MYANMAR: NUG Criticizes EU and ASEAN for Failing to Take Action Against Myanmar Regime

Posted by Asia Views | Dec 21, 2022 | 0 |

Irrawaddy-Dec 20

Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has criticized the leaders of the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for failing to take any new effective action to address the Myanmar crisis at their summit last week. On Monday, the NUG’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that EU-ASEAN leaders had failed to support the NUG as the legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people, as well as failing to condemn the junta’s atrocities against civilians.

The EU-ASEAN summit was held in Brussels, Belgium. It issued a statement on December 14 calling for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, the release of all political detainees and for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance to all persons in need without discrimination. EU-ASEAN leaders also denounced the military regime’s execution of four pro-democracy activists in July, while calling on the ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar to build confidence and trust and to be allowed full access to all parties concerned. The summit also highlighted the regime’s commitment to the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus peace plan, which coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing agreed to last year but has failed to implement. “While these calls are welcome, they are not new and significant opportunities were missed,” said the NUG’s foreign affairs ministry. However, the EU-ASEAN statement does make a notable commitment to redouble collective efforts towards a peaceful solution in Myanmar that reflects a continued commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, the ministry added. The NUG said also that the EU-ASEAN commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms must respect the democratic will of the Myanmar people by upholding the results of the 2020 general election, and block all attempts by the junta to hold a sham election next year. It also urged the EU and ASEAN to support the Federal Democracy Charter and to reject the junta’s unlawful state of emergency. The NUG also called for concrete action to dismantle the junta’s capacity for inflicting further atrocities on civilians, including imposing sanctions on jet fuel suppliers to the regime, and to step up the diplomatic pressure on the junta to stop it from executing more political prisoners. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/nug-criticizes-eu-and-asean-for-failing-to-take-action-against-myanmar-regime.html

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

MYANMAR: NUG Criticizes EU and ASEAN for Failing to Take Action Against Myanmar Regime

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