ASEAN RESPONSIBILITY: They should be given jobs, medical services, schooling for children, says former UN envoy
Former
UN special envoy to Myanmar, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, says it’s important
to guide Myanmar into making the right decisions for them to develop
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KUALA LUMPUR: TAN Sri Razali Ismail, the former United Nations special
envoy to Myanmar, has called for living conditions for Rohingya refugees
in Malaysia to be improved while Myanmar undergoes a long process of
democratic reform.
Razali, who is also the Global Movement of Moderates chairman, said
yesterday Asean countries which accepted refugees from Myanmar,
including Malaysia, had a responsibility to ensure that their basic
rights were looked after.
"Asean leaders should recognise that the situation in Myanmar is complicated and will take a very long time to resolve.
"Right now, in Malaysia, there is a lot of support for the Rohingya community but it can be improved."
"Their children need to be given the right to go to school. They should
be given the right to find temporary work, to be given access to
medical and health services, and the right not to be harassed by
enforcement authorities.
"These are people who are our close friends, who have connections as
fellow Muslims. Many here support the Rohingya but support by words
alone is not enough. If you want to help the Rohingya, help them here,"
he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
As of August, there are some 91,000 Myanmar refugees, including 24,370
Rohingya, registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees in Malaysia.
The plight of the Rohingya -- an 800,000-strong stateless community
based mainly in the Arakan region of Myanmar -- has gained extensive
international coverage in recent months after ethnic clashes with
Rakhine Buddhists broke out in Myanmar last June.
Last month, the Perdana Global Peace Foundation conference on the issue
passed 16 resolutions, calling on the Myanmar government to recognise
Rohingya as citizens and to allow them to live in peace and move freely
within the country.
Razali said any effort to recognise the Rohingya as citizens was likely
to be a long and arduous process, given the complex nature of the
issues in the multi-ethnic country.
"Any solution must be carried out in the context of other issues
involving the other ethnic groups in Myanmar and larger issues such as
economic development."
He remained optimistic that the situation would change.
"I'm sure it is possible to make the people of Myanmar understand that
some process to give the Rohingya citizenship must be attempted in the
name of human rights and democracy," he said.
He cautioned, however, that any attempt to persuade the Myanmar
government to consider granting citizenship to Rohingya must be done
carefully.
"Some quarters, particularly from some Rohingya organisations overseas,
have called for a separate state to be set up for the Rohingya.
"Personally, I do not think such calls help. That will only scare the
Myanmar government further from any attempt at a real resolution."
Similarly, he disagreed with suggestions from some Western nations to
impose conditions for Myanmar to meet in exchange for foreign
development.
"It's worth remembering that Myanmar has many options in terms of
attracting foreign investment. They can choose what kind of assistance
they need -- China, especially, is a large presence there right now."
"So, rather than imposing conditions, especially unrealistic
conditions, it's more important to guide Myanmar into making the right
decisions for them to develop."
He said it was crucial for a solution to the Rohingya issue to be found soon.
"The longer this issue remains unresolved, the more possibilities there
are for people to do terrible things such as human trafficking."
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