Myanmar’s regime forces on Sunday morning rammed a military vehicle into peaceful protesters in Yangon, reportedly killing five demonstrators and injuring several others. The junta forces attacked a flash-mob protest in Kyimyindaing Township which coincided with regime leader Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to the city to meet retired military figures. Protesters held banners in support of detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, calling for the establishment of democracy and release of detained civilians. The vehicle accelerated when it got closer to the protesters and rammed directly into protesters, witnesses told The Irrawaddy. Videos and photographs show the vehicle at high speed deliberately driving into civilians from behind the protest. The regime claimed on Sunday night that its forces dispersed an unlawful riot. The regime said it had only detained 11 protesters, including three females and three people with injuries. The report did not mention the ramming by the vehicle. By Dec. 4, the regime had killed at least 1,303 civilians and arrested more than 10,000 people since the February coup. Over 100 civilians have been tortured to death in interrogation. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-sparks-outrage-by-ramming-peaceful-protesters.html
EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD
Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.
“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”
