( 07.12.2016 ) Clamp down on hate speech against Rohingyas, says ex-envoy

FMT  
Free Malaysia Today

December 7, 2016 8

  

Lamenting hate speech in Myanmar, former Malaysian ambassador to Myanmar Mazlan Muhammad suggests there are lessons for Malaysians in this too.

KAJANG: Beyond stopping the violence against the Rohingyas, the Myanmar government should clamp down on hate speech against the community, says a former Malaysian ambassador to the country.

( 07.12.2016 ) Former ambassador tells of persecution faced by Rohingyas ( Free Malaysia Today )

Robin Augustin,December 7, 2016

 

Former Malaysian ambassador to Myanmar fears repression of Rohingyas could lead to radicalisation of the minority Muslim community

KAJANG: Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority could become radicalised if they continue to be oppressed by the Myanmar government, a former Malaysian ambassador to the country fears.

Mazlan Muhammad, a retired diplomat who served as Malaysia’s envoy to Myanmar from 2008 to 2012, opened up about the extent of the persecution faced by the Rohingyas to FMT.

“The Rohingyas are confined to the Rakhine state and almost no outsiders are allowed in. When I was an ambassador, there were provisions for us to enter the area but the Myanmar government never allowed us in.”

He said even the Bangladesh ambassador was not allowed to enter the Rakhine state, despite Bangladesh having a consulate in the state.

Mazlan said the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which had a presence in Rakhine, would brief all embassies on the situation in the northern state.

“The Rohingyas face restrictions in moving around from village to village, building and repairing homes and getting married, even if they are marrying a fellow Muslim,” he said.

The extent of the persecution, said Mazlan, pushed the Rohingyas to leave Rakhine state, even if it meant taking a risk with human traffickers.

“They would work hard to pay traffickers large sums of money to bring them out of Rakhine through Bangladesh. They take a big risk putting their lives in the hands of traffickers and travelling to other Asean countries by boat.

“The conditions of these boats are often rickety, and the Rohingyas, including women and children are cramped into these boats, creating cramped and unsanitary conditions.”

Mazlan added that at times the traffickers would ditch the boats, leaving the refugees helpless when they spotted naval ships from Thailand or Malaysia.

Mazlan, who had also served as Malaysia’s ambassador to Iran, New Zealand and Switzerland, said he was concerned that the continued oppression of Rohingyas would lead to Islamic extremism in Myanmar.

“A lot of Rohingya men have left to find a living outside of Rakhine state, so many of those who are there are women and children, and they look to religious leaders for guidance.

“The influence of religious leaders is growing, so if you have radical Islamic religious leaders, just as there are radical Buddhist monks in Myanmar, then radicalisation will start.”

Mazlan said the persecution of Muslims in Rakhine could trigger acts of violence in other parts of Myanmar with Muslim populations.

According to some reports, there are an estimated eight million Muslims in Myanmar, excluding the estimated one million Rohingyas in Rakhine.

In recent weeks, acts of violence against the Rohingyas, reportedly carried out by Myanmar security forces have drawn international condemnation.

According to some reports, hundreds have been killed and raped, and tens of thousands displaced.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/12/07/ambassador-traces-roots-of-rohingya-problem/

( 06.12.2016 ) Don’t push Myanmar too hard, ex-diplomat tells Putrajaya ( Free Malaysia Today )

Robin Augustin

| December 6, 2016

An ex-diplomat says Malaysia must opt for constructive engagement and gentle persuasion in trying to stop violence against Rohingyas.


PETALING JAYA: A former diplomat has warned Putrajaya against pushing Myanmar too hard on the Rohingya issue, saying it might tempt it to go back to the days when it isolated itself from the rest of the world.

Speaking to FMT, Fauziah Mohd Taib, who served in the foreign service for 35 years, recalled that Asean worked hard to bring Myanmar out of its decades of isolation and finally succeeded in 1997.

“In fact,” she said, “Malaysia was the first country to accept Myanmar as a member of Asean.”
In recent weeks, Myanmar has drawn international condemnation over violence allegedly carried out by the country’s security forces against the minority Rohingyas. According to reports, hundreds have been killed and raped and tens of thousands displaced.

Malaysia has taken a strong stance against the Myanmar government, with prime minister Najib Razak taking part in a rally in support of the Rohingyas. There have been calls for Malaysia to cut diplomatic ties with Myanmar.

“We must be very careful with how we deal with Myanmar,” said Fauziah. “We don’t want them to go back into isolation.”

Fauziah is a former ambassador to the Netherlands and once served as Malaysia’s permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at the Hague.

In dealing with Myanmar, she said, Malaysia must not abandon the “Asean way” of constructive engagement and gentle persuasion in favour of a confrontational approach.

She also said it would not be possible for Malaysia to take the Rohingya issue to the International Court of Justice because that would require Myanmar’s agreement to participate in the deliberations.

“If you look at the Pulau Batu Puteh territorial dispute, both Malaysia and Singapore agreed to take it to the ICJ,” she said. “I don’t think Myanmar would want to go to the ICJ on this.”

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia head Yusri Mohamad called on the ICJ to take action against Myanmar over the violence.

Fauziah, who currently resides in Britain, warned that taking a less than diplomatic route would have big implications for both Malaysia and Myanmar.

“We have a big presence in Myanmar,” she said. “For years, we have been investing there and drawing investments into the country, especially in the tourism, oil and gas, food and beverage, healthcare and manufacturing sectors.

“We are one of Myanmar’s largest trading partners and under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), we have trained more than 3,000 Myanmar nationals in various fields.”

The MTCP is a programme under the Foreign Affairs Ministry which sees Malaysia sharing its expertise in various fields by training people from other countries.

Fauziah also said Malaysia must not allow itself to be seen as selective in condemning ethnic cleansing. She noted that Putrajaya was largely silent in the past in the face of allegations of ethnic cleansing in Sudan and Rwanda.

She added that although many Malaysians were angry with what was happening in Myanmar, they must refrain from taking it out on Myanmar nationals here and the authorities must ensure the safety of the Myanmar nationals.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/12/06/dont-push-myanmar-too-hard-ex-diplomat-tells-putrajaya/