State Counselor Postpones Visit to Indonesia

By Nyein Nyein 28 November 2016

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will commence her three-day visit to Singapore for bilateral relations on Wednesday but she will postpone her planned visit to Indonesia.

The foreign affairs ministry said the Indonesia trip was delayed due to scheduling difficulties and that the trip would possibly occur in the upcoming months.

Daw Aye Aye Soe, a ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy that the postponement of the Indonesia trip was unrelated to current anti-Burma protests when asked whether the visit was postponed due to security issues.

“It’s not only in Indonesia. We are hearing about protests at Myanmar embassies in other countries, regarding campaigns to undermine our government,” she added.

“The State Counselor is currently putting her attention into resolving the domestic affairs issues in Shan and Rakhine [Arakan] states,” she added, referring to a recent renewal of fighting between the Burma Army and an alliance of ethnic armed groups in Shan State, as well as ongoing conflict Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township.

Last Thursday, Muslim protesters in Jakarta, Indonesia demonstrated in front of the Burma Embassy, calling for a stop to violence against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State. Allegations of rape and torture of Rohingya have been widespread since an Oct. 9 border post attack in Maungdaw Township.

Further attacks led to Burma Army security forces taking control of the region for almost two months to conduct “clearance operations.”

Malaysia’s cabinet condemned the actions in a Nov. 25 statement and pressed for a meeting with Burma’s foreign minister as soon as possible, according to the Jakarta Post.