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Thursday, May 28, 2015

Aceh group helps the Rohingya . . . as Suu Kyi’s popularity continues downhill


Junaidi's been in touch with Mr Yani from the group that’s been donating food and supples directly to the Rohingya in the camps in Aceh Utara—it is called ASOKAYA. 
Over the weekend the group took a truck full of supplies and gave it to the government officials who are now managing the camp.  Junaidi also reported that the Minister of Social Services in Jakarta has now agreed to allocate funds to help support the camp. Also, the Myanmar Ambassador in Jakarta was contacted by Indonesia’s foreign Minister and a meeting was scheduled to dscuss how to “solve this issue.”  In the meantime, news outlets report that the Indonesian government will accommodate refugees for up to a year, while they try to find appropriate employment, housing and permanent residences.

Yesterday, Aceh Online had an article on ASOKAYA and their work.

Forsi ASOKAYA Salurkan Bantuan ke Pengungsi Rohingya (ASOKAYA group donates aid to Rohingya Refugees)

The group’s founder, along with the Chair of the town of Puentet-Lhokseumawe, spoke to the press and said that the aid was the result of donations they had received the previous week.  They also gave information to the public who wish to make additional contributions.  If anyone in Indonesia wants to know how to donate they can call 081264302456 or 085 260 328 310 (Oesman, Chair of Lhokseumawe).

In other news, Aung San Suu Kyi wasn’t invited to the Oslo conference concerning the Rohingya crisis.  Other Nobel Laureates Desmund Tutu and Jose Ramos Horta (East Timor) gave video presentations at the conference. “Suu Kyi has been playing a delicate balancing act,” notes the article. “She has been careful not to rile the military, which still wields tremendous political power. . . . She also realizes she and her party risk public backlash if she speaks in defense of Rohingya . . .
"’Those who criticize me for not condemning one side or the other — they've never said exactly what they hope will come out of such condemnation,’ she told the paper. ‘You're just taking the moral high ground for the sake of sounding good — it sounds a little irresponsible.’”

However, Bishop Tutu didn’t see it that way.
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor," Tutu, who won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to South Africa's brutal apartheid regime, said in his video statement. "If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

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