Jakarta,
Jan 24, 2017 (Antara) - Indonesia together with other members of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been working on measures
to help improve the situation in Rakhine State in Myanmar where Rohingya
Muslim minority having been oppressed and discriminated for years.
During
an Extraordinary Session on the Situation of the Rohingya Muslim
Minority in Myanmar, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on January 19,
2017, OIC member countries' Ministers of Foreign Affairs expressed
grave concern at the recent eruption of violence in northern Rakhine
that resulted in the loss of innocent lives and displaced tens of
thousands of Rohingya people, and called upon the Government of Myanmar
to take decisive steps to restore calm to the affected areas.
The
Government of Myanmar should ensure that the security forces act in
accordance with the rule of law and that all perpetrators of acts of
violence be held accountable, the ministers said in a final communique
issued at the conclusion of the meeting.
The Meeting called on the Government of Myanmar to ensure an inclusive
and transparent policy towards ethnic and religious communities, by
including the Rohingya Muslim Minority as an integral part of this
process and considering them as an ethnic minority, as called for by
relevant UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions
The OIC Foreign Ministers' Extraordinary Meeting agreed on two outcome documents.
The
first is a resolution on the situation of the Rohingya Muslim minority
in Myanmar which, among others, calls on the OIC members to provide
humanitarian aid and to request the Myanmar government to open up access
for humanitarian aid.
The
second document is a Final Communiqué which, among others, urges the
OIC representatives in New York, Geneva, and Brussels to periodically
review developments in Myanmar.
Indonesian
Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi, who attended the OIC
emergency ministerial meeting, said Indonesia is ready to play a
bridging role with the OIC for taking constructive and inclusive steps
to improve the situation in Rakhine.
"Only by taking constructive and inclusive steps can the OIC contribute
to improving the situation in Rakhine State," Foreign Minister Retno
Marsudi stated.
During the meeting, the foreign minister
again voiced Indonesia's concern over the worsening security and
humanitarian situation in Rakhine since the conflict broke out in
October 2016.
The minister also emphasized that the Myanmar government should
continue to respect and uphold the human rights of all communities in
Rakhine State.
Furthermore, Marsudi proposed four steps to the OIC to contribute to improving the situation in Rakhine State.
In
addition to expressing concern over the situation in Rakhine State, the
OIC can hopefully offer aid to prevent the situation from worsening,
she affirmed.
The
OIC is expected to engage Myanmar in a constructive manner and be able
to cooperate with regional organizations, such as the ASEAN, to handle
various aspects related to the Rakhine State issue.
She also suggested that the OIC can be Myanmar's economic development
partner and hinted at the possibility of a partnership with the Islamic
Development Bank.
The
minister reiterated Indonesia's readiness to play "a bridging role" in
the efforts to find sustainable solutions, including by ending the
suffering of the Muslim community in Rakhine State.
She also revealed various steps that Indonesia has taken to help Myanmar over the last several years.
The
minister has held separate meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi, former UN
secretary general Kofi Annan, and the foreign minister of Bangladesh, as
well as visited the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh.
Indonesia
had also succeeded in convincing Myanmar to hold an Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Minister's retreat in December
2016.
During
the meeting, an agreement was reached that Myanmar will open up access
to ASEAN humanitarian aid for all the communities in Rakhine State,
gradually allowing access to the media, and will periodically provide
information on the situation in Rakhine State to the ASEAN ministers.
Following the OIC meeting, Minister Retno Marsudi flew to Sittwe,
Rakhine State, to deliver some 10 containers of humanitarian aid from
Indonesia at the order of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
Besides,
she also officially inaugurated two new schools funded by the
Indonesian people for the communities of Rakhine State.
Indonesia
had earlier built a hospital and organized capacity building activities
to improve the welfare of Rakhine inhabitants.
She
ensured that Indonesia would continue to provide medium- and long-term
assistance, including through capacity-building programs, to ensure
democracy and good governance as well as to offer training for the
Myanmar police, among others.
Indonesia
will also dispatch an interfaith dialogue team to help build confidence
at the grassroots level between the Buddhist majority and Muslim
communities in Rakhine State.
"Indonesia
has opted to take constructive and inclusive steps to help the Myanmar
government to improve the situation in Rakhine State, including for the
Muslim minority," she remarked.
During
a two-day working visit to Myanmar, Minister Marsudi also held a series
of meetings on Friday afternoon (Jan 20) with the permanent secretary
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, chief representative of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and members of the Advisory
Committee of Rakhine State.
Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs U. Kyaw Zeya said that the
Myanmar government welcomed the visit of Minister Marsudi and praised
Indonesia's efforts to support development in Myanmar. ***2***
(f001/a014)
(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 25-01-2017
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