Establish ASEAN Fund To Help Contain Rohingya Crisis, Says Analyst

By Erda Khursyiah Basir KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- ASEAN members should set up a fund on humanitarian grounds to help contain the crisis engulfing the Rohingya Muslim refugees, instead of leaving it to specific countries like Malaysia to shoulder the burden, said a political analyst. Md Shukri Shuib, who is a senior lecturer in political and international studies at Universiti Utara Malaysia, said the fund should be set up quickly to help the Rohingya as the refugee crisis mounts in Southeast Asia. "Besides ASEAN members, other countries like China, India, Japan and South Korea, as well as rich nations like the United States, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, should also contribute to the fund in the name of humanity," he told Bernama. RESOLVE ISSUE QUICKLY In a bid to escape racial and religious persecution in Myanmar, thousands of Rohingya refugees have flooded into Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia in recent weeks, thus triggering a humanitarian crisis in the region. What has made matters worse is that the Rohingya Muslims, who are not recognised as citizens of Myanmar, have been linked to the human trafficking trade as well. The Rohingya refugee issue has to be addressed comprehensively as it has erupted into a humanitarian crisis and, rightfully, Myanmar should be held responsible for causing the situation to get out of hand. If left to fester, the issue could turn into a humanitarian disaster. Md Shukri said Myanmar, which has remained silent over the issue, should fork out a special contribution to the proposed fund to defray the costs of taking care of the refugees. Some 1,158 Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees, including children and women, recently arrived in Langkawi by boat, making it one of the largest number of illegal immigrant arrivals the nation has ever encountered. According to media reports, more than 8,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees were known to be stranded at sea and attempting to enter Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand illegally. MYANMAR SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has made it clear that the Myanmar government should take responsibility for resolving the Rohingya ethnic issue internally so that its fellow ASEAN members were not burdened by the Rohingya illegal immigrants landing in their shores. Md Shukri said if the problem persisted, ASEAN should resort to international solutions, such as turning the territory where the Rohingya ethnic Muslims hail from into an autonomous zone with the help of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers. "If necessary, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, UN and ASEAN should set up a special team to maintain peace in this territory and monitor the welfare of the Rohingya," he said. He opined that any nation which deliberately inflicts trauma on its citizens, to the extent of causing a humanitarian crisis, should be hauled up by the UN and brought before a war tribunal. "Where this issue is concerned, Myanmar leaders should be dragged before the international court for committing crimes against humanity. Myanmar's ASEAN and UN membership should be suspended if it continues to ill-treat its people," he said. ECONOMIC SANCTIONS Stressing that ASEAN should take up the Rohingya issue to the international arena, Md Shukri said economic sanctions should also be imposed against Myanmar on a periodical basis. "The issue erupted because Myanmar refused to grant this Muslim ethnic group their citizenship rights. The problem became more complicated when the Rohingya started to flee Myanmar as a result of political persecution. "ASEAN should not allow it to turn into a conflict like the one faced by the Palestinians. The Rohingya have not committed any armed violence in their country and this issue has no similarity with what had happened in Mindanao, Acheh and Timor Leste," he added. -- BERNAMA