Asean must address Rohingya

The Strait Times, 2 March 2009
     

 Mr Lee, seen here at a press call, also urged Myanmar to take
 advantage of a 'window of opportunity' to engage the United States
and the international community

.

HUA HIN - SINGAPORE Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for the first time addressed the issue of stateless Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar yesterday, warning that Asean must address it seriously or risk losing credibility. 

While addressing leaders at the summit, he also made a pitch for Myanmar to engage with the United States and the international community, saying he saw a 'window of opportunity' for this now. 

Some Western countries, he noted, have been questioning whether sanctions against Myanmar were the best approach. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he observed, recently said that sanctions were not working, and that US officials were looking at 'possible ideas'. 

'We see a window of opportunity for Myanmar to engage the US and the international community,' he said. 'Myanmar can capitalise on this opportunity by cooperating with the United Nations.' 

The PM also urged Asean to support United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's mission to Myanmar, but added that Asean should not encourage a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon 'unless there are concrete deliverables'. 

'A visit will raise unrealistic expectations that cannot be met and would be counter-productive,' he said. 

The PM also raised the plight of Rohingya refugees. 

The issue has raised some tension within the region as the refugees have been fleeing Myanmar for countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Myanmar denies them citizenship, while the refugees say they have been abused by the Thai military - which has denied this. 

Mr Lee pointed out that media reports on the alleged ill-treatment of the Rohingya had hurt Asean's image. He said: 'We must address this seriously. Asean will lose credibility if we are unable to sort out a problem in our own region.'