INDONESIA SENDS STRONG CALLS TO REVOKE SUU KYI'S NOBEL PRIZE by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 2, 2017 (Antara)- Indonesian human rights activists, lawmakers, students and politicians, among others voiced a strong outcry to revoke the Nobel Peace Prize from Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, following the violence that killed hundreds of Muslim Rohingyas in Rakhine State.

        Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her "non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights." But, she has been criticized internationally for allowing genocide, discrimination, and violence against Muslim Rohingyas.

         Maneger Nasution, commissioner of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has urged the Indonesian Government to lead an international solidarity, demanding the revocation of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Suu Kyi.

        Rohingya ethnic minority has faced crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar regime systematically, structurally, massively, and widely, he remarked in a statement on Sept 1.

       He urged the Indonesian Government to express its stronger condemnation over the alleged Rohingya genocide in Rakhine State.

        Nasution also asked the government to initiate an international move to take the Myanmar regime to the International Criminal Court. 
   The United Nations (UN) should impose sanction on Myanmar for the crimes against humanity, he stated.

        Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Laureate, had won general elections in Myanmar,  but her leadership fails to stop crimes against humanity on Muslim Rohingyas in her country, he said.

        A similar call was also voiced by about 200 protestors, grouped in "Professional Community for Rohingya Humanitary," while staging a rally in front of the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta on Sept 2.

        "Suu Kyi does not deserve the Nobel Prize. Therefore, we urge the Nobel Prize Committee to take back the award," Andi Sinulingga, coordinator of the rally said.

      Instead of being silent, Suu Kyi should have stopped the violence and expulsion of Rohingyas based on humanity's sake, he stated.

         They also demanded the Indonesian Government to take stern diplomatic measures to stop the atrocities in Myanmar.

        "We call on the Indonesian Government to accept Rohingya refugees temporarily, while conducting diplomatic steps," he remarked.

         They have also asked the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to stop the atrocities because the crisis in Myanmar could endanger the security and stability in the Southeast Asian region.

        "We demand that the membership status of Myanmar in the ASEAN be frozen. Myanmar should take responsibility of protecting the Rohingya people," he remarked.

         They called on human rights and humanitarian activists to give serious attention to the crimes committed against humanity in the ASEAN member country.

         The students also asked the International Criminal Court to conduct trials for those responsible for the genocide of Rohingyas.

        The demonstrators also urged the UN to seriously deal with the long-standing humanitarian tragedy and provide safety to the oppressed Rohingya community.

        Another call came from Palu, Central Sulawesi Province, as Muslim students grouped in an organization of Badko-HMI, have urged the Indonesian Government to ask the Nobel Committee to revoke the Nobel Prize from Suu Kyi.

       Mohammad Sidiq Djatola, chairman of the Central Sulawesi Badko-HMI, explained in Palu on Sept 2 that the government should also cut diplomatic ties with Myanmar and pressurize the Myanmar Government to protect some one million Rohingyas living in Rakhine State.

         The students also called on the government to ask the UN and international human right bodies to be fair toward Muslims, particularly the Rohingyas, which have been considered by the UN as the world's most oppressed ethnic minority.

         "Muslims are among the most important part of the world population; therefore, the UN should provide humanitarian protection to Rohingyas," he remarked.

         Indonesia, as the largest nation in ASEAN and having the world's largest Muslim population, should take concrete actions to stop the violence against Rohingyas, he added.

          "President Joko Widodo must take concrete steps to find solution and stop the crimes committed by the government, military, and extremists of Myanmar," he noted, adding that the students' organization condemned the violence against Rohingyas.

         Meanwhile, Yandri Susanto, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PAN), had earlier urged Myanmar, which is part of the global community, to abide by the universal values of humanity.

        Myanmar must not oppress and discriminate against the Rohingya ethnic minority on grounds that their faith and ethnicity are different from Myanmar's majority Buddhist population.

          "We urge the Indonesian government to take concrete actions. If necessary, we should expel Myanmar's ambassador to make them understand that the issue of humanity is very important," Susanto emphasized.

         Some 400 people -- most of whom were Rohingya Muslims -- died in the latest violence, according to the army chief's office on Sept 1, 2017, while the UN noted that 38 thousand had sought refuge across the border in Bangladesh to escape the worst violence in Myanmar's northwest in at least five years, according to AFP as quoted by dailymail.co.uk.

       As a humanitarian disaster is happening in Myanmar, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi does not want to just sit and talk, but she has chosen to make some actions for the sake of humanity and the lives of thousands of Rohingyas.

        Marsudi has planned to visit Myanmar in the near future to provide humanitarian aid to the victims and to urge the Myanmar government to stop the violence.

        The ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Myanmar's Rakhine State, has made the minister preoccupied as she had to arrange humanitarian assistance and discuss strategies and measures with her counterparts and high-ranking officials from other countries to end the crisis in Myanmar, a fellow member country of ASEAN.

         Marsudi had received telephone calls from Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan to discuss Indonesia's contribution to implementing the report of the Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. 
   Besides, she had also made phone calls to the high-ranking officials directly regarding the crisis.

        "Yesterday (Aug 29), we had communicated with three officials, the first being Suu Kyi's security adviser with whom we discussed about the situation in Rakhine," Marsudi revealed.

        The minister also called her Bangladeshi counterpart, as the neighboring countries, namely Myanmar and Bangladesh should work closely to handle refugees.

        Bangladesh's cooperation is crucial since without good cooperation, it will be difficult to tackle the refugee crisis, she pointed out.

        "Insha Allah (God Willing), we will visit Myanmar. We have arranged everything and hopefully, we can make it (the visit) soon," Marsudi said, after reporting her plan to visit Myanmar to President Joko Widodo.  ***2***
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