Rally Held in Surabaya Against Rohingya Ethnic Cleansing

Surabaya, E Java, (Antara) - Thousands of people held a rally in front of the office of East Java Governor Grahadi, here, Tuesday, to protest against the Rohingya ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar regime.

Various members of the community, including women, youth, religious figures, and professionals, participated in the rally.

"What has been happening against the Rohingya ethnic minority is a real tragedy, disaster, and crime against humanity," M. Arifan, coordinator of the Humanitarian Action Committee, stated.

The protestors urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to pressure Myanmar into stopping the genocide on the Rohingya ethnic minority.

The committee also urged the Nobel Committee to revoke the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Myanmar's de-facto leader Augn San Suu Kyi, who is viewed as not being serious in solving the crisis in Rakhine State, home to over one million Rohingya people.

Machsun Jayadi, chairman of Muhammadiyah's Surabaya chapter, noted that some four thousand members of Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Muslim organization, took part in the rally to demonstrate their solidarity with the Rohingyas.

"Hopefully, the world would see that Indonesia rejects violence. We pray to Allah, God the Almighty, to give strength to Muslims," Jayadi remarked.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, during her visit to Myanmar, emphasized the importance of de-escalation of situation in Rakhine State amid ongoing armed skirmishes in the region.

"Efforts to de-escalate the situation in Rakhine State should be the main priority of the Myanmar security authority," Marsudi stated in a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received on Monday.

The message of de-escalation was conveyed by the Indonesian minister in front of Senior General U Min Aung Hlaing, the commander in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces.

Marsudi's meeting with Hlaing lasted for more than an hour, kicking off a series of meeting with officials of Myanmar authority to discuss the humanitarian crisis in the country's Rakhine State.

During the meeting, Marsudi, who arrived in Myanmar on Monday morning, was briefed by Hlaing on the recent developments and situation in the Rakhine State. He noted that the Myanmar authority would continue its effort to restore the security and stability in the Rakhine State.

Marsudi remarked that Indonesia and the world are very concerned over the development of Rakhine State's situation.

"The authority of Myanmar should cease from any form of violence which occurs in Rakhine State and provide protection to all society, including the Muslim one," Marsudi explained.

The attack on the Myanmar police on Aug 25 by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army has triggered a counter-offensive raid that resulted in the killing of more than 100 people, including civilians.

The incident has forced thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh to avoid Myanmar's worst humanitarian conflict in the last five years.(*)