Cantonment saved Cox's Bazar from being occupied by Arakan Army: AL Whip

Awami League lawmaker Saimum Sarwar Komol on Sunday said if there was no cantonment, Cox's Bazar area would have been occupied by the Arakan Army.

"If there was no cantonment, Cox's Bazar area would have been occupied by the Arakan Army," said the ruling party whip in Parliament elected from Cox's Bazar-3 constituency, while participating in the discussion on proposed budget for 2024-25 fiscal.

He said that Myanmar's Arakan Army is fighting an armed struggle. Their location is just two kilometers from his constituency.

"Cox's Bazar would have been unsafe today if the prime minister had not given the cantonment. By now they would have taken over. The PM has already given Tk20,000 crore for the cantonment. She saved us."

Komol demanded formation of a regional security council with Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

"Then Bangladesh's security will increase, India's security will increase," he said.

Claiming that thousands of people from Cox's Bazar are in various prisons abroad, he said that many people of his areas detained in Myanmar prisons have been brought back.

In addition, he demanded the return of Bangladeshis detained in various countries through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"When the expatriates of Cox's Bazar district who live in the Arabian Gulf islands including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, go to various missions (diplomatic missions) to renew their passports, the officials in the missions do not recognise them. They say you are Rohingya," he alleged.

He complained that the mission people don't understand the difference between the language of Cox's Bazar and that of the Rohingyas.

He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appoint officials who understand the language of Cox's Bazar to the respective missions, so that the people of Cox's Bazar are not harassed.