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Peace mission bears fruit
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In crisis: This picture taken on Aug.25 shows ethnic Rakhine people fleeing from a conflict area at the Yathae Taung township in Rakhine State in Myanmar. The impoverished western state of Rakhine neighbouring Bangladesh has become a crucible of religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
(STR/AFP/File)
I
ndonesia’s diplomatic salvo in Myanmar has opened up opportunities for ASEAN to take part in the distribution of humanitarian aid to victims of violence and displacement in the troubled Rakhine State.
The granting of access to aid was confirmed during Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi’s meeting Monday with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in the capital Naypyidaw, the Foreign Ministry said.
Retno’s meeting with Myanmar’s de facto leader was followed by a technical meeting to flesh out the aid details with Minister of the State Counsellor’s Office U Kyaw Tint Swe, National Security Advisor U Thaung Tun and State Minister for Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Thin.
During the meeting with Suu Kyi, Retno voiced Indonesia’s concerns over the recent outbreak of violence in Rakhine State and offered Myanmar a list of recommendations dubbed the “4+1 Formula.”
The four main recommendations comprise the restoration of stability and public order, maximum self-restraint and the nonuse of force, protection for all without exception or segregation based on ethnicity or religion and open access to humanitarian aid.
“The plus-1 element is the implementation of recommendations made in the final report of Kofi Annan’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, which Indonesia supports and hopes that the government of Myanmar will respect,” Retno said on live broadcasts by several national television channels on Monday.
The commission’s report provides 10 key recommendations and says that development in Rakhine will depend on parameters like “improved inter-communal relations” or “increased freedom of movement for the Muslim community.” Regarding this, Retno said Suu Kyi would establish a commission to monitor the implementation of the recommendations.
