Do the right thing : Let those boats land Bambang Hartadi Nugroho  ;   The writer teaches in the international relations department at the University of Indonesia

JAKARTA POST, 21 Mei 2015

                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                           

A crisis engulfing Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants and asylum seekers is currently plaguing Southeast Asia. Boats carrying thousands of migrants are being found in waters near Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The predicament began when the Thai authority cracked down on a human smuggling syndicate, leaving people — reportedly fleeing their respective countries to escape persecution and grave economic situations — abandoned at sea. What soon followed were responses from the affected countries, namely Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, which drew serious criticisms from the international community. The initial responses coming from those countries were to turn the boats away. Thai authorities claimed the boat people insisted on going to Malaysia and Indonesia, therefore it only provided them with food and water and fixed their engines. Malaysia, in turn, denied them permission to land, claiming that the local people did not want an influx of migrants. Similarly, Indonesian authorities refused to allow the boats to land, although they provided the migrants with relief, fearing that opening up its border would trigger an influx of more migrants. Such responses created what the Human Rights Watch called “human ping pong” — where the boats were pushed from one country to another, none of which was willing to accept them. The international community has called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to find a solution. The first solution is an immediate, short-term one, which must be taken by the three affected countries. Second, a more durable, long-term solution also needs to be explored at the regional level, possibly under the ASEAN framework as well. The immediate solution is quite obvious: let the boats land and provide temporary shelter to the affected people. The three countries, quite understandably, are concerned about potential consequences, which could include financial, social and security repercussions. The countries should not be alone handling this issue. A burden-sharing mechanism can be created, not only involving the affected countries but also other countries in and outside the region, as well as international humanitarian and refugee agencies. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), for instance, has pledged US$1 million to provide emergency relief to help these people. Other agencies and governments should follow suit. Recent reports suggest that some of the affected countries have in fact changed their policy. Indonesia, for instance, has begun to allow a small number of boats to land in Aceh — an effort initiated by the local fishermen — despite initial objections. Greater coordination between the three countries and humanitarian agencies is ultimately needed. For instance, they need to work together to run a rescue operation to search for the remaining boats and bring them to shore. They then need to provide temporary shelter — under the burden-sharing scheme — while waiting for a decision from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the future of these migrants — either to repatriate them or to find a settlement in a third country. It is true that none of the three affected countries signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, and is therefore not legally bound to accept the migrants. Nevertheless, as members of the international community, they are morally obliged to provide protection to these people, in the name of humanity and solidarity. Besides the immediate solution, long-term solutions are ultimately necessary to address the root causes of the crisis. The Thai government already called for a regional summit later this month to discuss the human trafficking crisis, a meeting which will play host to 15 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Australia, Bangladesh and the US. Yet Myanmar has indicated that it will not attend the meeting. In fact, Myanmar has always been reluctant to bring the Rohingya issue up for discussion at the regional level. ASEAN has often been criticized for what many perceive as its strict adherence to the non-interference principle, especially on political and security issues. Observers have argued that non-interference, alongside sovereignty and other principles known as the “ASEAN Way”, has been the modus operandi of regional cooperation in Southeast Asia. However, in the last decade or two, there have been occasions in which ASEAN broke from those principles and discussed domestic issues facing its member states due to the impacts these domestic issues had on other member countries. On those occasions, ASEAN rarely discussed the issue publicly. An official statement from the ASEAN chair back in 2007 following the Saffron Revolution expressing ASEAN’s “revulsion” over the incident was a rare exception. More often, ASEAN resorted to their practice of “quiet diplomacy” to silently persuade their members on certain issues. ASEAN’s effort to persuade Myanmar to open up access to international humanitarian groups following Cyclone Nargis in 2008 is a good example. In this case, the ASEAN-style approach successfully convinced Myanmar, which like many other countries is more likely to listen to friendly persuasion rather than “megaphone diplomacy” and sanctions. In response to the current crisis and Myanmar’s early refusal to attend the upcoming summit, ASEAN countries must persuade it to do otherwise. Convincing Myanmar to address the issue of Rohingya citizenship might be a long shot, but at the very least, ASEAN must persuade Myanmar to put an end to the alleged persecution and to gradually improve the situation using social and developmental approaches. This is definitely a long-term project, but also something worth pursuing to prevent similar crises from occurring in the future. The fact that the issue has blown up into a regional problem should be strong justification for ASEAN to step up and take real action. ASEAN has been committed to establishing an ASEAN community later this year, which will guide the region to a “people-centered” community. To prove their pledge they have to help people who are currently facing danger at sea. ●