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Rohingya’s five-year ‘genocide’ remembrance necessitates bolder ASEAN moves
A former United Nations rapporteur on Myanmar has called on Indonesia to take a bolder stance by siding with Myanmar's opposition government – and by extension, its long-suppressed Rohingya population.
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Rohingya refugees study together at a refugee camp in the village of Munasah Mee in Lhokseumawe, Aceh on Jan. 18. (AFP/Azwar Ipank)
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alls for the Indonesian government and ASEAN to take bolder action against the military junta in Myanmar rang loud on Thursday amid the fifth commemoration of the Rohingya “genocide”, where a group of NGOs, officials and experts held a forum to discuss the state of the marginalized refugees living in Indonesia.
In 2017, Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, led what United Nations experts concluded as a “systematic” killing of the Rohingya people, when over 360 villages housing the long-suppressed Muslim ethnic minority were partly or completely annihilated. The same authorities toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year.
Since the military took over, the fate of the Rohingya has become even more perplexing, with some reports revealing mass arrests, more stringent restrictions and harsher punishments. The situation has complicated repatriation efforts by countries hosting Rohingya refugees and encouraged those still in Myanmar to flee.
“The problem of the Rohingya is intertwined with the domestic issues in Myanmar. [...] It has been complicated with the arbitrary actions of the Tatmadaw and the political turbulence,” said Galuh Wandita, director of Jakarta-based human rights group, Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR).
An advisor from Myanmar’s shadow administration, the National Unity Government (NUG), Aung Kway Moe, attended the forum virtually and called upon Indonesia to take bolder action against the military in Naypyidaw as part of its efforts to aid the Rohingya population, noting that the situation had progressed way past the point where the usual “note of concern” would suffice.
The NUG fact-finder emphasized that the genocide against the Rohingya was not likely to be a one-off should regional and international organizations like the UN and ASEAN get too comfortable with concluding every genocide-related crisis with the standard adage of “never again” instead of addressing the conditions allowing such crimes to take place.
“The Indonesian government needs to do more to solve this problem, which is also [part of] ASEAN’s moral obligations. Indonesia needs to take the lead in ensuring we are on top of our agendas on [all] levels,” said Aung Kway Moe, while still extending his gratitude for the actions taken by Jakarta so far.
