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Big talk but little action on Rohingya


rooster59

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Big talk but little action on Rohingya

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee 
The Nation Weekend 
Chiang Mai

 

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Asean foreign ministers met in Chiang Mai on Friday, and the topic of resolving the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar was on top of the agenda. Photo courtesy of Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat

 

Though the crisis was subject of intense discussion discussed at the Asean meet, few decisions were made

 

While Asean has shown its willingness and readiness to help solve the Rohingya crisis and ensure the safe return of thousands of refugees, the situation in Rakhine state is not safe enough for stakeholders to get to work, Foreign Minister Don Pramuwinai said on Friday.

 

An intense discussion on the violence in Rakhine was held during the retreat meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Chiang Mai, in which they reflected on the 10-nation bloc’s decision at last year’s Singapore summit to help ease the crisis.

 

Asean has commissioned its Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) to help provide assistance to the displaced Rohingya. 

 

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Team waiting to be dispatched

 

Asean Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, who visited Myanmar from December 16-18, briefed the ministers about the terms of reference for the Needs Assessment Team to be dispatched to the strife-torn state.

 

More than 700,000 Rohingya people have fled from Rakhine state since August 2017, when militant attacks to security outposts prompted a military “clearance operation”. They suffered atrocities including arson, torture, murder, gang rape and massacre while fleeing to the Bangladesh border.

 

While the United Nations and United States loudly protested against these actions, some even calling it a “genocide”, Asean refrained from making any judgements and only commented on the need for a humanitarian response. 

 

Myanmar and Bangladesh reached a deal to repatriate the first batch of refugees mid-November, but failed to implement it due to resistance from refugees who feared for their safety.

 

The Muslim minority are treated as outsiders in the predominantly Buddhist state, where they are called “Bengali” as a rejection of their Myanmar heritage, and refused citizenship.

 

Myanmar delegates at the Chiang Mai meeting briefed their Asean counterparts on their perspective of the situation, but the details were not made publicly available.

 

While the terms of reference of the needs assessment team was endorsed by a meeting of high-level strategic coordinators during Lim’s visit to Myanmar last month, a schedule for the team to visit Rakhine for its mission could not be fixed.

 

The initial schedule set for January 12-26 was postponed, as the situation on the ground is not conducive for the team to get in, Don told a press briefing on Friday. He added that a new timeline could not be fixed.

 

However, Don said the discussion on the issue fully supported the role of Asean in helping the Myanmar government in the repatriation process, adding, “[we] hope it will take place as soon as possible”.

 

In addition to collective efforts, Don said that many Asean members, including Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, had provided assistance to Myanmar on the matter. Thailand has some agriculture projects in Rakhine state, he noted.

 

In his press statement issued as chair of the meeting, Don said Asean had “stressed the need to find a comprehensive and durable solution to address the root cause of the conflict, and to create a conducive environment so affected communities can rebuild their lives”.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30362518

 

The Nation: 2019-01-19

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'Needs Assessment Team'.

 

What does that mean? Assess how many kids need shoes>>>>>

 

Seems to me the first discussion need to be totally about stopping the violence etc., and finding real workable answers to citizenship, location etc

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On 1/19/2019 at 11:45 AM, rooster59 said:

While the United Nations and United States loudly protested against these actions, some even calling it a “genocide”, Asean refrained from making any judgements and only commented on the need for a humanitarian response. 

Think the right phrase is ethnic cleansing.  The only humanitarian response seems to be coming from Bangladesh.    Sure if there was a nifty short cut, other ASEAN nations would be keen on doing something other than talk, but until Burma refrains from ethnic cleansing, little will happen.

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Will Thai navy continue to provide assistance in relocating refugees who venture into Thai waters? Sending them on to Malaysia where they are given lifetime employment without all the hassle and paperwork of becoming legal?

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1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Think the right phrase is ethnic cleansing.  The only humanitarian response seems to be coming from Bangladesh.    Sure if there was a nifty short cut, other ASEAN nations would be keen on doing something other than talk, but until Burma refrains from ethnic cleansing, little will happen.

Not ethnic but religious cleansing for the very good reason their religion is incompatible with others.

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24 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Not ethnic but religious cleansing for the very good reason their religion is incompatible with others.

Germany,France,Canada and Sweden will take them in.send them to Europe and they will be welcomed with open arms and a new house and good benefits.in fact rent some massive ships and it'll make a good trip to start the holiday of a lifetime.its no good trying to send them to any Muslim country because they are either at war with each other or don't want their brothers and the burden.

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