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Indonesia renews calls for safe repatriation of Rohingya refugees
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A group of Rohingya women queues for a medical check-up at a transit camp after nearly 300 Rohingya migrants came ashore on the beach in Lhokseumawe on the northern coast of Sumatra Island on Sept. 9. (AFP/Rahmat Mirza)
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ndonesia has again urged Myanmar to ensure the safe return of hundreds of thousands Rohingya refugees at an ASEAN foreign ministers retreat last week, as the bloc sluggishly moves forward in facilitating preparations for safe conditions for the minority group.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi had reported at the meeting on Thursday that two out of four priority projects under the preliminary needs assessment launched in 2019 had been implemented, with the other two still under discussion. She did not provide details on the projects aimed at helping Myanmar prepare for the repatriation.
Additional project proposals covering various fields, including road infrastructure, health, education and livestock, are also being followed up by the ad hoc support team from the ASEAN Secretariat and Myanmar government.
Indonesia has also requested that the ASEAN Secretariat and Myanmar begin working on the comprehensive needs assessment, a next stage of engagement that will cover measures to begin the repatriation process.
“Indonesia also hopes that the Myanmar government can immediately create conducive conditions in Rakhine, so that voluntary, safe and dignified repatriation can be carried out immediately,” Retno told a recent press briefing.
Read also: Indonesia draws praise for assisting Rohingya as ASEAN fails to mitigate crisis
The repeated calls from Indonesia came as Myanmar softened its stance on repatriation after sitting down with China and Bangladesh in a trilateral meeting earlier this week. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui virtually joined the meeting with delegations of Bangladesh and Myanmar from Beijing, The Daily Star reported.
