Jakarta (Antara News ) - Following his visit to Myanmar's State of Rakhine, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa has called for trust building and reconciliation between Rohingya and Rakhine ethnic groups who were involved in violent conflicts last year.
The situation remained "unfavorable" with widespread distrust between the communities. Obviously, besides basic needs such as housing, food, medicine and education, there is also a need to promote mutual trust and reconciliation between the two ethnic groups in Rakhine State, the minister said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The main impressions I had of my short visit to the area yesterday was that we are involved basically not only in the physical reconstruction and rehabilitation of the damage caused by the recent violence, but we must also nurture a sense of confidence, a sense of reconciliation among the different communities." the minister told the media.
At the invitation of Myanmar's President Thein Sein, Marty visited Rakhine State on January 7-8, 2013, to meet with Rohingya and Rakhine ethnic communities in several refugee camps. He was accompanied by Myanmar`s Border Affairs Minister, Lt. General Thein Htay, and Rakhine Chief Minister Hla Maung Tin, during the tour.
He visited the refugee camps in Pauktaw, Sambalay village, Taungbaw village, Kyauktaw, Maw-Ya-Wadi village, Maungdaw, Ohn-Daw-Gyee and Min Gwan.
In late 2012, sectarian violence between Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists again broke out and claimed about 200 lives and left at least 110,000 displaced in Rakhine State. A vast majority of the victims were Rohingya Muslims.
Before leaving for Myanmar, The Indonesian minister said he would the situation in Rakhine directly, not only observing the condition of the Rohingya Muslims, but also other ethnic groups in the province. "I will try to see what is really happening there and find out what the real problem is," the foreign minister said. He would make recommendations based on what he saw.
After the conflict in June 2012, the quality of life of the Rohingya ethnic group has been badly affected, particularly because they have no source of income.
To demonstrate Indonesia's sympathy and solidarity, the Indonesian government has donated US$1 million in humanitarian aid to the victims of the ethnic violence in Rakhine State for the construction of their houses.
Indonesia has also been determined to contribute to the creation of mutual trust between the communities involved in the sectarian conflict, and to help promote economic growth in the region, Marty Natalegawa stated.
"The economy of the state also needs a boost so there can be more jobs and people can enjoy a better quality of life in the future," Marty added.
He added the government of Myanmar is keen to get advice from the international community. "The fact that the Myanmar authorities have been inviting us to see for ourselves shows a willingness to be involved and to benefit from other countries' lessons learned," he said.
According to the minister, the Myanmar government was receptive of Indonesia's moves to find a solution to the ethnic conflict in Rakhine."And I must say the scale of the challenge is pretty obvious, but Indonesia is ready to continue to lend support to Myanmar. This is because this is very much part and parcel of Myanmar's democratisation efforts."
"We must quickly move beyond emergency response," Marty Natalegawa said. "The people in the affected area are showing resilience, they are showing constant willingness to recover quickly, but they need crops to harvest and seeds to grow," the minister stated.
In his state of the nation address to the Parliament in August 2012, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reiterated Indonesia`s commitment towards solving the problems of the Rohingya Muslims.
"I have sent a letter to Myanmar President Thein Sein, offering my support and encouragement to the local government and urging them to resolve the conflict," the president said in his speech.
Later in the day, he met with former vice president M Jusuf Kalla, who had visited Myanmar earlier. After the meeting with Kalla, Yudhoyono told the media that Indonesia will help build houses for and provide food to Rohingya refugees.
He added that he hoped for Kalla to become a special envoy for the Rohingya people at the international level.
The president pointed out that the Myanmarese government has allowed Indonesia to participate in helping solve the Rohingya problem, particularly the hardships currently being faced by refugee and victims of the conflict.
Violent conflict between Myanmarese Buddhists and Rohingyas began in June last year, killing scores of people. The state has been under emergency rule since then.
Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingyas stateless, and they are viewed by the United Nations as one of the world`s most persecuted minorities.
Kalla visited Myanmar and was received by President Thein Sein at his presidential palace in Nay Pyi Taw on August 9.
The visit was a follow up from a meeting between NGOs from 20 member states of the OIC held in Kuala Lumpur on August 3, 2012. At the meeting, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) were requested to meet with the Myanmarese government and persuade it to allow humanitarian aid access in the strife-ridden Rakhine province.
Upon his return to Jakarta, Kalla invited the media and NGOs to share the plan for offering humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees.
Kalla elaborated that the OIC planned to build 8,000 houses for refugees residing in the Rakhine province, in an area demarcated by the government of Myanmar.
The Indonesian Red Cross dispatched volunteers, and humanitarian aid consisting of 500 sanitary packages, 3,000 blankets and 10,000 sarongs, to Myanmar last August 2012.
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Reporter: Fardah
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2013