Abstract
Violence accompanied by a discriminatory state policy continues to place Myanmar’s Rohingya at risk of mass atrocity crimes. The United Nations (UN) has classified the Rohingya among the world’s most persecuted minorities. A democratized Myanmar failed to protect the Rohingya from violence and human insecurity. The implication of the violence has also spilled over into neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia. Regional responses throughout the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are thus inevitable. Although ASEAN has issues related to preserving sovereignty and non-interference and could not necessarily intervene through coercive measures, ASEAN could provide a framework through the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) to assist Myanmar in fulfilling its primary responsibility to address the violence in the Rakhine State. This chapter suggests that ASEAN utilize a comprehensive approach to handling the Rohingya crisis comprised of two levels of actions. Firstly, ASEAN supports the new democratized Myanmar in fulfilling the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). Secondly, through the framework of APSC, ASEAN should ensure that the fundamental principles of the RtoP can be in line with ASEAN development in Political-Security Community.
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Notes
- 1.
Confidential interview with a journalist, Naw Phi Taw, Myanmar, January 26, 2016.
- 2.
Confidential interview with a university professor, Yangoon, Myanmar, January 28, 2016.
- 3.
Based on the interviews conducted by the UN with 220 Rohingya out of 75,000 who have fled to Bangladesh since October 2016.
- 4.
In this sense, any attempt to resolve the Rohingya issue will always have to include the military, which has an interest in the region. Briefly, the Myanmar military’s opportunity to benefit economically by taking control of areas occupied by Rohingya is among the main factors perpetuating the issue. Presumably, until now, the only factor that encourages Myanmar to open up about the Rohingya issue is international pressure, in particular; the strict stance of the major member countries of ASEAN encourages Myanmar to fulfil its responsibility in humanitarian issues occurring within its territory.
- 5.
ASEAN endorsed a remarkable document, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), in which non-intervention, and hence the strengthening of the sovereignty of ASEAN states, was formally institutionalized. The document indicates that member states have a commitment to respect each other’s sovereignty, emphasizing the principle of self-restraint in other states’ internal affairs. TAC was admittedly a basis for exercising the so-called ASEAN Way, which obliges member states to adhere to quiet diplomacy and principled non-intervention. Unfortunately, this approach has caused the states to be too cautious about the Rohingya issue. The ASEAN Way faces serious challenges due to the rise of transnational issues flow across boundaries. Admittedly, non-interference lies at the heart of agreements between the states of the region, and ASEAN members are still sensitive about discussing that issue.
- 6.
In the 14th ASEAN Summit in 2009 in Cha-am/Hua Hin, Thailand, ASEAN member’s leaders committed to adopt a blueprint of ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) 2025. In this blueprint, ASEAN extended the cooperation to both security and political development. Therefore, at this stage, ASEAN is moving into a full-fledged of a security community.
- 7.
The Bali Concord II consists of the ASEAN Security Community (ASC), the name of which has been changed to ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC); the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC); and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).
- 8.
There are two mainstream insights regarding Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis. Several reports and studies have focused entirely on religious/ethnic aspects. Religious persecution, violence and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya are part of the agenda of ethnic cleansing. The head of the UN refugee agency, John McKissick, stated that the Myanmar government was carrying out ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people. Several reports from Human Rights Watch and other organizations concurred. Not only had Buddhist chauvinists exploited this newly opened free space as the arena to fuel prejudice and incitement against Rohingya but also intercommunal violence has spread, affecting the broader Muslim community. Another perspective states that violence against ethnic Rohingya is not entirely related to religion but rather to the political economy of violence sponsored by the Myanmar army. In this view, the economic interests of the military drive its motivation to take control of areas occupied by Rohingya. This approach sees that the victim is not only the Muslims Rohingya but also some non-Rohingya Buddhist communities.
- 9.
Regarding the new revelations about the military’s actions in Rakhine State, ASEAN foreign ministers addressed core issues and pushed for a regional investigation of the allegations of abuses in Rakhine by an independent group of experts. The Myanmar government and military asked immediately for such an investigation, which may include observers and empower investigators from the third parties to visit all affected areas and interview victims.
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Trihartono, A. (2018). Myanmar’s Worsening Rohingya Crisis: A Call for Responsibility to Protect and ASEAN’s Response. In: McLellan, B. (eds) Sustainable Future for Human Security. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5433-4_1
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