M

yanmar has asked its ASEAN partners to help prepare adequate infrastructure for the eventual repatriation of Rohingya refugees who have fled from violence, marking what an Indonesian official calls a breakthrough for a country that has strongly refused to involve others in the crisis.

The Buddhist-majority country has been at the center of international scrutiny since a military crackdown launched last August drove more than 700,000 Rohingya from their homes in northern Rakhine state and into crowded camps in Bangladesh.

Under the leadership of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar dismissed accusations that its military had engaged in “textbook ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya minority and kept a closed lid on the crisis even with its ASEAN neighbors, despite a spillover of refugees fleeing by boat to neighboring shores.

However, now there is reason to believe Naypyidaw is gradually starting to show a willingness to
cooperate.

Indonesia’s representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), Dinna Wisnu, said Myanmar had begun to open itself up by providing new information about the situation in Rakhine to other ASEAN members.

“This is already a breakthrough [in and of itself]. In the beginning, there was no trust. Now they have become confident that they had to engage other countries to get help,” she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 27th AICHR meeting in Jakarta.

ASEAN has long held to the principle of non-interference in one-another’s domestic issues, but the Rakhine crisis has cast doubt on the principle’s usefulness.

Dinna said Myanmar had requested help from ASEAN to provide basic needs related to health care, the development of settlements and proper accommodations for refugees.

The requests, however, could only be granted when ASEAN foreign ministers have agreed on the form and method of assistance, she added, “So other [ASEAN] bodies can start moving.”

In spite of the positive development, Dinna noted that Myanmar remains guarded even in accepting assistance from other countries, for fear of being cornered.

Myanmar’s representative to AICHR did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Jakarta has distanced itself from characterizing the issue as a Rohingya crisis so as not to anger Myanmar, opting instead to call it a “humanitarian crisis” affecting all people in Rakhine.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Monday that much progress has been made on the Rakhine issue, but insisted “we need more”.

The minister has repeatedly called for an end to the crisis, having been involved early on in pledging humanitarian assistance and working to liaise between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

“Without communication between Myanmar and Bangladesh, it will be impossible for them to settle the issue,” Retno said during a discussion in Jakarta.

She reiterated the importance of having the two countries implement an agreement for the “safe and dignified” repatriation of Rohingya and for Myanmar to fully implement the recommendations of a commission led by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of refugees within two years, but differences between the two sides remain and implementation of the plan has been slow.