BANGKOK – Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah proposed that the special envoy of the Asean chair to Myanmar should be given a tenure of “more than a year”, and that the person appointed may not necessarily be a foreign minister.
He said this is to ensure the special envoy is able to contribute effectively to ending the conflict in the junta-ruled state.
The special envoy may not necessarily be a foreign minister responsible for other diplomatic duties as well, so that he or she can really pay a lot of attention to Myanmar, he said in a press conference yesterday.
At present, the foreign minister of the current Asean chair is appointed as the special envoy to build trust and confidence with full access to all parties concerned in Myanmar. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn is the current special envoy of the Asean chair to Myanmar.
The appointment of a special envoy was included in a five-point consensus (5PC) agreed upon at an extraordinary Asean meeting held in Indonesia in late April 2021 to restore stability in Myanmar, but was delayed for months.
The 5PC calls for immediate cessation of violence, dialogues with all key stakeholders, the appointment of a special envoy to facilitate mediation, and for the delegation to visit and meet with stakeholders in Myanmar, and allow Asean to provide humanitarian assistance to people there.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said Asean may seek support from its dialogue partners to help the Asean-led peace process for Myanmar.
“Some of us brought to the table that if Asean is not able to do it alone, we will probably have to engage some of our Asean dialogue partners… but the question asked was who do the junta listen to,” he said adding that the matter would be on the tabled during the Asean leaders meet in November.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin reiterated that Asean should engage with the National Unity Government (NUG) and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) of Myanmar.
“Now it is one-sided, as Asean is only engaging the junta.
“That’s the basic reason Malaysia has proposed many times that the special envoy should engage NUG and NUCC and make the progress public, so the people of Myanmar know of the developments,” he said.
Myanmar’s military has urged Asean members not to meet groups that oppose the coup, which it calls “unlawful associations and terrorist groups”.
Last week, foreign ministers from nine of the ten Asean member states concluded a three-day 55th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings in Phnom Penh, saying they were “deeply disappointed” by the limited progress and the Myanmar junta’s lack of commitment in implementing the 5PC.
Asean will assess the progress towards the implementation of the 5PC by the junta’s State Administration Council in the upcoming November summit, to guide the decision on the next steps.
Myanmar’s military took power in a coup on February 1, 2021, detaining elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and political activists.
At least 2,114 people have been killed in Myanmar in the campaign to suppress the widespread opposition to military rule. – Bernama, August 11, 2022
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