Indonesia intervenes in effort to halt Myanmar violence against Rohingya Muslims

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 6 years ago

Indonesia intervenes in effort to halt Myanmar violence against Rohingya Muslims

Updated

Jakarta: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has sent his foreign minister to Myanmar to urge its government to halt violence against Rohingya Muslims, he said on Sunday after a petrol bomb was thrown at the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta.

The embassy attack, which police said caused a small fire, came in the early hours of Sunday morning against the backdrop of mounting anger in Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, over violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

A police officer patrolling a street behind the embassy spotted a fire on the second floor of the building at around 2.35am Jakarta time and alerted police officers guarding the front gate, a Jakarta police statement said.

A group of activists had held a protest at the embassy on Saturday, calling for the Nobel Prize Committee to withdraw the Nobel Peace Prize from Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, state news agency Antara wrote.

Indonesian activists during a protest in front of Myanmar's embassy in Jakarta on Saturday.

Indonesian activists during a protest in front of Myanmar's embassy in Jakarta on Saturday.Credit: AP

Protests continued on Sunday in Jakarta's city centre, with dozens of people calling for the Indonesian government to take an active involvement in efforts to end human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

President Jokowi, as he is popularly known, said he has sent Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to Myanmar to hold "intensive communications" with involved parties, including the United Nations.

"Earlier this afternoon the Foreign Minister has departed to Myanmar to ask the Myanmar government to stop and prevent violence, to provide protection to all citizens, including Muslims in Myanmar, and to give access to humanitarian aid," President Jokowi said.

He added that concrete actions were needed and the Indonesian government was committed to helping solve the humanitarian crisis. The foreign minister will also travel to Bangladesh to prepare additional aid for refugees there.

Advertisement
A poster with fake blood after a theatrical performance in Jakarta on Sunday depicting the violence against Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar.

A poster with fake blood after a theatrical performance in Jakarta on Sunday depicting the violence against Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar.Credit: AP

The treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar's roughly 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing leader Aung San Suu Kyi, accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the minority that has long complained of persecution.

Myanmar on Sunday urged Muslims in the troubled north-west to cooperate in the search for insurgents it says has coordinated attacks on security posts and forced the army crackdown.

Members of Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority after crossing over to the Bangladesh side of the border on Saturday.

Members of Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority after crossing over to the Bangladesh side of the border on Saturday.Credit: AP

Aid agencies estimate that about 73,000 Rohingya have fled into neighbouring Bangladesh in the last week, while clashes have killed nearly 400 people during the past week.

Islamic villagers were asked to cooperate as security forces searched for Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) fighters, a report in state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar said on Sunday.

Newly arrived Rohingya refugees in Ukhia, Bangladesh, on Sunday.

Newly arrived Rohingya refugees in Ukhia, Bangladesh, on Sunday.Credit: AP

ARSA has been declared a terrorist organisation by the government and claimed responsibility for last week's attacks.

While Myanmar officials blamed the ARSA for the burning of homes, Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh and human rights watchers say that a campaign of arson and killings by the army is trying to force out the minority group.

Aid officials say relief camps in Bangladesh are reaching capacity as thousands of Rohingya refugees continue to pour into Bangladesh as they flee violence in western Myanmar.

Aid officials say relief camps in Bangladesh are reaching capacity as thousands of Rohingya refugees continue to pour into Bangladesh as they flee violence in western Myanmar.Credit: AP

In Bangladesh, authorities said that at least 53 bodies of Rohingya had either been found floating in the Naf river or washed up on the beach in the past week.

Loading

A senior leader of al-Qaeda's Yemeni branch has called for attacks on Myanmar authorities in support of the Rohingya.

Reuters

Most Viewed in World

Loading