Obaidul Quader, Minister of Road Transport and Bridges and General Secretary of the Awami League (AL), stated today that the country’s position on its border has been reinforced by Myanmar’s continuous internal turmoil.
“We are not liberally opening our border and we will not give this scope to anyone,” he told a press conference at the AL’s Bangabandhu Avenue central office here this afternoon.
Quader said Bangladesh will inform the United Nations (UN) in writing about its concerns, caused by the Myanmar conflict, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He claimed that personnel of the Myanmar army and border guard were among those who escaped to Bangladesh.
The general secretary of the AL declared that there is no other option except to bring the Myanmar nationals back, and the ambassador of Myanmar to Bangladesh was called.
“We cannot keep concern at our border alive. Our foreign ministry is working and it will write to the United Nations. The fury of Myanmar crisis has reached India too. Our foreign minister is currently staying in India. In the meantime, important talks have been held with India. There is the Myanmar border issue too,” he said.
About the BNP’s allegation that Bangladesh is now on the brink of crossfire, Quader said BNP is wrongheaded now while US President Joe Biden has vowed to work together with Bangladesh.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also sent the same message, while the French President gave a message, he said.
“All hope of BNP is over now. They (BNP) thought that their foreign friends would stand by them. Their hope is completely diminished,” the AL general secretary added.
According to the minister of road transport, the BNP could not have predicted that their movement would be so unsuccessful.
According to him, the BNP leaders believed that if their movement could get some momentum, their international allies would follow suit and assist in overthrowing the Sheikh Hasina administration. However, their expectations have been dashed.
In response to a query concerning the Rohingyas’ continued presence in Bangladesh, Quader stated that the BNP’s rule let the Rohingyas to enter the country first.
“Have they forgotten their past history? They are the ones who gave the opportunity to the Rohingyas. What our leader Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina did to this end has been appreciated by everyone, including the UN,” he said.
Among those in attendance were Central Committee Member Sahabuddin Faraji, Deputy Office Sayem Khan, Office Secretary Biplab Barua, Organizing Secretary BM Mozammel Haque, and AL Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim.
