Bangladesh pardons 92 Myanmar fishermen

"Bangladesh pardons 92 Myanmar fishermen," bdnews24.com

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The government has pardoned 92 Myanmar fishermen, who were captured in Bangladesh territorial in December last year, as "a friendly gesture".

The foreign ministry said they entered into Bangladesh waters in 12 fishing boats and were captured by Bangladesh authorities for "illegal entry".

The Myanmar embassy in Dhaka had been notified about the arrests following which Bangladesh received a formal request for their clemency on Jun 23.

Myanmar said these fishermen entered Bangladesh waters "inadvertently for not having requisite equipment like GPS".

"In the spirit of good neighbourliness and in accordance with the spirit and provisions of the ‘1980 Border Arrangement’ with Myanmar, Bangladesh authorities expedited granting clemency to them within a few weeks of the request made," the foreign ministry said.

The Myanmar embassy in Dhaka has been advised to coordinate with the relevant authorities in Bangladesh for their return at an early date.

The foreign ministry, which recently stepped up public diplomacy with Myanmar, expected that this gesture will add to "goodwill" between the two countries and the people and lessen sufferings of persons in such irregular situations.

Myanmar pardoned and released 22 Bangladesh nationals in August 2015 and July 2016.

Besides clemency, the Border Agreement of 1980 provides for ground rules and procedures to respond to situations of undetected illegal crossing and inadvertent crossing of the international border.