Aid leaves Indonesia bound for Myanmar's Rakhine

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia

Indonesia's president traveled to a Jakarta port Thursday to inspect a cargo of aid before it was shipped to Myanmar's troubled Rakhine State.

The cargo -- destined for both Rohingya Muslim and Buddhist communities -- was organized after a Dec. 19 regional meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers that followed global complaints that a military crackdown in an area housing Myanmar's Muslim minority had been vastly excessive.

While Rohingya advocacy groups have claimed that around 400 Rohingya were killed in violence that followed the deaths of nine border police officials, the government says 76 alleged "attackers" (including six who reportedly died during interrogation) were killed and some 575 suspects detained.

On Thursday morning, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo underlined that Indonesia -- the world’s most populous Muslim nation -- was carrying out humanitarian work in the impoverished region "without threatening diplomatic relations".

He observed containers of humanitarian aid loaded onto a ship docked at North Jakarta’s port of Tanjung Priok, the country’s busiest, before it left for Myanmar later in the day.

"We will soon dispatch 10 containers of goods that will be sent to Myanmar to help our brothers in Rakhine State, especially the Muslim community,” he was quoted as telling reporters by kompas.com.

"Our concern shows without noise and without megaphone diplomacy," he stressed.

Myanmar has been heavily criticized by fellow ASEAN member Malaysia, whose prime minister has referred to the deaths of Muslims in the region as "genocide” or “ethnic cleansing".

In response, Myanmar has highlighted the regional body's non-interference principle, underlining fellow member Indonesia's “positive and constructive" approach while criticizing Malaysia's.

On Thursday, Widodo underlined the type of assistance -- 10 large containers of gloves, instant noodles, flour and baby biscuits -- was based on the needs of the community in Rakhine, as heard by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi after her Dec. 19 visit.

Marsudi said in a statement released shortly after her visit that she had listened to refugees recounting their experiences of fleeing Rakhine and journeying to reach a refugee camp in Kutupalong near Bangladesh’s southeastern district of Cox's Bazar.

There, she said around 19,000 Rohingya -- who have fled the violence in Rakhine -- have taken shelter.

"From the stories and experiences of the refugees, we know the complexity of the problems in Rakhine State," she said.

"However, whatever the cause of their presence in Kutupalong camp, they live in very poor conditions, and as human beings we must work harder to help them."

Marsudi has refered to the Dec. 19 regional meeting as “an honest and transparent exchange of views”.

“Two most important elements came out of our discussions,” she told reporters after the meet ended.

“First is that Myanmar will regularly update ASEAN member countries about the developments in Rakhine State... The second is Myanmar appreciates very much the offer from ASEAN member countries for utilitarian assistance. So [now], the access of humanitarian assistance will be open.”

Rakhine has been torn by racial and ethnic division since mid-2012, after communal violence broke out in the state between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya.

The disturbances left more than 100 people dead, over 100,000 (primarily Rohingya) displaced in camps and more than 2,500 houses razed -- most of which belonged to Rohingya.

Members of the minority were also not allowed to stand or vote in Myanmar's 2015 elections, which Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide, as Myanmar does not see them as nationals.

Despite being accused of indifference to the Rohingya and their suffering, Suu Kyi has long said that the situation in Rakhine is economic, not political, as she strives to balance calls for intervention from the international community with anti-Muslim cries from nationalists -- many of whom voted for her party -- back home.