Kalla urges Myanmar to stop discrimination against Rohingya

Former Indonesian vice president M Jusuf Kalla has called on the Myanmar government to stop discrimination against the Rohingya Muslims.

"We support the Rohingya ethnic. Myanmar must not be discriminative by allowing the murders and violence (against Rohingya)," Kalla said here Friday.

Indonesia could play an active role in trying to protect Rohingya Muslims by taking diplomatic measures, he said.

"The (Indonesian) government within the ASEAN framework could pressure Myanmar to stop the violence against Rohingya Muslims in the region," he noted.

Kalla as the chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), however, said that PMI has no plan to send relief aid to Myanmar because ASEAN reported that assistance is not yet necessary.

Earlier, Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political observer of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said Indonesia could play an important role in protecting the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar by using the closeness of the two countries` military forces.

Serious inter-communal disturbances between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims had taken place in Rakhine state since May, leading the Government to declare a state of emergency there. 

According to reports, 650 of nearly one million Rohingya Muslims have been murdered as of June 28. On the other hand, 1,200 others are missing and 90,000 more have been displaced. 

Source: ANTARA