INDONESIAN PEOPLE, GOVT JOIN HANDS TO HELP ROHINGYA REFUGEES by Fardah

Jakarta, Sept 15, 2017 (Antara) - The humanitarian crisis facing over one million Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, Myanmar, has moved the Indonesian people and the government, who are making concrete efforts to ease their suffering.

          The Indonesian people, the central government and several local governments, have been working hand in hand to provide assistance to the persecuted and oppressed Rohingyas, including those fleeing their country to neighboring Bangladesh for refuge.

         Over the last two weeks, many Indonesians from all walks of life, including teachers, students, ulemas, local officials, politicians, and professionals, organized fund-raising events to collect donations for the Rohingyas.

          At the bureaucratic level, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi has been tirelessly communicating with those relevant for a solution to the Rohingya problem. She even went directly to Myanmar and Bangladesh to talk with the leaders there, and those concerned with the handling of the humanitarian crisis.

          After collecting firsthand information and facts, the minister, under the instruction of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), coordinated the humanitarian aid dispatches, with the cooperation of other ministries and institutions, such as the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

         On Sept 13, 2017, at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, eastern Jakarta, President Jokowi saw off two C-130 Hercules planes of the TNI AU carrying tons of humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which has received some 400 thousand Rohingyas so far.

        "By saying Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I dispatch the humanitarian aid from Indonesia to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border," the president said.     
   "This is the first batch (of aid), and Insya Allah (God willing), next week, we will dispatch the second, third batch, and more," the president added.

        The two Hercules landed at Hazrat Shah Amanat airport in Chittagong, Bangladesh border region, on Sept 14, at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time respectively. They carried among other things emergency tents, blankets, rice and sugar.

         Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Rina Soemarno officially handed over the assistance to Chittagong District Commissioner Md Zillur Rahman Chowdhury.

       The Bangladeshi government passed on the aid to humanitarian organizations volunteering to distribute the aid to refugees. 
     Two more C-130 Hercules planes of TNI AU were expected to arrive in Bangladesh on Sept 15, 2017, Air Commodore Nanang Santoso, commander of the Civic Mission Task Force of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU), said in Chittagong.

         Carrying rice, family kits, children¿s clothing, water tanks, and emergency logistics, among other things, the aircraft made transit in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, while waiting for permits to enter Bangladesh.

          "We prioritize the dispatch of these goods, as they are badly needed now, including emergency tents, as shelters are a huge challenge facing the refugees," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in Jakarta, on Sept 13.

        In total, four Hercules aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force have transported the aid to Bangladesh so far.

         The Indonesian Air Force is also ready to deploy more Hercules aircraft to carry humanitarian aid from Jakarta and Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, which has been designated as a transit base camp for dispatching humanitarian aid to Bangladesh. every day.

        The first dispatch comprised aid from the Indonesian government. However, the government has also received many offers from other parties to provide goods to Rohingya, and they might be dispatched next. 
    She explained that in providing humanitarian aid, the government is  conducting humanitarian diplomacy and establishing synergy.

          "We are receiving them and will dispatch them. Hence, synergy among the government, community, mass organizations, and regional governments, among others, is crucial. We dispatch it under one name - Indonesia," Minister Marsudi said. 
     The Indonesian government is still awaiting a list from the Government of Myanmar to dispatch the necessary aid to the country.

           Minister Marsudi said she has communicated with the Government of Myanmar twice on Sept 12, regarding the list of humanitarian aid needed by Myanmar.

         "As soon as we receive the list, we will dispatch the aid," she said.

          Myanmar has expressed its commitment to facilitating humanitarian assistance to reach Rakhine State after Minister Marsudi held talks with the local authorities in Myanmar and Bangladesh on offering the aid.   
    She and her Myanmarese counterpart had discussed issues on humanitarian aid, and the Myanmar Government has agreed on a principle of transparency for distribution of the aid.

         "We are collecting information from various sources regarding assistance needed. We have actually figured it out already. We are still waiting for a list of necessities from the Myanmar government," she explained after visiting Myanmar to meet Suu Kyi and several high-ranking officials on Sept. 4.

         President Jokowi had expressed gratitude to both the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh that have opened access to humanitarian aid.

        He also lauded the assistance offered by the public, non-governmental organizations, local administrations, and businessmen, who helped to send the humanitarian aid for the Rohingya refugees, both in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

         This is not the first time that the Indonesian people have helped the Rohingya refugees. In 2015, Aceh fishermen had rescued hundreds of stranded Rohingya refugees, and the Aceh government opened its arms to accommodate them in the province. ***4***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 15-09-2017