When Indonesia pushes to resolve the conflict in the country of origin of the Myanmar Rohingya refugees, the issue of Rohingya refugees stranded in Aceh must also be addressedJakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's strategic position as ASEAN 2023 Chair could be used for a solution to conflict in Myanmar and encourage it to be more democratic and uphold human rights, House's (DPR's) Commission I member, Sukamta, stated.
"Indonesia is currently 'assuming' the responsibility to complete ASEAN's 'homework', namely the Myanmar and Rohingya issues," Sukamta noted here on Thursday.
According to the House of Representatives' member, the Rohingya refugee issue should be resolved by the Indonesian government that currently holds the ASEAN Presidency for 2023.
He said Indonesia's strategic position must be optimized to solve ASEAN issues, especially Myanmar, quickly and accurately so as not to disturb stability of the region's security and economy.
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Sukamta explained that the issue of Rohingya refugees in Aceh must also be an important concern.
"When Indonesia pushes to resolve the conflict in the country of origin of the Myanmar Rohingya refugees, the issue of Rohingya refugees stranded in Aceh must also be addressed," he stated.
He said Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 125 of 2016 concerning Handling Refugees from Abroad should be implemented properly.
Sukamta believes this step had to be taken despite Indonesia not having ratified the "Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees" (1951 Convention) and the "Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees" (1967 Protocol).
"However, Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Indonesian Constitution Article 28, letter G, oblige Indonesia to humanize humans by safeguarding human rights," he pointed out.
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Quoting data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) for 2021, he said that nearly 400 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia.
However, currently, the figure is only 112 after many of them escaped from refugee camps and went to their original destination country, Malaysia, illegally.
Sukamta said that the issues of smuggling refugees to Malaysia must be handled seriously, especially by the Directorate General (Ditjen) of Immigration, Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
If refugees without complete immigration documents could easily and widely be smuggled into Malaysia, it would be easier to smuggle Indonesian citizens, who would work illegally in Malaysia, he stated.
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Translator: Imam Budilaksono, Katriana
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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