Friday 29 Mar 2024
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WHEN the Asean heads of government gathered for a summit in Langkawi on April 27 and proudly announced to the world that they are committed to making Asean more people-centred, as endorsed by the Langkawi Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates, I am sure they did not expect that less than a month later, the same island would catch the attention of the world.

It’s not for the summit’s achievement but for a different story, one that Asean has for years swept under the carpet. On May 11, some 1,100 migrants who are victims of human trafficking landed in Langkawi. About 400 of them are Rohingyas, who are considered as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Rohingyas are Muslims from Rakhine state, Myanmar, who fled persecution from the Buddhist majority.

Meanwhile, another 8,000 people remained stranded at sea while the Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian authorities, were, for a few days, not really helping. They had made statements that they would take punitive measures, including pushing away the boats (perhaps after providing food and water), not allowing the migrants to land and deporting the migrants and refugees to deter future arrivals.

In times like this, almost always it is the civil society organisations (CSOs) — for example, the Malaysian Bar Council, Amnesty International Malaysia, Migration Working Group and Coalition of Young People of Indonesia for Asean — and activists like Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir who will come forward first.

The CSOs were pressing Asean, especially Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, to urgently address the problem of the boat people who have fled Myanmar or left Bangladesh in seek of job opportunities but ended up in the hands of human traffickers. While waiting for the respective governments to respond positively, the CSOs wasted no time in providing assistance to them.

In their call for action, Amnesty International Malaysia, for example, outlined the following points:

•  Coordinate search and rescue operations to locate and assist boats in distress;

•  Allow all boats carrying refugees and migrants to land safely in the nearest country and not tow them back out to sea, threaten or intimidate them;

• Provide immediate humanitarian needs, including food, water, shelter and healthcare;

• Ensure that those seeking asylum are able to access refugee status determination procedures;

• Respect the principle of non-refoulement, by ensuring that people are not transferred to any place, including their country of origin where their lives or freedoms are at risk.

• Ensure that people are not criminalised, detained or punished solely for their method of arrival in the country.

The Malaysian Parliament missed an immediate opportunity to play a vital role when on May 19, the Dewan Rakyat Speaker rejected a motion proposed by opposition MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj to debate the issue.

In the meantime, the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights and Global Movement of Moderates Foundation have sent invitations to Wisma Putra, UNHCR and various CSOs to discuss the issue further at a roundtable entitled “Asean Humanitarian Crisis in SEA Seas: What are the Durable Solutions?”

To the relief of all, on May 20, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to allow 7,000 migrants stuck on boats near the two countries to come ashore but with strict conditions — the international community has to resettle or repatriate the Rohingyas and Bangladeshis within a year of them being given shelter. The offer is only for those stranded in the waters off Malaysia and Indonesia.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said as 2015 Asean chairman, Malaysia may call for a mini summit during the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean in Bangkok on May 29.

After a slow start, Asean seems to be taking urgent action on the issue, which is a positive development. But, one cannot but resign to the fact that if not for the boat people and the discovery of mass graves containing bodies of human-trafficking victims near the Thai-Malaysian border, Asean may not have seen this issue as urgent.

And if Asean is genuinely concerned now, it is imperative that the root cause of the Rohingya refugees and the issue of human trafficking be addressed once and for all.

The UN has stated that the Rohingyas are among the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Asean must apply pressure on the Myanmar military government to address this problem. The grouping must uphold the Langkawi Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates, which is aimed at advocating moderation as an Asean value and approach that promotes peace, security and development.

The world is watching to see whether the Langkawi Declaration is really about moderation or just talk and no action.


Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah is CEO of the Global Movement of Moderates and former deputy minister of higher education. He is active on twitter: @saifuddinabd.

 

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on May 25 - 31, 2015.

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