Indonesian President`s visit gives hope to Rohingya refugees

INDONESIAN President Joko Widodo, during official bilateral talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had laid emphasis on having a peaceful and quick solution to the Rohingya crisis against the backdrop of the bilateral relations between Dhaka and Naypyidaw. According to The Jakarta Post, Jokowi’s visit to the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina testified his concern on the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, who have been expelled from their homes in Rakhine State in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar and are unwanted in Bangladesh, which is internationally perceived as their country of origin. Jokowi praised Bangladesh government for sheltering over one million Rohingyas and assured of Indonesia’s continuing effort in helping end the decades-long human tragedy, the newspaper said.

We know, Indonesia is a member of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and so, Joko Widodo’s heartiest enthusiasm to resolve the Rohingya crisis may be taken under active consideration. Not only that, a few foreign nations who have extended their cooperation to Bangladesh to tackle this crisis – Indonesia is one of them. The people of Indonesia – it has the largest Muslim population in the world- are also highly sympathised about the distressed Rohingya Muslims. Indonesia has previously shipped humanitarian relief to the Rohingyas.

Though the UN had described Myanmar’s treatment to its Muslim Rohingya minority as a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing, a very few number of heads of the states or governments have so far visited the Rohingya camps. No doubt, the tour of Indonesian President to Bangladesh and his visit to Cox’s Bazar to see for himself the sufferings of the Rohingyas will certainly create a pressure on Myanmar government. We know, Bangladesh is now desperately looking for political support in the international arena on the Rohingya issue. In this regard, Dhaka can take diplomatic initiatives as Indonesia would continue its role to this end. It is noteworthy that, Jakarta earlier had taken a stance in favour of the Rohingyas at the UN and its Human Rights Council.

Earlier in September last year, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited Dhaka for talks after completion of her trip to Myanmar where she had urged Aung San Suu Kyi to end ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims. Retno Marsudi also held meetings with the senior generals of Myanmar military over the same issue.

We like to greet Indonesian President for his Dhaka visit and taking rational steps in this regard. It will be very hard for Bangladesh to permanently solve the long-standing Rohingya crisis only through a bilateral settlement with Myanmar, and without involving the international community. The Amnesty International on November last year said that, ‘Indonesia has power to solve Rohingya crises’.

We hope, Indonesia would keep close eyes on Rohingya repatriation process in line with the bilateral agreement signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Here, Dhaka must assure that Jakarta would continue its cooperation in ending the Rohingya crisis.