MYANMAR: Myanmar Coup Leader Requests Russia Move its Embassy to Naypyitaw

Posted by Asia Views | Aug 5, 2022 | 0 |

Irrawaddy-Aug 4

Myanmar junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing told Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to move the Russian Embassy from Yangon to the capital Naypyitaw, according to Russian state media the TASS news agency. Russia’s foreign minister arrived in Myanmar on Wednesday for a working visit and met his Myanmar counterpart and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw. Lavrov’s trip was the second high-profile visit by a foreign government since last year’s coup, following the January visit of Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen and foreign minister Prak Sokhonn. Min Aung Hlaing suggested moving Russia’s Embassy to Naypyitaw and opening a consulate in Mandalay, according to TASS. He also suggested that Myanmar open consulates in the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. It is not yet clear how Russia will respond to Min Aung Hlaing’s proposal. Lavrov met the junta boss ahead of attending the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The military regime’s top diplomat, U Wunna Maung Lwin, has been excluded from the ASEAN meeting, after the junta sparked fresh international outrage last week by executing four political prisoners including a former lawmaker and a veteran democracy activist. David Scott Mathieson, an independent researcher on conflict and peace in Myanmar, said that the visit of Russia’s foreign minister is a sign that Moscow will continue to sell arms to the regime as long as it can pay for them, which is bad news for resistance forces in Myanmar. Since becoming military chief in 2011, Min Aung Hlaing has visited Russia at least ten times. Observers say that the Russian foreign minister’s visit is a sign that the two countries are looking to promote cooperation in other sectors besides the military. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-coup-leader-requests-russia-move-its-embassy-to-naypyitaw.html

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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.”

MYANMAR: Myanmar Coup Leader Requests Russia Move its Embassy to Naypyitaw

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