Indonesian foreign minister visits Rohingya camps

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi accompanied by her Bangladesh counterpart AH Mahmood Ali visits a camp of Rohingya refugees at Kutupalong of Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday, December 20, 2016. Photo taken from Facebook/ Mohammed Shahriar Alam

By The Daily Star

December 20, 2016

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited two refugee camps of Rohingyas in Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar today.

Accompanied by her Bangladeshi counterpart Minister AH Mahmood Ali, the Indonesian FM talked to the Rohingyas at the camps at Kutupalong of Ukhia, our Cox’s Bazar correspondent reports quoting Md Ali Hossain, deputy commissioner of the district.

Marsudi arrived in Dhaka last night to discuss with high government officials the current ethnic cleansing and persecution on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine.

The ministers spent most of their time at an unregistered refugee camp as most of the recent inbound Rohingyas from Myanmar took shelter there.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi accompanied by her Bangladesh counterpart AH Mahmood Ali talks to a Rohingya refugee at Kutupalong of Ukhia, our Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday, December 20, 2016. Photo taken from Facebook/ Mohammed Shahriar Alam

The camp authorities formally briefed the delegation about the present condition of the refugees.

Rohingyas fleeing from the Rakhaine State of Mayanmar in recent times could not get access to the registered refugee camp, he said. Around 12:00pm the visiting Indonesian FM arrived at Ukhia by a helicopter.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam, local lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi and Indonesian Ambassador Iwan Wiranata-atmadja and Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque were present during the visit.

Marsudi came to Dhaka after attending a meeting along with the foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) with Myanmar State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon yesterday.

Myanmar leader Suu Kyi met with regional foreign ministers to tackle growing international criticism of her army's forceful treatment of the country's Rohingya minority, which some critics say, constitutes crimes against humanity.

She came to Bangladesh to talk about the Rohingya issues as Indonesia wants to comprehensively address problems related to Rohingyas fleeing along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, said a foreign ministry official, adding all countries that attended the meeting in Yangon freely expressed their opinions in an effort to reduce regional concerns over a situation in northern Rakhine.

Human rights groups have accused the military of perpetrating mass murder, looting and rape against the Rohingya in Rakhine, where the army went on a counterinsurgency offensive after an October attack there on police outposts that killed nine officers.