Indonesia proposes formula to Myanmar as ‘domestic compulsion’ pushes it to find Rohingya solution

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has told her Bangladesh counterpart that as the largest Muslim country in the world, they have “domestic compulsion” to respond to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar so that it can be resolved peacefully.

She said she had put forward a ‘4+1’ formula to the Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to Dhaka on Monday.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, however, said Bangladesh “should not be the victim of repeated instability and violence in Myanmar”, stressing a durable solution to the crisis in Rakhine state.

Marsudi sat with Ali on Tuesday afternoon before her meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a less than 12-hour visit in Dhaka for talks following her visit to Myanmar where she urged Suu Kyi to end ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

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.

Bangladesh is already grappling with the influx as nearly 500 000 Rohingyas are living here for decades after being denied citizenship in Burma.

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

A Molotov cocktail was also thrown at the Myanmar embassy in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Sunday.

Marsudi earlier in December last year visited both Myanmar and Bangladesh following a similar situation.

According to the foreign ministry, she informed Mahmood Ali that during her meeting with Suu Kyi on Monday, she conveyed Indonesia’s concern over the violence and offered them a set of recommendations which they dub as “4+1” formula.

Marsudi mentioned that the restoration of stability and public order, maximum self-restraint and non-use of force, protection for all, without exception or segregation based on ethnicity or religion and open access to humanitarian aid are the main four recommendations whereas that last ‘1’ refers to the implementation of recommendations made in the final report of the Kofi Annan Commission.

She also explained to Suu Kyi Indonesia’s position that based on their domestic compulsion as the largest Muslim country in the world they would work “concertedly” with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

After her meeting with the prime minister, Marsudi told journalists in a brief statement that the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State “shall be ended” and that her country is “ready to contribute”.

She said 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.

 

‘No victim of violence’

Mahmood Ali, during the meeting with his Indonesian counterpart at the state guest house Padma, said Bangladesh should not be the victim of repeated instability and violence in Myanmar.

He also stressed on a “durable solution” to the problem in the Rakhine State can only be resolved through the full implementation of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission, the foreign ministry said.

The foreign minister expressed “deep concern” over the influx since Aug 25 to save their lives.

“He regretted that current influx has added to the burden of hosting around four hundred thousand of Myanmar nationals for decades.”

Mahmood Ali also referred to the government’s policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards violent extremism and terrorism.

He said Bangladesh does not allow any militant group or non-state actor to use her territory for any kind of activities inimical to her neighbors and has been cooperating with Myanmar on security issues.

He disclosed that Bangladesh also offered humanitarian help to the Myanmar government by providing financial aid to erect cyclone shelters in the Rakhine State and ambulances for hospitals.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam was also present during the meeting.