Myanmar Ambassador summoned over attempt to claim St. Martin
Arafat Hasan, DOT
In a sharp reaction, the Bangladesh government yesterday summoned Myanmar ambassador U Lwin Oo in Dhaka and lodged a protest over Myanmar’s deliberate attempt to show St Martin’s Island as their territory.
According to a report by UNB, Maritime Affairs Unit chief at Foreign Affairs Ministry Rear Admiral M Khurshed Alam summoned Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka U Lwin Oo and handed over a strongly worded protest note,.
However, the Myanmar ambassador acknowledged the matter saying that it was a “mistake” to show St. Martin’s as their territory, a diplomat told UNB.
The report further added that the island has never been part of Myanmar territory since 1937. It was part of British-India when Myanmar got separated back in 1937, an official told UNB adding that this means it was part of India.
“A clear line was drawn in between,” said the official.
The official added that it was part of Pakistan in 1947 and later became a part of independent Bangladesh after the Liberation War.
In 1974, it was clearly stated through a signed agreement that the Island is part of Bangladesh.
“There’s no doubt. How could they (Myanmar) claim St. Martin’s Island as part of their territory? It’s a deliberate attempt,” the official stated.
A diplomatic source said Secretary Khurshed Alam had nearly a one-hour meeting with the Myanmar envoy and protested the matter by handing over relevant documents.
In a previous attempt, Myanmar circulated a picture that claims to show insurgents training, which is actually a photograph of freedom fighters during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
The Myanmar military later issued a rare apology acknowledging that two photographs it published in a book on the crisis over the Rohingya Muslim minority were ‘published incorrectly’.