Indonesian minister says the Rohingya problem is part of process of democratisation and is affecting other countries in the region.
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The conflict in Myanmar between majority Buddhists and stateless Rohingya Muslims has an impact on the wider region and the government must rebuild trust between the communities, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Wednesday.
“It is a classic case of an internal problem with regional ramifications. We're seeing an increased outflow of people from Myanmar affecting Indonesia, affecting Malaysia, for example,” Natalegawa told journalists in Bangkok.
Some of the tension in Myanmar has reached Indonesia and Malaysia, he said, referring to a fatal fight in an Indonesian immigration centre in April and the recent deaths of four Buddhists in Malaysia.
Two bouts of violence between ethnic Rakhine people and minority Rohingya in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State last year left scores dead, thousands of buildings burnt and some 140,000 people displaced, almost all of them Muslims.
The violence raised concerns about the Myanmar government’s commitment to a peaceful transition after half a century of harsh military rule.
There are about 1.33 million Rohingya in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, formerly Burma. Despite living there for generations, they are not recognised as citizens by the government and rights groups say they face severe persecution and discrimination.
“We're now encouraging the government of Myanmar to address (the issue) in a fundamental way so that the Rohingya can obtain the kind of status and legal rights similar and akin to the rest of their countrymen,” said Natalegawa, who has visited Rakhine state.
“We will continue (the dialogue with the Myanmar government) and hopefully we can make progress sooner rather than later,” he added.
HUGE DISTRUST
Rights groups and observers have expressed concern that the violence last year could grow into a broader conflict with Muslims.
In March this year, at least 44 people died and 13,000 were displaced - again, mostly Muslims - during riots in Meikhtila, a city in central Myanmar.
In May, Buddhist mobs burned and terrorized Muslim neighbourhoods in the northern city of Lashio, and unrest was reported in other towns too.
Natalegawa said the conflicts in Myanmar are “part and parcel of the democratisation process” and compared them to the communal conflicts Indonesia experienced during its own transition to democracy.
The plight of the Rohingya is “a key issue” within ASEAN, and the Myanmar government’s treatment of Muslims in general “will constitute one of the main reference points in wanting to see progress in Myanmar."
In the medium and long term, there is a need for economic opportunities so the communities can earn a living, he said.
“Above all I detected a huge sense of distrust between the communities. The Rakhines and the Rohingya are living side by side physically in terms of villages and yet not communicating with one another,” he added.
He said he was confident that Myanmar’s chairmanship of the regional bloc ASEAN in 2014 would be beneficial. "I am of the view that Myanmar’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014 will be that additional pull, additional factor that will accelerate the process of Myanmar's reforms,” he said.
“The genie is out of the bottle. There's no turning back."
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