40 Countries Remain Silent After Invitation To Solve Rohingya Case

The Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman, March 7, 2009 

Indonesia has received no response from 40 countries invited to hammer out a resolution on the fate of Rohingya migrants during a forum in Bali slated for mid-April, a ministry official said on Friday. 

Teuku Faizasyah, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said invitations were sent out last week to 40 countries, including Burma and Bangladesh, the countries of origin of about 400 boat people now staying in Aceh Province. Thailand, Australia and New Zealand were also among the countries asked to take part in the forum. 

“Normally, confirmation comes one day after invitations are sent,” he said, adding the so-called Bali Process would be held on the resort island on April 14 and 15. 

The Bali Process is a regional, multilateral forum launched in 2002 to boost cooperative efforts to stem people smuggling and trafficking through workshops and increased coordination between affected countries, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration, or IOM. 

Faizasyah said he hoped the participants, particularly the two countries of origin, the migrants’ destination countries and countries through which they travel, would immediately confirm the invitations. 

“All participants in the forum will hear about political conditions in Burma and Bangladesh, and then will try to seek a solution that will help better the lives of the people,” he said. 

Faizasyah said that the IOM would go to Idi Rayeuk in East Aceh next week to verify the status of a group of Rohingyas who were stranded there on Feb. 3. 

“Last week, the UNCHR arrived in Sabang to do verification on the first group of Rohingyas and currently we are still waiting for the result,” he said. 

Aceh fishermen rescued 193 Rohingyas near Sabang Island in the province on Jan. 7, and another 198 arrived in Idi Rayeuk in East Aceh on Feb. 3. At least 20 refugees from the second group reportedly died at sea. Both Burma and Thailand have faced condemnation from many quarters, including Indonesia, over their alleged mistreatment of the Rohingyas. The Thai Navy was alleged to have towed as many as 1,000 Rohingyas out to sea in boats without engines and cast them adrift with little food or water. Rights groups say hundreds are still missing at sea. 

In an interview with the Jakarta Globe on Feb. 19, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that the Thai government had set up a special investigation team to crack down on human trafficking and people smuggling. 

“This will be better handled if there were some kind of regional cooperation,” Abhisit said in the interview. 

Burma’s ruling junta has declared the Abhisit minority to be stateless, denying its members citizenship as they are deemed to be Bangladeshis despite having lived in what is now western Burma for at least two centuries. Rights groups accuse Burma of abuses against Rohingyas, including torture, rape and forced labor.

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