No mention of Rohingya in Asean Summit draft
MANILA : A draft of the statement to be issued after the Asean Summit makes no mention of the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine state following a military crackdown that has been described by the UN as ethnic cleansing.
One paragraph of the communique, seen by Reuters on Monday, mentions the importance of humanitarian relief provided for victims of natural disasters in Vietnam and a recent urban battle with militants in the Philippines, as well as “affected communities” in northern Rakhine state.
The statement was drawn up by the Philippines, current chair of the 10-member Asean — which includes Myanmar — whose leaders met for a plenary session in Manila on Monday.
The draft did not give details of the situation in Rakhine or use the term Rohingya for the persecuted minority, which Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has asked foreign leaders not to use.
Some members, particularly Muslim-majority Malaysia, have voiced concern. However, keeping with Asean’s principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of one another, the issue appears to have been put aside at the summit.