A Myanmar navy frigate that has been stationed in the River Naaf along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border will stay there for about a month, a Border Guard Bangladesh official said.
The Myanmar warship is there to supervise a smooth changeover from Nasaka, the Myanmar border force that has recently been abolished, to the National Police Battalion, the official told New Age.
The commanding officer of the 42 Border Guard Battalion of Teknaf, Lieutenant Colonel Jahid Hossion, said that he had protested at the deployment but later learnt that the Myanmar authorities had send a notification about the frigate to the BNS Isha Khan in Chittagong.
‘Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard personnel patrolling around St Martin’s Island and BGB personnel stationed in Teknaf mainland are monitoring the situation,’ Jahid said.
‘The National Police Battalion has already taken charges as successor to Nasaka,’ he said. ‘The force is under the command of a colonel, headquartered at Maungdaw Township, a western river port of Myanmar.’
Nasaka had performed along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border since 1993 and earned bad names of kidnapping, torturing and killing Bangladeshi fishermen.
Myanmar made the redeployment of the new border security force along its frontiers on July 15, 2013, the BGB said.
The new troops were deployed as the president of Myanmar abolished the Nasaka, or Border Area Immigration Control Headquarters, on July 12, 2013 through a state ordinance.
-With New Age input
