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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesian FM: Sectarian violence in Burma has regional impact |
| 2014-01-18 |
| Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Friday that Burma’s ongoing Buddhist-Muslim violence has implications outside of the country, citing attempts by Indonesian terror groups to attack Burma’s Embassy in Jakarta last May, a plot apparently in response to attacks on Muslims in Burma since mid-2012. He said, “While it is an internal matter, it obviously impacts all of us. There have been cases of terrorist activities driven by these developments elsewhere, so we have to be keenly concerned." On Monday, a Jakarta court found militant Rokhadi guilty of “evil conspiracy” for plotting the bombing of Burma’s Embassy in Indonesia, while on New Year’s Eve, Indonesian police killed six alleged Islamist terrorists said to be hatching other anti-Buddhist attacks. Elsewhere, in Malaysia, host to hundreds of thousands of Burmese migrant workers and refugees, there have been several rounds of violence in recent months involving Burmese Buddhists and Muslims, as well as more recent fighting between Burmese and Indonesian migrant workers. Those clashes were again thought to be set off by Burma’s internal problems, in which the majority of the dead and displaced have been Muslims. The comments come as reports emerged that one policeman and possibly dozens of Rohingya Muslims were killed this week in Burma’s Arakan State, the region worst-hit by sectarian clashes. The US Embassy in Rangoon said in posts on its Twitter account Friday it was “deeply concerned” about the allegations, “especially reports of excessive use of force by security officials.” But Burma’s Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut denied reports that Rohingya were killed in the latest incident, and said that Burma’s sectarian strife was a domestic matter. He said, “The Bengali issue is our internal affair and we will not discuss it in the Asean meetings, even if member countries ask for it." |
| Posted by:ryuge |