BMF’s Interim Secretary, Vidyananda (KV Soon) share his views and ideas and supported a recently forum in seminar entitled “World Beyond War: The Rohingya Refugee Crisis and its Implications on Security in the ASEAN Region”. He stressed the need for spiritual communities to play a role in bringing peace and to develop new ideas for greater inclusive and positive engagement amongst the different communities, especially the communities experiencing conflicts in Myanmar and in the ASEAN Region.
Here is a report of the Forum, reproduced from The International Movement for a Just World :
The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) successfully organized an important seminar on, “World Beyond War: The Rohingya Refugee Crisis and its Implications on Security in the ASEAN Region. Held on the 24th of September 2016 at the Institut Integriti Malaysia (IIM), the event was a part of the larger weekend-wide conference opposing global war and militarism taking place in Washington, DC. That “World Beyond War” conference included leading public intellectuals, activists, and community leaders from the US and throughout the world addressing the array of crises being produced by the political decisions of the powerful.
The event in Kuala Lumpur wanted to center the issue of the Rohingya refugees as a part of the global agenda of peace-loving forces desiring to end human suffering caused by war and violence. JUST invited well-respected speakers and panelists to address issue. The speakers included the UNHCR representative, Mr. Richard Towle, as well as Amb. Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, former Chairman of Suhakam. The panelists included distinguished academics, civil society leaders, and shapers and makers in media.
There was a consensus of the speakers and panelists – indeed even among the large number of participants who deeply enriched the discussion on the issue – that there required deep political will and dedication to resolve the matter of the horrible plight of the Rohingya refugees. One step in this direction was certainly achieved by the seminar, and that was by putting forward a potent challenge to the dominant narratives, whether in popular, media, or intellectual circles, about the crisis itself.
The conclusions from the JUST seminar are going to be circulated widely, and presented to the ASEAN Secretary-General, the Malaysian Government, et al. As the President of JUST, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, said in his closing remarks, “This was not merely meant to be a ‘talk shop.'”
This seminar organized by JUST was, indeed, done entirely with the intention to spur our collective conscience to action for justice and peace in the region, and for dignity for the suffering Rohingya refugees.