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Bangladeshi border guards
patrol the banks of the Naf River
near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to prevent
Rohingya refugees
crossing from Myanmar on Nov. 22. © AP
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Myanmar to brief ASEAN amid alarm over Rakhine
Aung San Suu Kyi responds to regional concern over Rakhine
with unprecedented call for ASEAN meeting.
Kavi Chongkittavorn,
Contributing writer
BANGKOK -- Myanmar's de facto
leader, State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, has called for
a special informal meeting with foreign ministers of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations on Dec. 19 in Yangon to discuss international concerns
over the situation in Rakhine state.
It is the first time that
Myanmar has initiated a meeting with other countries to discuss the sensitive
issue of its treatment of the Muslim population. ASEAN officials saw the move
as a sign of concern within Suu Kyi's fledgling administration of mounting
international criticism over the recent crackdown on the country's Rohingya
Muslim minority.
Many governments and
humanitarian organizations have expressed alarm at the harsh military response
following attacks on Oct. 9 by Muslim militants on police posts along the
country's western border between Rakhine State and Bangladesh.
Myanmar conveyed its decision
to call a meeting during an informal gathering of senior ASEAN officials in
Bali over the weekend. Originally, the Indonesian foreign ministry had
planned at the Bali meeting to discuss the outlook for ASEAN in the changing
global environment, particularly in light of policy challenges under the
incoming Trump administration.
However, reports of the
deteriorating security situation in Rakhine, including the exodus of estimated
20,000-plus Rohingya refugees from Rakhine to Bangladesh in the weeks after the
Oct. 9 attacks, figured prominently in some discussions at the Bali meeting.
Reports last week of military abuses as well as refugee flows from Rakhine
attracted blistering criticism from Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak of Suu
Kyi and her National League of Democracy-led government.
Regional concerns
Among ASEAN countries, Malaysia
as well as Indonesia - both with predominantly Muslim populations -- have
registered particular concern about the plight of Myanmar's mainly stateless
Rohingya Muslims.
On Dec. 6, Indonesia's Foreign
Minister Retno Marsudi flew to Naypyitaw at Suu Kyi's invitation to meet with
her counterpart and convey Indonesia's strong concern about the situation in
Rakhine State.
A senior ASEAN official said
that Retno and Suu Kyi "openly discussed" the latest developments in
Rakhine State, and that the Indonesian minister had emphasized the importance
of restoring peace and stability to enable the implementation of inclusive
development initiatives. Retno also urged Myanmar to facilitate flows of
humanitarian aid to Muslim communities in Rakhine State, after the suspension
of all food and medical aid in the weeks following the attacks.
During the Bali meeting,
Myanmar's representative Myint Thu, director of the foreign ministry's ASEAN
department, announced that Myanmar would call for a special retreat so that Suu
Kyi could personally brief her fellow ASEAN ministers on the situation in
Rakhine State. The meeting would take place in Yangon under the current Lao
chairmanship of ASEAN, he noted.