Georgia's new parliament opens first session amid mass protests and boycott    Gangsters block aid distribution in south Gaza    Russian deserter reveals war secrets of guarding nuclear base    Judge dismisses special counsel's election case against Trump    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Lulu Saudi Arabia celebrates its 15th anniversary with the grand launch of 'Super Fest 2024'    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Franchise registrations in Saudi Arabia surge 866% over 3 years    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Saud Abdulhamid makes history as first Saudi player in Serie A    Culture minister tours Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka    Saudi Cabinet to hold special budget session on Tuesday    King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Migrant boat still being held off Myanmar coast
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 02 - 06 - 2015

YANGON — More than 700 migrants found packed aboard an overcrowded boat in the Andaman Sea were still being held offshore by Myanmar's navy on Monday, more than three days after the converted fishing vessel was intercepted off the country's coast.
“The government is checking their identity, asking what they want to do and where they want to go,” government spokesman Ye Htut said, without providing further details of the boat's location.
“Usually, most of them want to go back to Bangladesh, so we will arrange according to their wishes.”
Government officials have been tight-lipped about the identities of 727 migrants on the overcrowded fishing boat, found drifting and taking on water early Friday, as well as their eventual destination.
The government initially labelled the migrants “Bengalis,” a term used to refer to both Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims, a largely stateless minority in Myanmar that the government refuses to refer to by name. Officials later said they believed most of those on board were from Bangladesh.
Myanmar has come under harsh criticism for its treatment of Rohingya, more than 100,000 have fled persecution and poverty in Rakhine State since 2012. Myanmar denies discriminating against the Rohingya.
Journalists from foreign media were briefly detained and turned back to land after approaching the boat on Sunday, as it was seen surrounded by navy patrol vessels.
Navy officials made journalists delete photographs and footage of the boat, and at one stage a sailor pointed a rifle at reporters.
A navy officer, who declined to be named, said on Sunday that some migrants on board were able to speak Rakhine — a local language in the western state that is not widely spoken in Bangladesh.
Myanmar's government says the Rohingya are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh, and has denied it is to blame for a crisis that has seen more than 4,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi “boat people” arrive across Southeast Asia in recent weeks.
The migrants were abandoned at sea by people smugglers after Thailand launched a crackdown on trafficking in early May.
Myanmar officials had said last month that another migrant boat found at sea with more than 200 people on board was mostly filled with Bangladeshis.
But interviews by Reuters found more than 150 Rohingya had earlier been on the same boat, but were quietly whisked off by traffickers before authorities brought the boat to shore. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.