Suu Kyi’s Promise to ASEAN

Posted by AsiaViews | Nov 20, 2017 | 0 |

The New Straits Times

Nov 15, 2017

IT appears that Malaysia’s incessant efforts to get the world to put pressure on Myanmar has worked. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi agreed on Monday at the ASEAN plenary session that there is a need for a long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis. She has promised to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya refugees back to Rakhine State. Malaysia and the rest of ASEAN, we hope, will keep a close eye on how she keeps this promise. The devil will be in the details. Europe, the United States, the United Nations and international human rights organizations have brought the rumble in Rakhine province within their ken. Even US Congressmen Steve Chabot and Joseph Crowley are keeping a close watch.

Some 600,000 Rohingya had fled to Bangladesh since August, taking with them their heart-rending stories of alleged rape, murder and burnt babies. Close to 500,000 have fled to other countries much earlier under similar atrocities said to be committed by the military and civilian mobs. The Rohingya have been repressed and marginalized for too long. The world is finally waking up and making all the right noises. It is better late than never. Suu Kyi has long criticized Malaysia’s support for the Rohingya as interference in the country’s internal affairs. But, in an editorial in Thailand’s newspaper The Nation, which she wrote on July 13, 1999, she said: “In this day and age, you cannot avoid interference in the matters of other countries.” The irony must have been lost on her. Malaysia’s compassionate concern for the Rohingya cannot amount to interference in Myanmar’s affairs, but if she saw it that way, we are glad Malaysia did what it did.

Now that ASEAN has accepted Suu Kyi’s promise, we hope Myanmar will henceforth cease all forms of atrocities against the Rohingya who are still in the country. Any sign of harm, brutal or otherwise, against the Rohingya either by the military or other extremist elements will signal insincerity on her part. Clearance operations by soldiers or mobs must be stopped immediately to ensure the safety of the internally-displaced. Another immediate measure that Suu Kyi needs to take is allow access to independent fact-finders, especially now that the military is exonerating itself from any atrocities committed against the Rohingya.

The world needs to keep a close watch on the MoU to be signed with Bangladesh. Myanmar must not be allowed to sign a lopsided agreement that only favors the interests of the country’ military or mobs. Given the dire situation that Bangladesh is in, it may very well be forced to sign away the rights of the Rohingya just to relieve itself of the burden of hosting them. We know Malaysia will not watch this in silence, but neither should the international community. No Rohingya must be kept out of Myanmar or denied citizenship. They must be guaranteed safe return to their homeland. And, in dignity, too. Anything less will harm the cause of Myanmar and Suu Kyi’s promise.

(source:https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/leaders/2017/11/303329/suu-kyis-promise-asean)

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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.”

Suu Kyi’s Promise to ASEAN