Nov 9, 2020 | FoRB, RM, Statements
Click here to read this statement in Bahasa Indonesian.
BANGKOK – The government of Myanmar must ensure that the human rights of the Rohingya community are protected and respected while safe conditions should be in place in Rakhine State before any refugees are repatriated from Bangladesh, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Progressive Voice said today.
The organizations made the call as Southeast Asian leaders are preparing to meet in Bangkok, Thailand for the 34th ASEAN Summit from 20-23 June 2019. Earlier this month, a leaked copy of a preliminary needs assessment in Rakhine State carried out by an ASEAN body failed to acknowledge Myanmar military atrocities and ongoing human rights abuses against the Rohingya.
“ASEAN needs to stop turning a blind eye to Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya, and cease lending legitimacy to the repatriation process. We all know the Rohingya population in Bangladesh and elsewhere won’t be returning home voluntarily until the situation on the ground in Rakhine State dramatically alters,” said Eva Sundari, Indonesian MP and APHR Board Member.
“A huge political shift is needed for things to start moving in the right direction. Not one thing that the Rohingya themselves have identified as prerequisites for their return, and which has been echoed by rights groups and other experts, has been taken on board in any serious way by the Myanmar authorities.”
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled from Myanmar into Bangladesh after the Myanmar military launched a vicious “clearance operation” in August 2017, killing thousands of people and burning villages on the ground. A UN-mandated fact-finding mission in September 2018 called for the Myanmar military top brass to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
On 7 June 2019, a copy of the “ASEAN Preliminary Needs Assessment for Repatriation in Rakhine State” report by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and their Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ASEAN-ERAT) was leaked to the media.
The draft report ignores the root causes of why hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee their homes, including the atrocities committed by Myanmar security forces and their proxies as well as the institutionalized discrimination imposed by Myanmar authorities against the minority in Rakhine State for decades. Furthermore, the draft report fails to mention the word “Rohingya”, instead calling the community “Muslims”.
“Unless concrete steps towards international accountability for the genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are taken, ongoing impunity will only embolden the Myanmar military to commit more such atrocities, and any returned refugees will be vulnerable to the same violence that caused them to flee in the first place; this will be like sending them back to the killing fields to be re-victimized,” said Khin Ohmar, Chair of Progressive Voice Advisory Board.
Clashes between the Myanmar security forces and the Arakan Army ethnic armed organization have displaced at least 30,000 people since the beginning of the year, further underlining the precariousness of the situation in Rakhine State.
As the ASEAN report on the refugee repatriation process is expected to be officially released to the public in the coming weeks, APHR, FORUM-ASIA and Progressive Voice call on ASEAN to ensure that the bloc does not become complicit in the forced or premature repatriation of Rohingya refugees.
ASEAN must also take meaningful steps toward the promotion and protection of the rights of the Rohingya community, including through acknowledging their identity, restoring their full citizenship, and through ensuring their participation in all decisions concerning them.
“ASEAN has so far remained shamefully silent in the face of the serious human rights violations taking place in one of its Member States. With the second anniversary of the Myanmar military’s latest ‘clearance operation’ approaching, continued inaction by ASEAN will send a dangerous signal that the bloc is indifferent to the plight of the Rohingya and that human rights violations can be carried out with impunity,” said John Samuel, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
Nov 9, 2020 | FoRB, RM, Statements
The Asia Pacific Partnership for Atrocity Prevention (APPAP) is an alliance of organisations working to promote human rights and support atrocity prevention in the region.
The undersigned members of APPAP hold grave concerns for civilians, and ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar, including the stateless Rohingyas, following reports of increased violence in Rakhine State between Arakan Army insurgents and the Tatmadaw, as well as violent attacks on Muslims during the Ramadan period in Yangon. We call on the Myanmar Government and the military to uphold the responsibility to protect all citizens and vulnerable populations from atrocities.
A number of recent indicators, including threats against minority groups and a flare up of violence, may signal an increased risk of forthcoming atrocities. In mid-May, threats of violence by nationalist groups forced the closure of three places of worship in the capital Yangon, temporarily being used by Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Authorities have failed to hold perpetrators accountable.
Local human rights defenders and civil society organisations are alert to the escalation. Our concerns are reinforced by Amnesty International’s new report which clearly documents a surge in violence in Rakhine State during the first half of 2019. With civilians bearing the brunt of clashes between Myanmar’s military and non-state armed group, the Arakan Army, we are calling for the government to lift restrictions on delivery of humanitarian aid, and to provide access to the region for human rights groups and journalists.
Several underlying risk factors of atrocity are present in Myanmar, including a history of government instability and authoritarian rule, along with the perpetration of human rights abuses over a long period of time. These factors are compounded by crimes committed against Rohingya Muslims in 2017–which may amount to genocide–along with official denial by the Myanmar Government.
The government continues to claim it did not have a policy of ethnic cleansing or genocide, and denies the widespread evidence of sexual violence committed by the Tatmadaw against Muslim civilians in Rakhine State. This is despite numerous testimonies documenting systematic sexual violence and reports of Rohingya women giving birth to babies born of rape in the refugee camps of Bangladesh. The possible displacement of civilians as a result of further conflict would exacerbate the ongoing displacement of hundreds of thousands and place additional pressure on resources.
Along with government denial, impunity for atrocity crimes continues in Myanmar, with the early release of seven soldiers convicted of murdering Rohingya civilians in 2017. The men, who were the only military personnel held legally accountable for crimes against Myanmar’s Muslim minority, were freed from prison after less than a year into their ten year sentence. Impunity for past crimes has a strong influence on the likelihood of future atrocities.
Communal tensions between the Buddhist Bamar majority and other ethnic and religious minority groups in the country may increase significantly given the arrest on sedition charges of Buddhist nationalist monk Wirathu. We are concerned that tensions between religious groups may become 2 increasingly volatile in the lead up to elections in 2020 and that division over constitutional amendments, promised during the 2015 election campaign with the aim of bringing the country’s laws in line with democratic norms, may inflame tensions further.
At its recent meeting in Jakarta, APPAP’s Working Group on Hate Speech and Incitement to Violence examined the authorities’ calculated use of hate speech, and the problematic role of social media in facilitating atrocities against the Rohingya minority in 2017. It is likely that deliberate polarisation, scapegoating of minorities, and incitement to participation in atrocities, especially via social media, will be repeated as elections approach. The Working Group agreed to support training for humanitarian actors in preventing and responding to hate speech and incitement, with special importance placed on social media.
The Myanmar Government has a responsibility to protect vulnerable populations and to ensure accountability and justice for atrocity crimes, which must begin with an acknowledgment of past crimes and efforts to deal with large-scale displacement and statelessness. The escalation in attacks over recent months foreshadows the possibility of future atrocities fuelled by hate speech.
We hereby call on the Myanmar Government to exercise its full authority in preventing further incitement to violence and hate speech against religious minorities, and for the Tatmadaw to immediately put an end to attacking civilians in its efforts to contain attacks by ethnic armed groups in the country. We also call on ASEAN to ensure that the Myanmar Government complies with its promise to hold accountable those who committed atrocities in Rakhine State.
For further information, please contact:
Alex Bellamy
Director, Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
E: a.bellamy@uq.edu.au
Signatories
Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
The Habibie Centre
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
Human Rights Working Group Indonesia
Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) Indonesia
Humaniti Malaysia
ALTSEAN-Burma
Initiatives for International Dialogue, The Philippines
Belun Timor
Institute for Peace and Democracy (Bali)
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace
Center for International Law, Korea National Diplomatic Academy
Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University
Research Centre on the United Nations and International Organizations
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Research Initiatives Bangladesh
Nov 9, 2020 | FoRB, Opinion Articles, RM
By Eva Kusuma Sundari
MP, Indonesia
Earlier this month, after a Myanmar government-led visit for diplomats to villages in northern Rakhine state, then-Indonesian ambassador to Myanmar Ito Sumardi announced he found no evidence of any mass graves or any indication of acts amounting to ethnic cleansing.
While the outgoing ambassador clarified the observation was made based solely on what he saw firsthand during the state-sponsored visit, Sumardi’s statement failed to address evidence of grave human rights violations by Myanmar security forces that have been well documented by human rights organizations, journalists, and others since the start of a crackdown last August. That crackdown spawned a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions that has killed at least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims, according to Doctors Without Borders, and driven at least 688,000 more into Bangladesh.
By failing to speak to this wider context, the comments appeared to undermine Indonesia’s earlier positive moves in reaction to the Rohingya crisis, letting Myanmar off the hook for its actions. Previously, Indonesia’s approach emphasized engaging in Myanmar through frank discussions about the situation.
For instance, soon after the start of the military crackdown, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi traveled to Myanmar to meet State Counsellor Aung Suu Kyi and military Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. In discussions with both, she raised Indonesia’s concerns about the crisis and submitted a proposal aimed at restoring stability and preventing further violence. She also made a similar visit at the end of 2016 during an earlier wave of violence affecting the Rohingya in Myanmar that began in October of that year.
More recently, Indonesia has worked to support refugees in Bangladesh. In late January, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo became the first head of state to visit the Rohingya refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar district. Indonesia was also one of the first countries to dispatch food aid and volunteers to support humanitarian work in the camps, and President Jokowi has pledged to sustain this humanitarian support.
But while such assistance is necessary to respond to refugees’ existing needs, we must not forget that the Rohingya crisis is, at its root, a human rights challenge. The ongoing persecution the Rohingya face in Myanmar includes a range of serious rights abuses, including lack of citizenship, limits to freedom of movement and restrictions on access to basic services like education and healthcare — all of which must be tackled if the crisis is to be addressed.
[easy-tweet tweet=”We must not forget that the Rohingya crisis is, at its root, a human rights challenge” user=”aseanmp”]
As a member state of the ASEAN, Indonesia has the chance to take on a coordinating role for the regional bloc and to promote a genuine, holistic approach to addressing the root causes of the crisis and promoting long-term, sustainable solutions. This includes support for the continued implementation of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State’s recommendations, which address some of the key concerns, including access to citizenship, freedom of movement, and livelihoods.
Indonesia should also seize the opportunity to break ASEAN’s tradition of repeatedly invoking the non-interference principle on the Rohingya crisis, and to instead, work to establish a clear strategic action plan that will provide real and tangible solutions to finally put an end to the decades-long cycle of persecution, violence, and displacement. In addition, Indonesia must not shy away from difficult conversations about the Rohingya crisis in direct engagement with Myanmar’s government.
Today, Indonesia remains as one of the few countries in the world that maintains friendly bilateral ties with Myanmar and is able to have frank conversations with both Myanmar’s civilian government and military on the situation in Rakhine.
Particularly as discussions about repatriation continue bilaterally between the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh, Indonesia should work to ensure that no refugees are returned to Myanmar against their will, and that any who do return will not be subject to the same persecution and abuses that led them to flee in the first place. Having visited the refugee camps in Bangladesh, top Indonesian officials, including the Foreign Minister and the President, are in a position to understand the challenges on the ground, as well as the Rohingya refugees’ needs. They should ensure that these refugees’ voices are included in any further discussions of repatriation.
Our country has what it takes to lead ASEAN on this issue and work with Myanmar and resolve the Rohingya crisis. Doing so would help solidify Indonesia’s leading role as a promoter of democracy and human rights in the region. Humanitarian assistance is critical, but it is no substitute for a genuine effort to resolve the drivers at the root of the crisis through dialogue and action at the regional level.
Despite what the Myanmar government has tried to argue, Rohingya are members of the ASEAN Community, and Indonesia must directly confront the abuses that have been committed against them.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Despite what the Myanmar government has tried to argue, Rohingya are members of the ASEAN Community” user=”aseanmp”]
This article was originally published in The Jakarta Post.
Nov 9, 2020 | FoRB, RM, Statements
JAKARTA – More than 130 lawmakers from across Southeast Asia today demanded the international community bring officials in Myanmar to justice for atrocity crimes committed against the Rohingya population of Rakhine State.
In the joint statement released today, 132 sitting MPs from five countries*, including 22 members of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), called on members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Since Myanmar is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC does not have jurisdiction in the country and only the UNSC can trigger an investigation by the Court.
“One year has passed since the Myanmar military launched its murderous operation in Rakhine State, yet we are no closer to seeing those responsible brought to justice. As Myanmar is clearly both unwilling and unable to investigate itself, we are now at a stage where the international community must step in to ensure accountability,” said APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament.
“I stand together with 131 of my elected peers in calling on the members of the UNSC to immediately refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC. Those in Myanmar responsible for these horrific crimes must be held to account; they cannot be left free to commit the same abuses again in the future.”
Regional lawmakers recognised the crucial role played by their own governments in pursuing accountability. They urged members states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Indonesia, which will take a seat on the UNSC next year, to press the Myanmar government and military to end all forms of human rights violations against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.
The regional lawmakers also urged the international community to support the calls of Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, to establish an international accountability mechanism that aims to impartially investigate human rights violations in the country.
Tomorrow, 25 August 2018, marks the one-year anniversary of the Myanmar’s military launch of an operation in Rakhine State in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on police posts. Security forces and their proxies killed thousands of Rohingya, burned villages to the ground, committed widespread sexual violence and drove more than 700,000 people to flee into Bangladesh.
Although human rights groups have credibly documented violations against Rohingya that amount to crimes against humanity, Myanmar officials have largely ignored that any abuses have taken place. While Nay Pyi Taw has announced a “commission of inquiry” into the events in Rakhine State, Myanmar has a long track record of establishing similar bodies which have almost never led to any genuine accountability.
This lack of accountability is affecting people in other ethnic areas too, including Kachin and Shan State, where the Myanmar military has committed war crimes and displaced thousands.
“Time has run out for Myanmar’s internal procedures which have only meant to deflect international pressure and are not mandated to seek genuine accountability. ASEAN countries must set aside their destructive ‘non-interference’ policy and take genuine action. Justice for the Rohingya is an issue that goes beyond regional politics – it concerns humanity as a whole. We cannot allow these atrocities to take place in one of our member countries with complete impunity,” said APHR Board Member, Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of the Indonesian House of Representative.
“The fact that more than 100 sitting parliamentarians from across the region are willing to speak up shows the level of regional support for the Rohingya, and for human rights. Governments must now follow suit and condemn Myanmar for its horrific policies and practices. We are combining our voices with all those around the globe that are demanding the world stand up to atrocity crimes and bring those responsible to account.”
* Countries of endorsing parliamentarians: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste.
Click here to read the joint MP statement in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, or Khmer.
Click here to read this press release in Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, Khmer, or Thai.
Nov 9, 2020 | FoRB, RM, Statements
JAKARTA – Regional lawmakers welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday, which ruled that it could exercise jurisdiction over the alleged crime of deportation of the Rohingya population, despite Myanmar not being a party to the Rome Statute.
“This is a milestone decision and a step forward towards accountability for the alleged atrocity crimes against the Rohingya population,” said APHR Chair Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament.
“This ruling, however, is for now just on the jurisdiction to investigate around the alleged crime of deportation and we must be cautious in our optimism: it remains imperative that we continue to seek other international justice mechanisms, as well as the United Nations Security Council referral of Myanmar to the ICC for the wide array of atrocity crimes its leaders have been accused, including genocide and other crimes against humanity. This doesn’t mean the international community can take our collective foot off the pedal.”
On 6 September, the ICC found that, while the underlying “coercive acts” under the alleged crime against humanity of deportation of Rohingya took place in a State not party to the Rome Statute, the Court nevertheless could assert jurisdiction as an element of the crime had also occurred on the territory of a State party to the Statute –in this case, Bangladesh. The Court also concluded that such jurisdiction extended to other crimes of humanity under the Rome Statute, particularly those on the persecution of a group and other inhumane acts.
“The ICC now has the opportunity to initiate a full investigation. This means bringing those responsible for the alleged human rights violations to account and possibly putting an end to the longstanding discrimination and injustices this community has faced in Myanmar,” said APHR Board Member Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia.
“This will undoubtedly bring some much-needed hope and optimism for the more than one million Rohingya who have suffered under decades of brutal tyranny in Myanmar. We lookforward to the recommendations of the preliminary examination concerning the crimes allegedly committed against the Rohingya people and hope for a full investigation and trial of those accountable for all alleged crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC.”
In the meantime, the international community, including ASEAN states, must continue pushing for other potential mechanisms that could bring accountability and justice for all those victims of crimes across Myanmar and ensure those displaced can return, APHR said.
“More than one million Rohingya have been forced from their homes over decades of discrimination and violence. International accountability is an important step towards justice but must be pursued alongside other efforts within Myanmar to ensure that those refugees and displaced persons can return home in a voluntary and dignified manner with assurances for their safety and full access to rights as citizens of Myanmar,” Sundari said.
In August, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar found patterns of gross human rights violations committed in Rakhine, Kachin, and Shan States, and called for the investigation and prosecution of Myanmar’s top military generals. The Myanmar government has since continued to deny such allegations and have refused to accept the findings of the mission. It is due to deliver its full report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 18 September.
Click here to read this statement in Bahasa Indonesia.
Klik di sini untuk membaca pernyataan ini dalam Bahasa Indonesia
