ASEAN’S continuous engagement with the brutal and illegitimate Myanmar junta, while refusing to hold dialogues with the true representatives of the Myanmar people, is an affront to its own five-point consensus.
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), Progressive Voice and ALTSEAN-Burma, together with over 400 other civil society organisations, condemn the continuous reluctance of Asean delegations to meet other parties, including the representatives of the national unity government (NUG), ethnic leaders, and civil disobedience movement (CDM).
NUG was established following the February 1 coup, and comprises 76% of parliamentarians elected in polls last November.
“Asean has failed to recognise the Myanmar people’s desire by siding with the illegitimate and murderous military junta led by the perpetrators of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, and targets of international sanctions like Min Aung Hlaing. The decision of the Asean delegation to meet solely with the illegal junta provides legitimacy to the military junta and contributes to the further perpetration of grave human rights violations in the country,” says Progressive Voice founder and chairman Khin Ohmar.
From June 3, an Asean delegation led by Asean Secretary-General Datuk Lim Jock Hoi and Brunei Foreign Minister II Datuk Erywan Pehin Yusof, representing the Asean chair, has been reported to be engaging solely with the Myanmar military.
The undersigned assert that the visit has been mired in a lack of transparency for the absence of engagement with all parties, contrary to Point 5 of the five-point consensus that reads: “A special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned.”
“The Asean delegation violated the five-point consensus, particularly the fifth point instructing the special envoy and delegation to meet with all parties concerned. In doing so, it has also violated the Asean charter’s principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance, and respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” says Debbie Stothard, founder and coordinator of ALTSEAN-Burma.
Asean’s five-point consensus on Myanmar was the result of the Asean Leaders’ Meeting on April 24.
Civil society groups have repeatedly requested that Asean meet with all the parties concerned, including NUG, the committee representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, ethnic leaders, ethnic armed organisations, and CDM.
Since the announcement of the five-point consensus, Asean has repeatedly fallen short of upholding its own commitments to the Myanmar people. Instead of steering the junta towards ending the violence in the country, Asean has created an opportunity for the junta’s own propaganda, emboldening its facade of authority.
We the undersigned are further alarmed by the junta’s attempts to shut down the internet since yesterday, believed to be aimed at sabotaging a press conference held by NUG in conjunction with the Asean delegation’s visit.
“Limiting the right to information is a rights violation. The Myanmar people have every right to access pertinent information on the goings-on in their country. We are disappointed that despite these severe developments, Asean is still tacitly endorsing the impunity of the military junta. This must stop before it takes a further toll on regional stability,” says Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, executive director of Forum-Asia.
Since the beginning of the coup, the junta has killed 845 people and arrested 5,708, and the numbers continue to increase rapidly. On June 4, junta forces killed at least 20 civilians in the Kyonpaw township, 150km northwest of Yangon, in the largest mass killing in nearly two months. Residents only had catapults and crossbows to defend themselves against guns and grenades.
We the undersigned call on Asean to immediately refocus efforts to engage with NUG and other stakeholders in Myanmar, and cease lending legitimacy to the junta or risk losing its relevance to all Asean citizens.
While the dire human rights and humanitarian crises in Myanmar are a direct result of the military’s violence, the solution lies with the people of Myanmar and NUG, not the perpetrator. If Asean is to effectively engage Myanmar, it must hold dialogues with all the parties concerned.
In siding with the junta, Asean is, in essence, supporting grave violations of human rights and democracy, and infringing its own Asean charter commitments to strengthen democracy and protect human rights in the region. This will negatively impact regional peace and stability, as well as let down the people’s aspirations. – The Vibes, June 7, 2021
Signed by 419 civil society organisations including ALTSEAN-Burma, Asia Democracy Network, Forum-Asia, Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Free Rohingya Coalition, iLaw, Maruah Singapore, Migrant CARE, People’s Empowerment Foundation, Progressive Voice and Rohingya Youth Association
* Due to serious security concerns, the names of the other 407 civil society groups endorsing this statement cannot be disclosed. The organisations work on a range of human rights protections and rights-based issues in Myanmar
