Staff member of the Constitutional Court’s Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Rizki Kurnia Chesario reporting on her studies before Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah and other staff, Thursday (12/11/2020) in the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Gani.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—Staff member of the Constitutional Court’s Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Rizki Kurnia Chesario, who had just completed her postgraduate at the University of Glasgow (United Kingdom), reported on her studies before Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah and other staff on Thursday afternoon, November 12, 2020.

Rizki reported that she had written a thesis on Indonesia’s foreign policy in the Rohingya case in Myanmar. She believed Indonesia had taken a lenient approach to the Myanmar government in the Rohingya case. She mentioned that many advised against viewing Indonesia’s approach as an indication of Islam-Buddhism conflict. She also said that many believe Indonesia had received pressure for seemingly turning its back on Muslim minority groups abroad.

Indonesia brought the issue to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). However, she added, both had differing approach to it. “The OIC condemned the violence that occurred in Myanmar, while Indonesia took a more lenient approach so that Myanmar would open up, in order for the Rohingya to receive international assistance,” she said.

Indonesia’s lenient approach, Rizki said, has a weakness because it depends on the good faith of the government of Myanmar to accept the Rohingya ethnicity as part of the country. In addition, the government of Myanmar has always voiced its rejection of proposals on the issue in various international forums. She concluded that in the Rohingya case, Indonesia has two interests: fulfilling the demand of Rohingya supporters in Indonesia and not interfering with another government’s affairs.

Rizki also talked about her experience studying in Glasgow. She was surprised about having to read dozens of papers before entering class. She also touched on some difficulty with accents. On the other hand, she said she could access international journals for free. Rizki said that in writing her papers, an emphasis was put on showing critical thinking and her stance in a certain issue. Asked about what Indonesia could do through the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC), Rizki said that the Constitutional Court of Indonesia as a permanent secretariat of the AACC could start a discussion about the issue in a tactful way.

Writer: Utami Argawati
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari
Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 11/17/2020 16:14 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian version, the Indonesian version will prevail.