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Jakarta Post

RI urged to immediately address Rohingya issue

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, November 25, 2016

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RI urged to immediately address Rohingya issue Show of solidarity -- Islamic Students Association (HMI) members and humanitarian group Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) volunteers stage a peaceful rally to protest the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta on Nov. 25. ( JP/Bimo Raharjo)

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s the oppression of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar continues to worsen, a human rights activist has called on the Indonesian government to confront its Southeast Asian neighbor to stop the military-backed persecution.

Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) executive director Kyaw Win said the Indonesian government must help address the Rohingya issue and should not only refer to what he said were false claims made by the Myanmar government.

“[Indonesia] should directly communicate with the Burmese government to raise this issue and tell them to stop [the violence]. Enough is enough,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The activist further said the non-interference policy adopted by Southeast Asian countries should not hinder Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, from taking part in resolving the case, which was widely considered to be a humanitarian problem.

“We feel that we have never heard any voice [from Indonesia]. The worst thing is that, Indonesia has tended to refer [to the military’s] claims in Burma,” Kyaw Win said.

The Myanmar military has often delivered false and misleading information, claiming that Rohingya people had abandoned their houses and fled the country of their own will, he stated.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said earlier that Indonesia was ready to cooperate with its international counterparts over Rakhine state, an area that housed many Muslims in Myanmar, including finding out the actual situation on the ground.  

Kyaw Win said Indonesian authorities should only partner with parties that could give credible reports from the field. Evidence the BHRN has obtained suggests that Rohingya Muslims have long suffered severe cruelty and brutality. (fac/ebf)

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