Terror Turns to Myanmar

Posted by AsiaViews | Sep 24, 2017 | 0 |

THAILAND

Bangkok Post

Sept 18, 2017

The government of Aung San Suu Kyi should be concerned about an al-Qaeda call last week for terrorists worldwide to “help” the Rohingya people. It is uncertain how many, indeed, if any at all, will respond. The cry for war from the Mideast, however, comes at a crucial time. The danger is not by any means restricted to Myanmar. All of ASEAN and beyond face a critical period.

The last thing Myanmar and ASEAN need is outside intervention, but they are receiving it in spades. Al-Qaeda and other interfering countries and groups will be responsible for their actions. But it must be said that Myanmar is reaping the results of the bad seeds it sowed. Ms Suu Kyi and the Nay Pyi Taw government were warned. After an authorized fact-finding journey in western Rakhine state, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan wrote the Myanmar regime risked fueling extremism by its actions and restrictions on the Rohingya.

The al-Qaeda demand for jihadists to journey to the Myanmar region and engage in anti-government action is unwelcome, to say the least. It specifically called on “mujahid brothers in the Philippines” to punish the Myanmar government. The call to action dredged up tired and stock phrases about a worldwide conspiracy against Islam, as well as plots to wipe out Muslims to seize their property.

The terrorist group, along with a home-grown, violent group claiming to be the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (ARSA), have hogged the spotlight. Other, more important players now are calling for direct action to help Rohingya people, oppose Ms Suu Kyi’s policies — or both. First and most importantly, a prominent Iranian lawmaker has called on the Muslim world to raise an expeditionary force to rescue the Rohingya.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Motahar’s rabble-rousing, unsurprisingly, was grasped and expanded upon by Mohsen Rezaee, former commander of the country’s Islamic Revolution Guards and now head of the Expediency Council.

He called for “a Nato-like joint military force” comprising troops from Syria, Iraq and Sunni Turkey.

Rival Saudi Arabia, stung by Iran’s call for action, said it had done more than any country to help the Rohingya. Turkey, which has actually sent large amounts of aid through Bangladesh, now is in a war of words with Riyadh.

None of this is good news for Myanmar and Ms Suu Kyi. It is detrimental to Asean, including Thailand. Seeing nations of the Muslim community fighting over who is the most sympathetic to the Rohingya is almost as bad as terrorists and would-be mujahideen volunteers actually appearing in Bangladesh or Myanmar.

At the moment, the issue of the Rohingya is raising the same type of passion as the Palestinian cause of the recent past — an issue seemingly far away but which exploded into terrorism, even in Thailand.

If Myanmar takes any of this dangerous action and rhetoric seriously, it is not showing the world it is concerned. Ms Suu Kyi could have prevented all of it by responding in a positive and humanitarian way to the very real problems faced by her Rohingya population.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson struck the right note last week when he said it is “vital for her to use the moral capital” she gained around the world during her bleak years of house arrest.

The suffering of the Rohingya now has been made unacceptable by Myanmar army atrocities and what the UN calls genocide.

The danger is that if Ms Suu Kyi fails to act, other and more bloody minded groups and countries will.

(http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1326279/terror-turns-to-myanmar )

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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.”

Terror Turns to Myanmar