YANGON • Malaysia has called the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar a regional concern and urged Asean to coordinate humanitarian aid and investigate alleged atrocities committed against them.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman was speaking yesterday at a meeting of the 10-nation bloc in Yangon called by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi after weeks of reports that the army has killed, raped and arbitrarily arrested Rohingya civilians.
He said events in Rakhine state were a matter of regional security and stability, noting that about 56,000 Rohingya now live in Muslim-majority Malaysia having fled previous unrest in Myanmar.
"We believe that the situation is now of a regional concern and should be resolved together," he told the meeting, according to a transcript of his speech, as reported by Reuters.
He also called for complete access to facilitate humanitarian aid to the locked-down Rakhine state in Myanmar, where more than 130,000 people have been without aid for two months. He warned that Islamic State in Iraq and Syria militants "could be taking advantage of this situation".
Malaysia's intervention in the Rakhine crisis is a break with the Asean tradition of non-intervention in one another's internal affairs.
At the meeting, ministers warned of the risk of a "spillover effect" on Asean countries from the Rakhine violence, a diplomat told Agence France-Presse.
Yesterday, Ms Suu Kyi "reiterated the government's serious commitment to the resolution of the complex issue and the need for time and space for the government's efforts to bear fruit", said Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Myanmar has previously denied the accusations, saying many of the reports are fabricated, and insists the strife in Rakhine state, where many Rohingya live, is an internal matter.
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who attended the meeting, said on Facebook that the situation in Rakhine state is "complex and longstanding".
"It will take time, mutual trust, goodwill and determination to resolve. We had an open, frank and constructive discussion on how best to help, including the provision of humanitarian aid," he wrote.
In a statement, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "The (Asean) ministers also exchanged views on how Asean can best assist Myanmar in seeking a viable and long-term solution for the benefit of all the affected communities in Rakhine state."
More than 27,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled north-western Myanmar for Bangladesh since last month to escape a military counter- insurgency operation. The government of predominantly Buddhist Myanmar said that militants with links to Islamist extremists overseas were behind attacks on security posts near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh, in the north of Rakhine state, on Oct 9. But Rohingya survivors have described rape, murder and arson at the hands of soldiers.
Myanmar's over one million Rohingya have been described as among the most persecuted people in the world. More than 120,000 were driven by bloody sectarian clashes in 2012 into displacement camps, Agence France-Presse reported. The latest crackdown on Rakhine state has sparked public anger in Malaysia and Indonesia.
In his post, Dr Balakrishnan said he was "proud of Singaporeans who have raised funds to provide humanitarian support in Rakhine state".
In February, The Straits Times reported that physiotherapist Siti Durriah, 27, went to Aceh to teach English to Rohingya refugees in Aceh, and three Nanyang Technological University students planned to raise awareness about the refugees with a documentary film.
