Myanmar’s upper house has passed a motion adopting a policy for the ‘boat people’, Xinhua news agency reports parliament sources as saying.

“On humanitarian grounds, investigating the origin of the ‘boat people’ and giving them temporary shelter is in the interest of the Myanmar government and people,” said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs U Thant Kyaw today.

“The government has adopted a policy to settle the boat people crisis,” he said.

Myanmar authorities yesterday deported 150 Bangladeshi refugees to their country.

The Bangladeshis are among 208 rescued on May 21 by Myanmar navy off the western coast of Maungtaw of western Rakhine state.

Upper house speaker U Khin Aung Myint has rejected the international community’s urging to accept some 30,000 ‘boat people’ stranded at sea in Malaysia and Indonesia.  

- Bernama