Indonesia declares separatist rebels in restive Papua terrorists
April 29, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
In this photo released by Indonesian Presidential Palace, Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivers his televised remarks at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 26, 2021. (Indonesian Presidential Palace via AP) JAKARTA (Kyodo) The Indonesian government on Thursday officially declared separatist rebels in the restive province of Papua as terrorists and instructed security personnel to take necessary actions against them. Organizations and people in Papua who have committed brutal or massive violence are categorized as terrorists, chief security minister Mahfud MD said. He cited a 2018 law that defines a terrorist as anyone who plans, incites and organizes any action using violence that creates terror or massive fear.
Wednesday, 28 Apr 2021 12:41 PM MYT
Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks during a news conference after attending the Asean leaders’ summit at the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) secretariat building in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 24, 2021. Laily Rachev/Indonesian Presidential Palace handout pic via Reuters
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YANGON, April 28 Myanmar’s pro-democracy unity government, which includes members of parliament ousted by the military coup, has told South-east Asia’s regional bloc that it will not engage in talks until the junta releases all political prisoners.
The 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) has been trying to find a path for Myanmar out of a bloody crisis triggered by the February 1 coup and has called for an end to violence and talks between all sides.
Image Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Thailand has proposed what is known as “Friends of the Chair” to coordinate with all parties concerned in the crisis besetting Myanmar with an aim of reaching a negotiated peace settlement in the country.
The proposal, made by Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai at the ASEAN summit in Jakarta on Saturday, calls for the core group to comprise the current chairman of ASEAN, the ASEAN secretary general, a UN representative and two other ASEAN member countries.
“At this juncture, the most critical task of ASEAN is to achieve a de-escalation of violence in Myanmar. Such achievement will demonstrate ASEAN’s ability to effectively tackle the Myanmar issues within ASEAN itself,” said Don, who was the special envoy of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who skipped the summit in order to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic at home.