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Malaysia's foreign minister warned Saturday that ongoing violence in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims -- which he described as "ethnic cleansing" -- poses a threat to the security and stability of Southeast Asia.
Anifah Aman's statement was released ahead of a protest in solidarity with the Rohingya due to be led by Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday, and after an official from the Myanmar President's Office called on Malaysia to respect sovereign affairs.
Aman called for an immediate end to "military violence" in Myanmar's Rakhine State -- home to around 1.2 million Rohingya -- in order to ensure peace and stability in Southeast Asia.
"This practice [ethnic cleansing] must stop, and must be stopped immediately in order to bring back security and stability to the Southeast Asian region," he said Saturday.
"The Foreign Affairs Ministry views with concern the humanitarian crisis in Rohingya, the spillover effect of which will affect the safety, security and standing of Malaysia, as Myanmar's regional neighbor," he underlined, adding that Malaysia had allowed Sunday's solidarity gathering within this context.
"This [is] in keeping with Malaysia's position that this is not a religious issue but an immediate humanitarian concern."
Over the past eight weeks, rights groups have expressed concern over reports of killings, rapes, arbitrary arrests and other violations in villages predominantly inhabited by Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine area amid military operations launched after fatal attacks on police outposts in October.
Rohingya advocacy groups claim around 400 Rohingya have been killed in military operations in northern Rakhine since the Oct. 9 deaths of nine Myanmar border police officials, while Myanmar says just 86 people -- 17 soldiers and 69 alleged "attackers" -- have been killed.
Humanitarian outfits have called for independent investigations into the initial attacks, the ongoing operations and reported rapes and rights abuses, as rights groups and international reporters have been unable to enter the area as it is under military lockdown.
Malaysia has cancelled two football matches scheduled to take place in Myanmar this month in protest, and Foreign Minister Aman has requested an immediate appointment with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the violence.
On Thursday, the deputy director general of the Myanmar President's Office responded to Malaysia's moves by saying that the principles of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- in which both countries are member states -- prohibited members from interfering in each other's internal affairs.
"We will call on the Malaysian ambassador regarding the protest and to ask if the Malaysian prime minister is participating. If so, we will monitor the event," Zaw Htay told the Myanmar Times.
On Saturday, Aman underlined that Malaysia "as a neighbor and a responsible member of the international community" had an obligation to ensure its ASEAN colleague "takes proactive steps to prevent the matter from further deteriorating".
He described the Rohingya crisis as "no longer" an internal affair of Myanmar but an international matter given the large number of Rohingya in Malaysia -- around 56,000 under the United Nations' banner -- and hundreds of thousands hosted in other neighboring countries.
"The fact that only one particular ethnicity is being driven out is by definition ethnic cleansing," he added.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Razak confirmed his participation in Sunday's gathering in Kuala Lumpur -- due to be attended by other senior ruling and opposition party figures.
"This is not intervention. This is universal human values," he said in a closing speech at a meeting of the ruling United Malays National Organization. -
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