Bangladesh Offers Three Other Ports For Food Flotilla, Teknaf No Go

From Mohd Ashraf Syafiq Mazlan ON BOARD THE NAUTICAL ALIYA IN MYANMAR WATERS, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Bangladesh has identified three other ports instead of Teknaf for a Malaysian food flotilla in aid of the Rohingya community that will also stop over in Myanmar. The head of the 'Food Flotilla for Myanmar' mission, Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, said the 'Nautical Aliya' leading the flotilla would have to dock at St Martin's Island, Kutubdia or Chittagong. Teknaf had been ruled out because of the safety factor and the large size of the ship, he said to reporters. "I received a letter from the Office of the Malaysian High Commissioner in Bangladesh on the three ports. "We were also informed that none of the (195) volunteers would be allowed to disembark. We wish to go down and hand over the food. We hope the Bangladesh government will give us the permission to do so," he said. Abdul Azeez said he hoped that Prime Minister Najib Razak would be able to help obtain approval for the supplies to be sent to the Rohingya community around Teknaf. "Initially, we were given 'visa on arrival' for all of us to disembark to help the Rohingya. "Now, all of us are disallowed from getting off the ship. We just want to send the humanitarian aid," he said. On Feb 4, the Foreign Ministry said the Bangladesh government had agreed to allow the flotilla to dock at Teknaf. The approval was given following a meeting between Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia, Md Shahidul Islam. The food flotilla, the voyage of which entered its fifth day Tuesday, is taking along 2,300 tonnes of food, medicines, daily essential goods, clothes and blankets, and is scheduled to anchor at Yangon and a port in Bangladesh. The 'Food Flotilla for Myanmar' has been organised by the Putera 1Malaysia Club and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisations. The 195 volunteers from 12 countries on board comprise medical teams, educationists, Malaysian and international journalists as well as representatives of Malaysian and foreign NGOs. --BERNAMA