SOLIDARITY TOWARD ROHINGYA DEMONSTRATED ACROSS INDONESIA by Fardah

Jakarta, Sept 9, 2017 (Antara) - Prayers, protest rallies, and fundraising activities have been organized in many cities across Indonesia to demonstrate solidarity toward oppressed, prosecuted, and discriminated Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar.

         A number of regional leaders such as governors, district heads, and mayors prayed and donated funds for Rohingyas. Several of them expressed strong condemnation against the Myanmar regime for allowing genocide and ethnic cleansing to happen in Rakhine.

         The local leaders include West Nusa Tenggara Governor Dr TGH M Zainul Majdi, Jakarta Governor-elect Anies Baswedan, Jambi Governor Zumi Zola, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, Banten Governor Wahidin Halim, Central Tapanuli District Head Bakhtiar Ahmad Sibarani Tasikmalaya District Head Uu Ruzhanul Ulum, Banyuwangi District Head Abdullah Azwar, Tasikmalaya Mayor Budi, Padang Mayor, Banda Aceh Aminullah Usman, Makassar Mayor, Grobogan District Head Sri Sumarniand, and Tangerang Mayor Arief R. Wismansyah.

         Jambi Governor Zumi Zola attended prayers for Muslim Rohingyas in Al-Alfallah Grand Mosque, in Jambi, on Sept 8.

         "This is to show the solidarity of Jambi's residents toward our Rohingya brothers and sisters. The Jambi Government strongly condemns the violence against Rohingyas in Myanmar," Zola stated.

         Every religion condemns the crimes against humanity happening in Rakhine, home to some 1 million Rohingya ethnic minority in the Buddhist-majority Myanmar, he noted, adding that the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar was, however, not a religious war. On the occasion, the government also collected donations for Rohingyas.

         Earlier, West Nusa Tenggara Governor Dr TGH M Zainul Majdi and West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan separately organized prayers and fundraising events for the Rohingyas.

         In addition to the local leaders, religious leaders, students, and professionals also held rallies among other things in Jakarta, Jambi, Aceh, Depok, Denpasar, Surabaya, Garut, Bandung, Makassar, Purwokerto, Sumenep, and Padang, in solidarity with Rohingyas, the world's most prosecuted community.

         In Cianjur, West Java Province, several Buddhists strongly condemned the acts of violence committed against the Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar, whose population majority consists of Buddhists.

         The atrocities involving hardline Buddhists in Myanmar had nothing to do with the Indonesian Buddhism followers who are prohibited from committing violence and murder, Suwita Gunawan, an advisor of the Buddhist Tri Dharma in Cianjur, remarked on Sept. 8.

         "We strongly condemn and denounce the acts against humanity, particularly when it involves monks. Their monk titles were lost when they got involved in acts of violence, such as murders," he remarked.

         The perpetrators of violence can be categorized as terrorists, he noted.

         "Buddhism teaches living in harmony and mutual respect among nations and races. The Rohingya crisis is not a religious problem but a socio-economic one," he pointed out.

         He called to put an end to the Rohingya genocide and urged Cianjur residents belonging to diverse faiths to demonstrate their solidarity with Rohingyas.

         Meanwhile, Makassar Mayor Moh Ramdhan Pomanto has called on more than 1.7 thousand mosques living in the city to collect donations for Rohingya refugees.

         Rohingyas fleeing atrocities in their country are currently taking refuge in several countries, such as Bangladesh and Indonesia, including in Makassar, he said during mass Friday prayers in Al Markaz Al Islami Mosque, in Makassar, on Sept 8.
    In Kudus District, Central Java, thousands of local residents prayed for Rohingya Muslims who were killed and for the safety of surviving Rohingya Muslims being prosecuted by the Myanmar regime and radical Buddhists.

         Kudus District Head Musthofa and Chief of the Kudus Police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Agusman Gurning and his deputy, Commissioner M. Ridwan, were also present at the event.

         In Padang City, West Sumatra, thousands of people staged a rally dubbed "Defend Rohingya Muslims" in solidarity with Rohingya ethnic minority being prosecuted in Myanmar.

         They marched for 2 kilometers from Nurul Iman Grand Mosque to the office of West Sumatra Governor.

         The protestors brought banners and posters reading, among other things, "Save Rohingya" and "Stop Killing Muslim Rohingya."
    Deputy chairman of the Minangkabau Community Forum (FMM) Irfianda Abidin revealed that his organization strongly condemned the genocide of Rohingyas committed by the Myanmar military.

         "Thousands of our Muslim brothers and sisters have been killed. We demand the Indonesian Government to take stern actions regarding this problem," he said.

         The protestors asked the Indonesian Government to recall the Indonesian ambassador to Myanmar and expel Myanmar's ambassador to Indonesia.

         They also believed that Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi does not deserve Nobel Peace Prize and, therefore, the Nobel should be revoked.

         The protestors demanded the UN and ASEAN to stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Myanmar.

         Mahyeldi Ansharullah, the mayor of Padang Municipality, joined the rally, calling on every civil servant to donate for Rohingyas.

         In Garut, West Java, students and teachers of the State Senior Vocational High School SMK 1, organized prayers for Rohingyas and staged a theatrical show featuring the sufferings of Rohingya Muslims in the school's yard.

         The students condemned the Myanmar government for allowing the violence against Rohingyas to continue and criticized international organizations, such as the UN, for their silence concerning the crimes against humanity in Rakhine.
    In Purwokerto, Banyumas District, Central Java Province, some 2 thousand students of Al Irsyad Al Islamiyyah performed special prayers and collected donations for Rohingyas.

         Students of kindergarten, elementary, junior, and senior high schools, as well as teachers participated in the event organized at the city's square.

         They lauded Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi for being among the first to visit Myanmar to offer solutions to solve the humanitarian crisis.

         The students demanded the Nobel Committee to revoke the Nobel Prize awarded to Suu Kyi.

         In Solo, also Central Java, a total of 773 Muhammadiyah students held special activities to demonstrate their solidarity with the Rohingyas.

         "Today, the students of Muhammadiyah Kota Barat, from kindergarten to senior high school, offered prayers and collected donations for Rohingyas," Muhammad Arifin, a spokesman of the Muhammadiyah Education Institution.

         In West Java Province, the Bandung city government has raised funds up to Rp1 billion (US$75.18 thousand) in less than 72 hours through donation website Kitabisa.com to help the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

         In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan Muslim Solidarity Forum has strongly condemned the genocide.

         The forum urged the Indonesian government to sever diplomatic ties with the Government of Myanmar and to expel the ambassador of Myanmar to Indonesia for failing to stop the atrocities on Rohingyas.

         The Indonesian president should coordinate with the UN to take the Myanmar regime, particularly the military and Buddhist extremists, to the International Criminal Court for the massacre, they urged.

         Earlier, on Sept 4, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi had visited Myanmar to meet Suu Kyi and several high-ranking officials to address the crisis in Rakhine State.

         Indonesia has submitted a proposal to Myanmar calling to apply the Formula 4+1 in Rakhine State to restore peace and allow immediate access to humanitarian assistance in the conflict-hit region.

         The formula includes four main elements to recover security and stability, maximize self-restraint and avoid use of force, protect all citizens of Myanmar regardless of ethnicity and religion, as well as open access for humanitarian assistance.

         From Myanmar, Marsudi went to Bangladesh and pledged to send humanitarian aid to Bangladesh for the Rohingya refugees whose number continued to increase.

         Din Syamsuddin, President of Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (ACRP), concurrently chairman of the Advisory Council of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), lauded Indonesia's efforts to overcome the humanitarian crisis.

         Meanwhile, Indonesia's Justice and Prosperous Party (PKS) has called for an emergency summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, a member of the regional grouping.

         "We hope President Joko Widodo would take the initiative to make hotline calls to ASEAN leaders and invite them for an emergency ASEAN summit," PKS President Mohamad Sohibul Iman noted in a statement, here, on Saturday.

         The global community has almost lost all patience waiting for San Suu Kyi to take concrete steps to stop the violence , he stated.

         "Until now, we are still receiving news about the burning of Rohingyas' homes, and the number of casualties continues to increase. This is very sad, as it has been going on for more than two weeks and no concrete actions have been taken by the Myanmar government (to end the atrocities)," he remarked. ***2***
(f001/INE/B003)
EDITED BY INE

(T.F001/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 09-09-2017