Putrajaya to bring up Rohingya issue at Asean foreign ministers' meeting

PETALING JAYA: The Foreign Ministry intends to raise the plight of ethnic Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine state during the upcoming Asean foreign ministers' retreat in Yangon on Dec 19.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman (pic) said the retreat would provide an opportunity for fellow Asean ministers to exchange views and deliberate on finding a just, expeditious and durable solution to the situation in the Myanmar's northern Rakhine State.

"During the retreat, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has promised to brief Asean foreign ministers on recent developments on the situation there," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Anifah said Malaysia had pushed for a discussion in recent weeks to acknowledge the problem and to look for a resolution.

"Even though this is only the first step in resolving the problem, it is nevertheless a positive step in the right direction," he said.

Anifah added that the worrying condition and the dire humanitarian situation in the Northern Rakhine State, together with the wider implication of the crisis to neighbouring Asean countries, has "made it imperative for the matter to be discussed within Asean".

Anifah claimed Myanmar initially rejected Malaysia's appeal to convene a meeting, but eventually relented due to pressure from the international community.

"The meeting will give me the opportunity to unequivocally state Malaysia's strong position on this issue.

"I fully expect to be able to seize this opening to highlight the fact that Malaysia has consistently condemned the escalation of violence in the northern Rakhine State since the outbreak on Oct 9," he said.

Anifah added that the loss of innocent lives and the displacement of people is unacceptable.

He called on all parties involved in the violence at the Northern Rakhine State to "refrain from taking any action that would aggravate the situation further".

Anifah said as a founding member of Asean, Malaysia was fully aware of the principles upon which it was built, particularly the non-interference principle.

However, he said he believed that the Asean member states was bound by international principles on the promotion and protection of human rights as enshrined in the Asean Charter and the Asean Human Rights Declaration.