Australia has settled in Papua New Guinea five Bangladeshi
citizens who travelled by boat to the country without visa under its new
regional arrangement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
Its
spokesperson M Shameem Ahsan told bdnews24.com they were among a group
of people of different nationalities in the boat that had been spotted
on Aug 23.
“Particulars (Bangladeshis) are yet to be obtained,” he added.
The ministry confirmed it on Wednesday a month after Australian High
Commissioner in Dhaka Greg Wilcock said some people claiming to be
Bangladeshi nationals seeking asylums were detected while entering his
country by a boat without visa.
He at a press briefing on July 29 had said they had been verifying their claims.
Australia
came to an agreement with the Papua New Guinea (PNG) on July 19 under
which all those who arrive in Australia by ‘dangerous’ boat without
visas will have the validity of their refugee status assessed according
to the laws of the PNG government.
The envoy said the decision
had been taken in the wake of continuous inflow of people with
‘dangerous boat journey’ and to stop human traffickers ‘exploiting’
asylum seekers.
The foreign ministry spokesperson said they were
in touch with the Australian High Commission in Dhaka and the Bangladesh
mission in Australia had been asked “to get in touch with the relevant
authorities and take appropriate actions”.
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