Rohingya crisis highlights toothless nature of Asean
The Southeast Asian grouping known as Asean has made a point of not pressuring member nations over internal issues such as rights abuses, and in the case of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority, the policy has come back to haunt it.
Three other Asean nations Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand now must contend with a humanitarian crisis involving thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshis stranded off their shores. After years of ignoring the issue, their chances of using diplomacy to achieve any change in Myanmar's behavior appear bleak.
The crisis is among the 10-nation group's biggest tests since the Vietnam War, both in whether it can protect migrants' lives and to what extent the group can confront one of its members in this case Myanmar. The stakes for Asean are high, given the global attention the crisis is getting and the possibility that many migrants could die if no country takes them in.
''This is a test for Asean, for Asean's sustainability. Its legitimacy will depend on this, and how it is resolved,'' said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian parliamentarian who is chairman of a regional lawmakers' group pressing for human rights.
Some cracks in the group's bedrock principle of non-interference have appeared.
Malaysian deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said over the weekend that Myanmar should take responsibility for resolving ethnic tensions with the Rohingya to prevent other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from being burdened, according to national news agency Bernama.
Rohingya in Myanmar have been persecuted for years, and only more so since 2011, when a long-ruling junta gave way to a nominally elected government. More than 120,000 Rohingya have fled the country since 2012, as Buddhist mobs killed up to 280 of them and drove tens of thousands from their homes. Those displaced are forced to live in camps where they can't work, get an adequate education or receive medical care.
In Thailand, leaders have said the migrant crisis isn't their problem but needs to be addressed by the ''origin country'' without being more specific. Myanmar refuses to even use the word ''Rohingya,'' saying the group illegally immigrated from Bangladesh, though Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations.
Myanmar denies it is the source of the crisis.
Foreign ministers from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, countries where about 3,000 migrants washed ashore in crowded boats in recent weeks have held a meeting last Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur.
But even before the meeting, experts were doubtful the ministers will be too critical of Myanmar, which could serve to only underline Asean's toothless reputation. Most likely, the immediate focus will be on managing the crisis and not getting to the root causes.
Founded in 1967 as an anti-communist bloc in the Cold War era, Asean has taken few steps to address human rights concerns in the vast region of 600 million people. In a charter adopted in 2007, Asean countries committed to uphold international law and human rights but insisted they would not interfere in each other's internal affairs, a loophole that critics say helps member states commit abuses without consequence
Though Rohingya asylum-seekers generally go to other Asean countries particularly Malaysia, Myanmar's neighbors have long tolerated the exodus.
Myanmar is particularly unlikely to respond to any Asean pressure at the moment because it is focused on November elections, said Bridget Welsh, a senior research associate at the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies of National Taiwan University.
''Right now, the politics of Myanmar are domestic, not international,'' she said. ''They're in a holding pattern until elections happen.''
Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, the group chaired by Santiago, the Malaysian lawmaker, has demanded that Asean abandon its non-interference policy, and last week released a statement saying Myanmar's government must be held accountable for the persecution of the Rohingya.
Santiago believes that Myanmar would be more responsive to pressure from China, the US and other major investors in the country regarding its policies toward the Rohingya.
''It appears that so far, Asean is unable to respond to a humanitarian crisis involving its own people,'' he said. ''But to be fair, let's see what happens over the next two or three days. My only fear is that before a decision can be made, more people will die.''
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