Indonesian Muslims Protest Myanmar Rohingya Violence: Concrete Action Necessary

Indonesian Muslims Protest Myanmar Rohingya Violence: Concrete Action Necessary

02 September 2017

Muslims in Indonesia held demonstrations outside the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta Wednesday, demanding an end to violence against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

Thousands of demonstrators, many in white Islamic robes and skullcaps, walked through the capital's streets to converge outside the embassy in downtown Jakarta.

Persecution of the Rohingya, reviled as illegal immigrants and mostly denied citizenship in Myanmar, has been a lightning rod for anger in Indonesia and across the Muslim world.

Protesters shouting "God is greater" and holding banners that read "Stop killing Muslim Rohingyas" gathered to condemn the worsening humanitarian situation in Rakhine state.

"I think this is not only a religion issue, but moreover a humanitarian issue. What is happening there is very cruel," Tita Fatmawati, a teacher from nearby Bogor, told AFP.

About 6,000 armed police and military officers were deployed to guard the embassy, which was cordoned off behind barbed wire, Jakarta's police spokesman told AFP.

Authorities have been on alert since Sunday after a molotov cocktail was thrown at the embassy.

Nearly 125,000 mostly Rohingya refugees have crossed the border to Bangladesh in recent weeks, fleeing a security sweep by Myanmar forces who have been torching villages in response to attacks by Rohingya militants on August 25.

The refugee exodus has enraged many in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country.

The country's foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, wrapped up a two-day visit to Myanmar on Tuesday, where she urged Suu Kyi as well as army chief General Min Aung Hlaing to help resolve the crisis.

Concrete Action Necessary For Rohingya Muslims, Indonesian President Says

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that the violence in Myanmar should immediately be terminated, while he urged all parties to take concrete action to deal with the conflict.

"It needs a real action, not just a statement of criticism," Widodo said in a press conference at the State Palace in Jakarta.

"Indonesian government commits to help overcome the humanitarian crisis, synergize with civil society in Indonesia as well as the international community,"

The president assigned Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to communicate with various parties including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Special Advisory Commission For Rakhine State, Kofi Annan.

Marsudi, the president said, left for Myanmar Sunday afternoon to ask the government to stop and prevent violence, urging them to provide protection to all its citizens including Muslims, and provide access to humanitarian aid.

Widodo said, the Indonesian government will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the persecuted ethnics.

"(We) have built a school in Rakhine State and will soon build a hospital that will start in October."

In addition to Myanmar, the President also commissioned Foreign Minister to visit Dhaka, Bangladesh, to prepare humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees residing in the country.

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