May 09, 2014
Asean must
give serious consideration to the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar, especially
as Asean heads of state and leaders will gather at Naypyidaw on May 10 and 11
for the 24th Asean Summit.
It is also
an appropriate time as Myanmar serves as the Asean Chair for 2014 and the theme
is “Moving Forward in Unity to a Peaceful and Prosperous Community”.
Resolving
inter-ethnic, inter-religious conflict especially being experienced by
minorities across Asean requires some formal mechanism of reconciliation based
on moderation. This must become a major task of the Asean body in order to
build a people-centred Asean where all communities irrespective of majority or
minority can experience peace and prosperity. This must be the Asean way.
Roundtable
discussion
On April 17,
2014 the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM), Asian Muslim Action Network (Aman)
and PROHAM hosted a Roundtable Discussion entitled “Human Rights Violations
& remedies: The Rohingya Case” at the GMM Conference Room.
About 50
people participated. We had a panel of speakers with direct experience and data
on the challenges, suffering and injustice faced by the Rohingya.
Among the
panel were Wai Wai Nu, founder of Women’s Peace Network (Arakan from Myanmar),
Debbie Stothard (coordinator for Alternative Asean Network on Burma –
AltAsean), Suthep Kristanavarian (photo journalist and author of the
publication Stateless Rohingya… Running on Empty and Eraj Sabur (Aman).
Other
participants included Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir (Sisters in Islam), Andrew
Khoo (Bar Council), Josie Fernandez, Dr Lin Mui Kiang (Proham), Jamal Ibrahaim
(founder, Media Durian Asean), Dr Nora E Rowley (Burma Human Rights), Zafar
Ahmed (Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia – Mehrom).
There were
representatives from a number of organisations, including Abim, Tenaganita,
Institute Kerjasama Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (Ikiam), Union of the World
Rohingya Organisations (UWRO) and Rohingya National Development Organisation.
The RTD was
moderated jointly by Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria
with Datuk Kuthubul Zaman providing a historico-legal overview and setting the
agenda for the discussion.
Findings of
the RTD
In the
course of the presentations and discussions we identified five major concerns
which must be at the heart of Asean seeking to find an immediate solution to
the Rohingya crisis.
First, we
recognise that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a universal
framework for the promotion and protection of human rights for all communities.
This is especially so for both minorities and dominant-majority communities.
Asean’s
demography presents a diversity of majority-minority human rights issues and
concerns.
Religious
majorities in one country find themselves as minorities in another and vice
versa. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and United
Nations instruments, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of
all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), provide rights for all with a
strong obligation of the state to protect those whose rights are being denied
or violated.
This is
relevant in Myanmar, especially in the context of the dominant Buddhist
majority and Muslim minority Rohingya. Interlinked with ethnicity and religion
are other social issues pertaining to poverty, gender inequality and
citizenship rights.
We also
heard of the many difficulties and suffering of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia
whose basic rights as stated in Convention of the Rights of Children (CRC) are
being denied, especially in terms of access to education and healthcare.
Second,
during the RTD we heard from both panel speakers and participants about major
human rights violations being faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar.
We were
briefed about the Al Jazeera documentary entitled “The Hidden Genocide” which
chronicled the 2012 violence in the Arakan states between Muslim Rohingya and
Buddhist Rakhines.
We heard
stories of systematic oppression of the people, including ethnic cleaning and
violence against the Rohingya.
We noted the
politicisation of the issues and state-sponsored religious extremism. We were
told of Rohingya being denied their identity and citizenship.
There is
also confiscation of lands and property. There are many allegations of blatant
disregard for human rights and claims that Rohingya are not treated as human
beings.
Third, we
adopted the three points highlighted by Wai Wai Nu in her presentation with regards
to the role of Myanmar authorities. These are:
To protect
Rohingya from violence and ensure that there is no denial of basic human
needs.
To recognise
and include Rohingya as one of the recognised ethnic groups as they are
not listed as one of the 135 code numbers in the National Census.
To restore
full citizenship and equal rights to Rohingya communities.
Fourth, we
adopt the additional points highlighted by Wai Wai Nu in her presentation
concerning the role of Malaysian government. These are:
To provide
access to education and healthcare facilities for Rohingya children in Malaysia
as either undocumented people or as refugees base on the CRC.
To create
space during the 2015 Asean chairmanship for Asean leaders and Asean civil
society to talk about, deliberate on and resolve the human rights violations of
Rohingyas.
Fifth, that
the Asean community, especially the Asean Inter Governmental Human Rights
Commission (AICHR) and the international community take the violations
seriously as there is strong evidence that another Rwanda or another atrocity,
such as the killing fields of Cambodia, is in the making.
Prompt and
concrete initiatives are urgently needed to solve the Rohingya crisis. This is
the least we can do as human rights defenders and advocates. – May 9, 2014.
* Datuk
Saifuddin Abdullah is CEO of the Global Movement of Moderates, Datuk Kuthubul
Zaman is the chairman of Proham and Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria is the
secretary-general of Proham.
* This is
the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily
represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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