Former Indonesian legislator kidnapped, forced to participate in Myanmar scam, ASEAN calls on Myanmar government to end civil war

According to a report by the Jakarta Globe, a former legislator from Indramayu County in West Java, Indonesia, named Robiin, recently posted a video online claiming that he was kidnapped and forced to participate in a telephone scam operation in Myanmar.

The video circulated on social media on Saturday, featuring Robiin and three other unidentified Indonesian citizens. Robiin stated that they were captured by an online scamming group operating in Myanmar and were subjected to prolonged torture.

In the video, he appealed to the Indonesian President, Prabowo, saying, "To our new President Mr. Prabowo, please help us. We are detained and tortured in Myanmar, please help us."

Currently, the Indonesian government is in contact with domestic security departments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Bureau of Migrant Worker Protection, hoping to quickly rescue the victims.

Amelia Anggraini, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives' Committee on Defense and Foreign Affairs, also expressed concern about the incident and called for a comprehensive investigation. "If the kidnapping is confirmed, the government must act, and we will be in close contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon," Amelia stated.

She also emphasized that this is not an isolated incident and mentioned that if the embassy in Yangon is understaffed, personnel might be dispatched from the embassies in Thailand and Malaysia to assist in the rescue operations.

As scam crimes intensify in Myanmar, especially in border areas, scamming activities have become a serious local issue.

According to the Associated Press, these criminal activities are prevalent amid the ongoing conflicts between ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar military, with some Chinese investors and ethnic armed groups along the Myanmar border jointly operating casinos.

Scam activities include telephone scams, virtual investments, and illegal gambling, severely disrupting local social order and exacerbating the plight of the people.

In response to the worsening situation, ASEAN called on the Myanmar military government to prioritize ending the civil war rather than holding new elections during the Foreign Ministers' meeting held in Malaysia on the 19th.

Mohamad Hasan, the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, stated, "ASEAN knows that Myanmar wants to hold elections, but we told them that the current priority should be to end the civil war, not elections."

The Associated Press reported that since the military coup in February 2021, which overthrew the elected government, Myanmar's situation has remained turbulent, posing one of the biggest challenges for ASEAN.

After the coup, as ethnic armed groups took control of most of the country, Myanmar plunged into a fierce civil war, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and millions displaced.

However, ASEAN's peace efforts and other international solutions have so far been ineffective, mainly hindered by the Myanmar military government's refusal to comply with agreements and ASEAN's policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

Regarding the situation in Myanmar, Hasan revealed that Malaysia has appointed Othman Hashim, a former senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the ASEAN Chair's special envoy to Myanmar, responsible for engaging with all parties to seek solutions.

He emphasized, "We have no intention of interfering in Myanmar's internal affairs; dialogue and diplomacy are the best ways to assist the country back on the path to democracy."

ASEAN's call once again highlights the complexity and urgency of the situation in Myanmar, emphasizing that only through peaceful means can stability be brought to the country's future.