Some 900 Bangladeshis detained in Australia are now staying at different shelter centres there, said Australian High Commissioner in Dhaka Greg Wilcock.
He made the disclosure at a meeting with State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan at the latter’s office on Thursday.
During the meeting, Wilcock requested the state minister to bring back the detainees who have no legal documents.
He informed that over 50,000 people illegally go to Australia every year from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan and different countries of Africa. Of them, 1%-1.5% are Bangladeshis, he claimed.
“If they are Bangladeshi citizens, we must bring them back,” Asaduzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.
“I have asked the Australian high commissioner to send a list of the detainees and their addresses. Later, we will verify them,” he added.
“If you issue travel permit, we will bear airfare for their return,” the state minister quoted the high commissioner as saying.
Officials concerned said Rohingyas living in Australia claim themselves to be Bangladeshis. If the detainees are Rohingyas, there is no question of repatriation, they added.
“If the Australian authorities send the list of the detained people and their addresses, it would be checked by the intelligence agencies,” a senior official of the Home Ministry told this correspondent, seeking anonymity.
He said more than one agencies would check whether they are really Bangladeshi citizens.
A senior official of the Foreign Ministry said many Rohingyas have gone to Australia via Indonesia and they claim themselves to be Bangladeshi citizens.
Most of them were migrant workers in Malaysia. They went to Australia from Indonesia. The Australian government is providing them with food and shelter.