JakartaPost-Oct 28, 2022
ASEAN will engage with opponents of Myanmar’s junta, Indonesian officials revealed on Thursday, as part of a “unanimous” agreement to strengthen a regional peace initiative with “concrete, practical and time-bound actions”. In the run-up to the Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta, the regional bloc had faced growing pressure to firmly act against the military regime in Myanmar, which has been ignoring calls to end a brutal crackdown on political opponents and civilian protesters. “Indonesia emphasized the importance of an immediate engagement with all stakeholders, as mandated by the 5PC. […] As a note, engagement with the junta has only been done as part of the all-round engagement. It has nothing to do with its recognition,” Retno asserted. Critics have lambasted ASEAN’s continued engagement with the military, with one open letter signed by hundreds of civil society groups stating that it only “condoned and emboldened the illegal junta”. Others called for the expulsion of Myanmar from the 10-nation organization, after the junta repeatedly blocked access to the ASEAN chair’s special envoy to meet with representatives of opposition groups in Myanmar. Sidharto Suryodipuro, the Foreign Ministry’s director general for ASEAN cooperation, insisted that the bloc had never considered kicking Myanmar out of the group. However, he did confirm that ASEAN would be engaging with other stakeholders, including the National Unity Government (NUG), the shadow government run by ousted members of the former civilian administration. As the incoming chair of ASEAN, Indonesia would set up a process to determine which parties would be involved “to ensure inclusive discussions,” he said on Thursday. But Indonesia would not seek the junta’s permission to engage with the opposition when it assumes the ASEAN chairmanship in three weeks’ time, the senior official said. Read more at:
