40 PM
The firing happened even as a Bangladesh border guard was in 'illegal detention' of the Burmese border police.
The foreign ministry said a 'note verbale' protesting against the firing was handed over to the Myanmarese envoy by the Secretary (bilateral) Mustafa Kamal on Saturday morning.
Earlier on Thursday the Burmese envoy Myo Myint Than was summoned to protest the detention of the Bangladesh border guard.
Bangladesh asked the ambassador to convey to his government the need to stop unprovoked firing by Myanmar border forces.
He was also asked for immediate action for identification of the dead body that could be the one of Naik Md Mizanur Rahman who is missing.
Naik Rahman has been missing since Wednesday morning following “indiscriminate firing by the Myanmar Border Guard Police”, the foreign ministry said.
Bangladesh also demanded a thorough investigation into the unprovoked recurrence of firing on Friday.
The Myanmar Ambassador once again assured that the matter would be duly conveyed to the concerned authorities in Myanmar immediately.
In this context the Myanmar Ambassador was told that a Bangladesh border guard team was waiting near border pillar ‘no. 52’ for identification of the dead body which was proposed by the Myanmar side.
"But to the complete surprise of the BGB, Myanmar border forces suddenly started firing on the waiting BGB team without any provocation”.
The foreign ministry said it continued to closely monitor the situation.
Bangladesh also reminded the ambassador that the deployment of Myanmar military forces alongside the Bangladesh-Myanmar international border was a violation of the Boundary Agreement of 1980.
Bangladesh side urged upon Myanmar for “immediate and complete withdrawal of the Myanmar military, if deployed”.
Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar has also lodged a strong protest with the Myanmar Foreign Ministry on Friday demanding an immediate investigation into the matter.
The foreign ministry said Bangladesh mission also requested the Myanmar government “not to allow any action that may affect the friendly bilateral relations that exist between the two neighboring countries”.
The border tension has come at a time when Bangladesh and Myanmar has embarked on a series of steps to improve bilateral relations.
Rohingya refugees remained a major irritant in Bangladesh-Myanmar relations, but there had been lot of official engagements in recent months.
According to the foreign ministry, Dhaka and Naypyidaw were also planning to engage in talks on the platform of a “security dialogue”.
The Chief of Border Guard Bangladesh is scheduled to visit Myanmar next month while the next Foreign Office Consultations will be held on June 18 in Dhaka.
The Secretary (bilateral), during the meeting, also told the ambassador that despite recent border incidents, Bangladesh government “in the spirit of good neighbourly relations has strongly encouraged" the visit of the Border Guard Bangladesh’s Director General and his delegation to Myanmar from June 9 to June 14.
The foreign ministry believed that the visit would be “a good opportunity to discuss all related issues in detail to ensure peace and stability in the bordering areas between the two friendly countries”.
The Myanmar ambassador was also reminded that Bangladesh was looking forward to the forthcoming Foreign Office Consultations in Dhaka scheduled for June 18.
