Flag Meeting Concludes with Many Promises

Cox’s bazar (Narinjara): A day-long sector-commander level flag meeting between Burma and Bangladesh was completed yesterday with many pledges made by Nasaka, the border security force in Burma, said a source close to Bangladesh authorities.

The source said that during the meeting, Nasaka officials pledged they would stop the migration of Muslims from Burma into Bangladesh. The pledge came about after Bangladesh Rifles officials expressed concern over the large number of Burmese Muslims crossing the Naff River.

Furthermore, Nasaka agreed to discussions to take back about 27,000 Muslim refugees from two Burmese refugee camps in southern Cox's Bazar District.

Regarding the border fence, Nasaka officials told their Bangladesh counterparts that the aim is to prevent smuggling and human trafficking, and would not create any problems for Bangladesh.

Burmese officials also said that the construction of embankments and erection of the fence along the Naff River was carried out under the direction of the high authorities in Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma.

The source said that Nasaka officials pledged during the meeting to take action on all the requests of BDR officials. The meeting was peacefully concluded without any arguments between the two delegations.

U Min Aung, a border-issues analyst, pointed out that Nasaka officials politely discuss matters at every meeting with their Bangladesh counterparts, but then take action in contravention of those agreements.

In the meeting, the 15-member Burmese delegation was led by Colonel Aung Gyi, while the 22-member Bangladesh delegation was led by Bangladesh Rifles Chittagong sector commander Colonel Didarul Alam Chowdhury.