Border Guard Bangladesh member Abdur Razzak would be brought back from Myanmar within a day or two as the two frontiers are set to hold a meeting on the matter today at Mongdu of Myanmar.
“If the weather condition is okay, we will have the meeting at 10 in the morning at Mongdu tomorrow [today],” BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
The Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) had asked for the flag meeting about giving Naik Razzak back, he told a press conference at the paramilitary force’s Pilkhana Headquarters. The BGB chief also read out a letter sent by BGP number 2 battalion Commander Lt Think Ko.
“The BGP said they will not give any condition for his release. They asked for names of our delegation attending the flag meeting,” Aziz said.
Lt Col Abu Jar Al Zahid, commanding officer of 42 Rifles Battalion, will lead the six-member BGB delegation while BGP to have 10 members at the flag meeting.
The BGB boss said that if the meeting is postponed for any reason, it would be held the next day. “The decision of holding the flag meeting came soon after a successful meeting held between the Myanmar Home Ministry and the Bangladeshi diplomats on Monday.”
He said it might take one or two more days to bring back Naik Razzak due to inclement weather.
He added that the foreign and home ministries, the BGB and the Bangladesh High Commission in Myanmar were working jointly for Razzak’s return.
Razzak was abducted along with his SMG by the BGP members in the Naf River near Jadimura area of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar on June 17. In the incident, another BGB member, Biplob, was shot.
On June 18, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry summoned the Myanmar ambassador to Dhaka to protest against the shooting and abduction along border.
This is the second time the ambassador was summoned this month. On June 5, the ambassador was summoned to protest against Myanmar propaganda about Rohingya and Bangladesh.
Protesting Razzak’s captivity, the BGB on June 19 sent an e-mail and several fax messages to the Myanmar authorities.
According to a BGB press release issued on Wednesday, a seven-member team of the BGB on two boats was patrolling the area from the Jadimura Canal to the Dumdumia border outpost.
“They were conducting routine patrol on civil boats. Suddenly, around 5:30am, soldiers of the Myanmar BGP appeared with a boat, opened fire on one of the BGB boats, injuring the arm of one soldier. The BGB team also retaliated with gunshots,” the release reads.
At one stage, the two sides locked into a scuffle. However, at that time, the second boat arrived at the scene. The BGP men then disappeared and took Naik Razzak and his SMG along with them.
The rest of the members of that boat saved themselves by jumping into the river and swam ashore, says the release.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar Mohammad Sufiur Rahman met the newly-appointed Myanmar Foreign Ministry permanent secretary last Saturday and expressed Bangladesh’s extreme displeasure about a picture of Razzak in handcuffs posted on the BGP Facebook page.
The Foreign Ministry also issued two note verbales to Myanmar authorities for immediate release of Razzak.
This is the second such incident since the Myanmar authorities abolished its Nasaka force in July 2013 and deployed the BGP. On May 28 last year, BGB Naik Mizanur Rahman was abducted and killed by the BGP near Panchhari border in Naikkhyangchhari of Bandarban.
Two days later, the BGP was supposed to return Mizanur’s body to the BGB. But, when the Bangladeshi border guards went to receive the body, the BGP men opened fire on them instead of handing the body over to them.
According to the BGB, Naik Mizanur was patrolling the border to check Rohingya infiltration.
The 271km border between Bangladesh and Myanmar is divided into two parts – 64km zero-line boundary on the Naf River and a 208km land boundary.
