Bangladesh to bring back human trafficking victims

State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said the government would bring back Bangladeshi human trafficking victims coordinating with the countries concerned.

“Our navy and coast guards are ready to bring them as per our capacity,” he said at a meet the press programme organised by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters' Forum (BSRF) at the secretariat's media centre.

“This work [bringing back] must be done with the help of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is not possible to do the job alone as they [the Bangladeshis] have been inside their [the three countries'] maritime boundaries,” the minister said.

Kamal said the home ministry, the foreign ministry and the overseas employment ministry would take measures to bring them back home.

Referring to the death penalty against human traffickers in the law, he said stern action would be taken against those who were behind the trafficking.

Vowing to resist human trafficking from the country at any cost, the home boss said, “We would be able to identify the culprits once the Bangladeshis are brought back home.”

Kamal claimed that most of the people stranded on boats are Rohingyas, who have been living in Bangladesh illegally for a long time.

The minister also said the government had decided to provide identity cards to boatmen and register boats to prevent human trafficking.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam yesterday said they had got a list of over 1,000 Bangladeshis from the governments of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Besides, lists of small group of people are coming everyday from the countries, he told BBC Bangla last night. He said the lists were given to the home ministry. The ministry forwarded the lists to police who were now verifying their identities.

After the verification process is completed, the Bangladeshis would be brought back home, the minister said, adding that a high-powered team from the Bangladesh government would attend the migrant crisis meeting in Bangkok on May 29.

Regarding death threats issued to 18 eminent persons, including Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, Kamal said the intelligence agencies were working on it. “They will be identified and punished,” he added.

He said those who killed bloggers and those who issued death threats might not be of the same group.

Threats were issued in order to hamper democracy and the advancement of the country as well as to gag the voices of the pro-liberation forces, he said, adding that those who received death threats would be provided with security.

Replying to a query, the state minister said BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed would be brought back following due legal process.

On charge framing against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in two cases, he said it was up to the judges to decide. “We will implement the judges' decision.”

Regarding the government's initiative to bring BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman back to the country, the minister said there were some complexities over this issue as Tarique had sought political asylum in the UK.

The British government needs to think more to give political asylum to a person who is “a traitor, money launderer and a conspirator”, he said.

Asked about the progress of issuing MRPs to all Bangladeshi expatriates before the November 24 deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the minister said the international body would extend time, and hence there would be no problem to this end.

Despite some complexities in the previous months, the project was now going on in full swing, he claimed.

BSRF President Shamol Sarkar and General Secretary Siddiqur Rahman also spoke at the programme.