REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, reported arrived at Sittwe airport in Rakhine State, Myanmar, on Monday. Rakhine is the state where sectarian violence between Muslims and Buddhists killed about 200 people and left at least 110,000 displaced. 

Earlier, Natalegawa explained that he would observe directly the condition in Rakhine. The observation, he said, was not only on Rohingya Muslim but also on other ethnic groups in Rakhine to find out the real problem there. 

The minister said that the visit was upon invitation by President of Myanmar, Thein Sein. "After the conflict in June 2012, all life facilities of the Rohingya ethnic group, particularly the sources of their income, are damaged so that they need assistance," Marty said on Friday.

He said Indonesia has prepared assistance worth 1 million USD to help alleviate their burden. The Buddhist and Muslim conflict in Rakhine has claimed many lives.  

But the Rohingya ethnic group suffered most because many of them were forced to leave their homeland. Rohingya Muslims were stateless because they were not recognized by the Myanmar government. 

They were also believed to have fallen victim to violence by the Myanmarese security officers. The Rohingya Muslims were forced to stay in refugee camps, expecting assistance from donors. Some have to migrate and leave secretly without the knowledge of security officers in the borders between Thailand and Bangladesh

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