Suu Kyi Steps toward Peace

Posted by AsiaViews | Nov 6, 2017 | 0 |

The Bangkok Post

Oct 28, 2017
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has taken a small, yet crucial step in restoring peace in troubled Rakhine state, that deserves recognition and praise.

Her civilian-led initiative for Rakhine state has taken shape with support from Myanmar’s business community including pledges of financial assistance and promising to actively participate in restoring peace and stability to the strife-torn region in western Myanmar.

Ms Suu Kyi, who is also Myanmar’s foreign minister, announced the initiative which is also known as the “Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance,” during her national address earlier this month.

The enterprise will tackle three main tasks: Repatriating and providing aid for those who have fled to Bangladesh, the resettlement and rehabilitation of people who have returned, regardless of their race and religion, and establishing peace and bringing development to the region.

Ms Suu Kyi took the helm of the enterprise, with Win Myat Aye, the union minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement taking the role of vice-chairman. The minister is also the chairman of the implementation committee for the recommendations of Kofi Annan’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.

Ms Suu Kyi has garnered support and cooperation from international organizations, civil society organizations and business leaders as well as other international partners, UN agencies, financial institutions to join hands with her government.

In her national address which was broadcast on TV, she petitioned for cooperation from Myanmar patriots, saying the country “needs to continue doing the things that need to be done, and should be done correctly, bravely and effectively”, and also “show the world by our actions and our deeds”, referring to myriad reports of human rights abuses and criticism of the Myanmar government on the world stage.

Since the first outbreak of violence in Rakhine in October last year, Ms Suu Kyi has faced global condemnation for what others saw as indifference, but this time the Lady has proved that she has attempted to find ways to end the problem amid major restraints, in particular the fight for control with the military which still largely maintains its power. Despite her historic victory in the 2016 general election, it is apparent Ms Suu Kyi and her NLD party hardly have a free hand in running the country especially in security affairs as stipulated in the constitution.

Observers have noted the tussle between the NLD and the army. For the Rohingya issue, Ms Suu Kyi’s overriding concern has been to ensure the government plays the main role in solving the problems in Rakhine, and not the army which does not hide its attempts to militarize the conflict. In fact, the army’s brutal operation in Rakhine state since last year has led to what the UN described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” which shocked the world. The army has purposely driven out the Muslim population and destroyed their property in what is believed to be an attempt to prevent them from returning.

The Buddhist-majority state regards the Rohingya minority, who roughly number 1 million, as having migrated illegally from Bangladesh, although many Rohingya families have lived in Myanmar for generations.

As the repatriation process, confirmed by Bangladesh which has shouldered the refugee burden since the ethnic violence flared up, is set to begin in a matter of weeks, the world is watching with skepticism.

It appears Ms Suu Kyi is racing against time to comply with a call by Mr Anan for her government to create conditions that will allow the refugees to return “with dignity and with a sense of security”. Mr Anan, who led the advisory commission on Rakhine state, insisted the Rohingya should go home, not to camps.

What she needs now is global support to ensure that her crucial step in restoring peace and security in the strife-torn area will be achieved.

(https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1349862/suu-kyi-steps-toward-peace)

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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.

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Suu Kyi Steps toward Peace