https://mailchi.mp/aseanmp/quotes-new-zealand-asean-engagement-myanmar-j...
Please find below quotes from APHR Co-Chair and former Malaysian member of parliament Charles Santiago responding to the news of the forced conscription of Rohingya by the Myanmar military junta:
“As we have previously stated, the junta’s forced conscription lays bare its desperation and utter lack of concern towards its own citizens. The forced conscription of Rohingya, who the junta have deprived of basic rights and forced out of their homes, displays yet another level of cravenness and shamelessness. Coercing Rohingya to fight on behalf of their oppressors, pitting them against their compatriots in the anti-junta forces, while at the same time denying them citizenship, is a new low for the junta.”
“These actions are further proof to the world that there is nothing the junta will not stoop to in order to cling on to what little power they have left. Furthermore, as long as the junta is allowed to continue such depravity, the influx of refugees along Myanmar’s borders will only be exacerbated. If ASEAN is not moved by the plight of the Myanmar people, it should at least realize that it is in its own self-interest to step in before the crisis spills further into other ASEAN countries.”
“It is high time that ASEAN and the international community take real action to stop the junta from continually wreaking devastation on the Myanmar people and support the pro-democracy forces, starting by enforcing targeted economic sanctions and a comprehensive arms embargo against the junta, and referring the junta to the International Criminal Court.”
