UAE did not impose restrictions on visas

The United Arab Emirates has not imposed any visa restrictions on Bangladeshi migrants, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud confirmed yesterday.

"We saw news in the media that the UAE has restricted visas for Bangladeshis. This is absolutely incorrect. Those who broadcast the news did not do the right thing. They should have verified the information before broadcasting the news because the issue is very sensitive," he said.

Some media outlets on Tuesday reported that the UAE restricted visas for Bangladeshis over the protest by a group of Bangladeshi expatriates in the UAE.

He said 57 Bangladeshi expatriates were handed lengthy prison sentences for demonstration that is banned in the Gulf country.

The minister was briefing reporters at the State Guesthouse Padma on the diplomats' visit to the state properties, including a metro rail station in Mirpur, Setu Bhaban, Sarak Bhaban, health directorate building, and BTV Bhaban, that were vandalised or torched during the last week's violence centring the quota reform protests.

Representatives from the 49 foreign missions in Dhaka, including 23 ambassadors, visited the sites. The foreign minister led them.

Hasan said arrests were also made in some Middle Eastern countries, including in Saudi Arabia, over demonstrations.

Asked if Bangladesh would raise the issue before the UAE or Saudi Arabia, the minister said the expatriates were punished under their domestic law.

He said some Bangladeshis held protest rallies in front of Bangladeshi missions abroad and Pakistani citizens were also involved in those programmes.

"We have specific information on this."

About the diplomats' visit to the affected sites, the foreign minister said the envoys were shocked at the level of destruction. "They said they are with us."

"We had a plan to take them to some other places like the Data Centre. But due to traffic congestion and rain, we could not go there."

He said that many who were involved in arson attacks in 2014-15 were punished, but some others came out of jail due to legal loopholes.

"This time we are very tough. The prime minister said it. There are video clips of all those who attacked the BTV Bhaban. We are committed to take action against each of them."

Asked if there was any failure on the part of the law enforcers and intelligence agencies and if the government would probe the failure, Hasan said the army and law enforcement agencies are working and peace is being established now.

"When I went to the BTV, I asked them how it happened. They said police had no permission to open fire that day...."

"If the police had the permission to shoot, the BTV Bhaban would not have been damaged. There are a few other factors."

On the UN's concerns of using UN-marked vehicles by the law enforcers during the violence last week, the minister said those vehicles belonged to Bangladesh and were rented out to the UN missions.

"However, the UN logos were not erased mistakenly. Those have been erased now," he said.