Indonesia Worries About Rohingya Muslims After Coup

Jakarta, MINA – Chairman of Indonesian House Representatives Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP), Fadli Zon, said he was concerned about the coup carried out by the Myanmar military on Monday, especially regarding the fate of Rohingya Muslim ethnicity.

Fadli is worried that the political crisis in Myanmar will hinder the resolution of human tragedy that befell the Rohingya ethnicity. That is the press release received by MINA on Wednesday.

Since 2017, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya have been displaced and fled to various countries, including Indonesia due to Myanmar’s military crackdown. The action by Myanmar military is clearly a brutal violation of human rights.

“In fact, I have met in person in Geneva with the former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Kofi Annan who initiated the investigation through the Annan Report. Annan is very concerned about the dominance of the military in the formation of Myanmar’s civilian government, “he said.

In the era of civilian leadership, he continued, the Rohingya problem could not be resolved properly because the civilian leaders were afraid of the military.

Now, with the military coup and political crisis, the Rohingya case will be increasingly ignored by the Myanmar government. That is why he urged all parties to the conflict in Myanmar to refrain.

He emphasized that ASEAN was demanded to be able to interpret the principle of non-interference in a more progressive manner. This is because so far this principle has shackled ASEAN to take meaningful actions, if there is a conflict between its member countries.

“We really have to respect the sovereignty of other countries. However, the principle of non-interference should not be interpreted as saying that ASEAN is being passive about the situation in Myanmar, ”explained Fadli.

“I encourage the Indonesian government to initiate the dialogue. Of course, the House will strongly support this step as a form of commitment to democracy and human rights,” he concluded.

The Myanmar military on Monday, carried out a coup against the Myanmar government.

A number of Myanmar civilian leaders, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, along with a number of state officials, and other political figures were arrested and detained by the military.

The event of taking power from the government which was just elected democratically has also provoked worldwide concern. All parties consider it bad news for the future of democracy in the country.

Fadli assessed that the coup in the Golden Pagoda Country was not only a democratic setback for Myanmar but also could influence the world’s perception of democratic practices in ASEAN. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)