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Indonesia urges Myanmar to ensure security in Rakhine
“We are all concerned about the security situation in Rakhine state, which has not shown improvement,” Jokowi said as quoted from a statement from his office on Sunday.
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Amir Ali, a Rohingya violinist who was a member of a wedding band of the northern Rakhine state of Myanmar, attends a weekly prayer event to play the violin at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Tuesday. (Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain)
M
yanmar’s government should show its commitment to the security of conflict-torn western Myanmar to ensure that hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims would return voluntarily, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said at the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok.
In the ASEAN retreat meeting with all 10 leaders, Jokowi said the security of Rakhine state was key to a successful repatriation.
“We are all concerned about the security situation in Rakhine state, which has not shown improvement,” Jokowi said as quoted from a statement from his office on Sunday.
The region has attracted international attention since 2017 when Myanmar’s military cracked down on the minority Muslim Rohingya, driving about 730,000 of them to cross into Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, since earlier this year, civilians have been caught up in clashes between the military and the Arakan Army, an insurgent group that recruits from the mainly Buddhist ethnic Rakhine population and is fighting for greater autonomy for the state.
Reuters also reported on Saturday that Myanmar authorities ordered telecommunications companies to shut down internet services in Rakhine since Friday amid heightening tensions in the region, where government troops are fighting ethnic rebels.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the security issue was also raised by Jokowi when he met Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday, when he told Suu Kyi that he feared the refugees would not want to return to Myanmar if Myanmar’s government fails to improve security in Rakhine.
