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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