MYANMAR’S NUG, Allied EAOs, Urge ASEAN, UN Not to Work With Junta on Aid

Posted by Asia Views | Jun 2, 2022 | 0 |

Irrawaddy-June 1, 2022

Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and three allied organizations have objected to ASEAN’s decision to provide humanitarian aid to post-coup, conflict-torn Myanmar through the country’s military regime, reasoning that the junta “will weaponize the aid and allow international whitewashing of the regime’s ongoing atrocities” against civilians. In a statement issued Monday, the NUG’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (MoHADM) along with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Karen National Union (KNU) and Chin National Front (CNF) called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to negotiate with ASEAN and Myanmar’s neighbors India and Thailand to allow cross-border aid to reach those in need. The request came before an expected visit by Noleen Heyzer, the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, to the country, as delivery of aid to those in need in Myanmar is expected to be one of the issues she will focus on during her visit. The statement said the regional bloc’s aid would be used by the regime and, instead of being delivered to the most needy communities—the very ones it is attacking—delivered to military outposts in the agreed areas, which the military itself strategically selected. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of April 11, 346,000 of the 566,100 people internally displaced since the military takeover were from Chin State and Sagaing and Magwe regions. Amnesty International said the regime’s air strikes in Karen and Kayah states killed nine civilians and wounded at least nine others from December to March this year. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-nug-allied-eaos-urge-asean-un-not-to-work-with-junta-on-aid.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’S NUG, Allied EAOs, Urge ASEAN, UN Not to Work With Junta on Aid

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