Roundup: Myanmar to repatriate 935 rescued illegal migrants

Myanmar authorities were planning to repatriate 935 illegal migrants intercepted off its coast through diplomatic channels after thousands of the so-called "boat people" were stranded and rescued at sea by Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Myanmar government said that it will continue to send back 727 Bengalis, rescued by the Myanmar navy off Haigyikyun, southwestern Ayayawaddy region, in accordance with their wishes after they failed to reach their intended destinations.

The repatriation process will begin after detailed investigations, authorities said.

The Bengalis "boat people" include 608 male, 74 female and 45 children, who were on board fishing vessels intercepted by the Myanmar navy 30 nautical miles east of Pyapon's Daminseik village on May 29.

Preliminary investigation found that three boats with the Bengalis sailed from the sea between Myanmar and Bangladesh in late March to Malaysia.

At the Thai waters, they had been waiting for 45 days for Malaysian boats that would ferry them to Malaysia. But no one came to transport them, the boats had to sail back to their original place.

Earlier on May 21, Myanmar navy intercepted two suspected fishing trawlers off the western coast of Maungtaw, western Rakhine state, one of which had 208 people on board and the other was empty.

Among them, 200 were identified as Bengalis and arrangement were being made to repatriate them to their homeland under an agreement between authorities of Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The Myanmar government said some of the "boat people" had fallen victim to human trafficking rings and crime syndicates after receiving offer of work in Thailand and Malaysia from illegal job brokers.

To address the impasse, UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Myanmar Vijay Nambiar made a visit to the camp in Rakhine state where rescued migrants were located.

The United Nations and Myanmar vowed to cooperate in tackling " boat people" issue both nationally and regionally, according to a statement of the UN.

During the visit, Nambiar discussed with authorities the situation of migrant smuggling, human trafficking and irregular migration in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.

The UN stressed the need for concerted action against the brokers and criminal syndicates involved in the crimes throughout the region.

The UN encouraged the Myanmar government to continue search and rescue operation, believing that many more migrants were still stranded at sea, and welcoming Myanmar's participation in a regional meeting in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, Myanmar opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), called for cooperation in tackling the issue of " boat people" who were drifting on sea in distress.

The NLD emphasized rule of law, border security, rehabilitation of victims living in refugee camps, enhancement of socio-economic status of people living in the region and prompt scrutiny of citizenship in a fair and transparent manner.

Estimating that thousands of illegal migrants are being found at sea who were mostly from Bangladesh and Myanmar, the party urged prompt provision of security and help to the victims before settlement of the issue through international assistance and identification of citizenship of the "boat people."

The NLD also called on the international community to handle the human trafficking issue effectively. Endi