By Mainul Islam Khan
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Bangladesh's government has said it will bring back Bangladeshis who have arrived in Southeast Asia on boats run by human traffickers.
The home affairs minister Asaduzzaman Kamal told reporters Thursday that Bangladesh will co-ordinate with countries where the migrants have arrived, which include Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Boats carrying thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshi economic migrants have landed on the shores of the three Southeast Asian nations in recent weeks and more are thought to be stuck at sea.
Kamal added that Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered a crackdown on the illegal trafficking rings which often take the migrants hostage and demand ransoms from their families.
"The government will show zero tolerance and take strong action against those involved in this business," said Kamal.
Malaysia and Indonesia offered this week to temporarily house Rohingya refugees who have arrived on their shores, having previously pushed back the boats, but Thailand has remained silent on the matter.
At least 250,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees also live in Bangladesh, which has received several waves of refugees over the last 24 years during periods of heightened ethnic tensions in Myanmar's western Rakhine state.
