Rakhine humanitarian crisis ‘shall be ended’, Indonesian FM says in Bangladesh

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State “shall be ended” and that her country is “ready to contribute”.

In a brief media statement after her meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Tuesday, Marsudi said Indonesian President Joko Widodo sent her to Bangladesh to convey three things. 
“One is to convey the sympathy of Indonesia to the burden of Bangladesh on the refugee issue, second one is to convey Indonesia’s readiness to support in easing the burden of the government of Bangladesh,” she said. The third was to discuss the situation on the ground.

She said Hasina agreed in principle to take Indonesia’s support. “We’ll continue to discuss what sort of support Indonesia will give."

The short visit of the foreign minister follows mounting anger in the Southeast Asian nation, home to the world's biggest Muslim population, over violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Marsudi did not take any questions after her brief statement at Pan Pacific Sonargoan Hotel after her meeting with the prime minister at the Ganabhaban.

She will leave Dhaka later at night.

Nearly 125,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since Aug 25, following an army crackdown triggered by attacks by Rohingya insurgents in Buddhist-majority Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine State.

Rohingya refugees sit as they are temporarily held by the Border Guard Bangladesh. Reuters

The Rakhine violence has killed at least 400 people, most of them Rohingya insurgents, according to the Myanmar government, leading to the exodus of Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh that is struggling to cope with the influx.

About 500,000 Rohingyas are living in Bangladesh for decades as Myanmar denies them citizenship.

Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia and Turkey, who are trying to pressure Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi to end the crisis, are also offering help to Bangladesh to deal with the massive inflow of people from across its 271km-long border with Myanmar.

Marsudi earlier on Aug 29 discussed the situation over telephone with Mahmood Ali.

Ali welcomed Indonesia’s willingness to engage with Myanmar to find ways to contain the escalation of violence and find a solution to the protracted problem, the foreign ministry later said in a statement after the new Indonesian ambassador in Dhaka met the foreign minister.

The Indonesian foreign minister came to Dhaka last December after a similar situation to hold talks on the Rohingya issue. She also visited camps in Cox’s Bazar where the refugees had been staying.

Bangladesh is stressing the implementation of the recommendations of the “Rakhine Advisory Commission” led by Annan for a durable solution to the problem of the Rakhine State.

During her meeting with Suu Kyi in Myanmar on Monday, according to Indonesian media, she proposed  a formula named 'Formula 4 + 1' for Rakhine State to restore peace and allow immediate access to humanitarian assistance there.

Those are restoring stability and security, maximum restraint and non-violence, protection to all persons in the Rakhine State, regardless of race and religion, and the importance of immediate access to humanitarian assistance.

"The first four elements are the main elements that must be done immediately so that the crisis of humanity and security does not worsen," she had explained to State Counsellor Suu Kyi.