Influence of Interest Groups in Indonesian Humanitarian Assistance Policy Making to Rohingya in 2017

Abstract

Internal conflict between communities in Rohingya, Myanmar with fluctuations and conflicting tendencies. This condition is based on several reasons. There are two compelling reasons on which this conflict continues. The first reason is about the citizenship of Rohingya Muslims who are considered not a native of Myanmar. The second reason is about the tendency of religious differences adopted by Rohingya Muslims with the majority religion of Myanmar people. Conditions of conflict have implications for the increasing number of victims which resulted humanitarian crisis. The escalation of conflict that led to the humanitarian crisis occurred in August 2017. In this condition, the Myanmar government tried to close itself from international assistance and attention. Indonesia is the only country that can dialogue, open up humanitarian space and provide humanitarian assistance related to these conditions. The aim of this research is to analyze the role of interest groups in influencing the government in making policies on Indonesian humanitarian assistance to Rohingya ethnicities on the escalation of conflict in 2017. Foreign policy making in the context of humanitarian assistance will not be separated from the domestic political constellation of a country. This research sees that interest groups play a large role in influencing the government to make a policy related to humanitarian assistance to Rohingya ethnicity in the escalation of conflict in 2017. The influence given by interest groups will be seen in two roles. The role is the demands and alternative recommendations given by interest groups to the government as policy makers. Demands can be interpreted in the form of demonstrations and stances, while alternative recommendations are concrete recommendations submitted to the government to make policies in accordance with the interests brought. The method that will be used in this research is a qualitative method with a descriptive analysis type.