Dhaka: Bangladesh on Thursday demanded “early repatriation” of all Myanmar nationals staying in the country after strongly protesting the “unprovoked attack” and firing on a Bangladeshi fishing boat that left four fishermen injured.

Bangladesh expressed its readiness to engage with Myanmar to discuss process and modalities of repatriation with Myanmar.

Bangladesh also demanded “appropriate investigation” into the firing on the fishermen, bringing the responsible persons to justice, and sought assurance that the Myanmarese Navy would abstain from attacking innocent fishermen of Bangladesh in future.

Secretary (bilateral and consular) at the foreign ministry Kamrul Ahsan conveyed Bangladesh’s position to Myanmar when its Ambassador in Dhaka Myo Myint Than was summoned at the ministry in the afternoon.

During the meeting, Ahsan expressed deep concern at the continued influx of Muslims from the Rakhine State of Myanmar into Bangladesh.

He mentioned that around 50,000 Myanmar citizens have taken shelter in Bangladesh since beginning of fresh influx on October 9.

Around 3,00,000 Myanmar nationals have been staying in Bangladesh for years, said a foreign ministry statement. 

He requested the Myanmar government to urgently address the “root cause” of the problem in the Rakhine State so that Rakhine Muslims are not required to desperately seek shelter across the border.

Bangladesh also protested the unprovoked attack and firing on a Bangladeshi fishing boat named ‘FV Janiva Khaleda 1 on December 27 fishing off the south-east of the Saint Martin’s Island within Bangladesh’s territorial water by a Myanmarese trawler that left four Bangladeshi fishermen seriously injured.

Ahsan mentioned that the Myanmarese trawler with armed people on board took the Bangladeshi fishing boat along with the fishermen, including the injured ones, to a nearby patrolling Myanmarese Navy vessel.

Myanmar navy personnel seized the belongings of the fishermen and released them after four hours.