SHILLONG, Feb 24: Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Muhammad Imran on Wednesday assured the Meghalaya government that Dhaka would take care of some 7,000 Garo and 10,000 Mro people reportedly evicted in Bangladesh.
He said that the Bangladesh government would ensure they get the best place to stay if there is any relocation, as they are the citizens of that country.
“I flagged the eviction issue and he assured me that it is a non-issue and that they will take care of it,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said after a meeting with Imram, which was more of a courtesy call.
“He (Bangladesh High Commissioner) said if there is any relocation they will get the best place to stay in the country because they are permanent citizens of Bangladesh,” Tynsong said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said he took up the issue because of the affinity between the communities on either side of the border, even if it was not a state subject.
“It is the duty of the government of India and the government of Bangladesh to talk to each other but I raised the issue since the issue concerns the relatives of our people residing there,” he said.
Elaborating on Imran’s reply, Tynsong said: “He said they will take care of every citizen of Bangladesh, whether they are from Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills or Khasi Hills.”
The Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) had requested all the chief ministers of the North East to urge External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to flag the forcible eviction of about 7,000 Garos and 10,000 Mro people and implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord with the Government of Bangladesh during his upcoming visit to Dhaka on March 4.
The RRAG maintained that unless these issues are raised, there are strong possibilities that the Garos being displaced from Madhupur forest in Tangail district may be gradually forced to flee to Meghalaya while indigenous Mro people of Bandarban district of the Chittagong Hill Tracts may flee to Mizoram and/or assimilate into mainstream Islamic society in Bangladesh.
