Irrawaddy-Aug 5
After years of defying international pressure, Myanmar’s military regime finally allowed the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to meet with jailed civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday. It was the first official meeting with an international representative since her arrest in the 2021 coup.
In 2023, the regime secretly allowed Thailand’s then-foreign minister, Don Pramudwinai, to meet with her but permitted no photo evidence or other evidence to emerge. Monday’s meeting begs the question “why now?” And why the Red Cross?
The meeting comes just ahead of coup leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing’s official visit to Thailand, which supports the regime’s efforts to re-engage with ASEAN. The regime leadership has been banned from the bloc’s summits for its failure to honor the Five-Point Consensus peace plan ASEAN adopted in 2021. Thailand said it is ready to act as a “bridge” between Myanmar and ASEAN, opening up space for constructive discussions and cooperation. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Tuesday reiterated his government’s calls for “calibrated re-engagement” with Myanmar—an approach that keeps dialogue open and responds to realities on the ground while encouraging concrete progress. “This approach appears to be moving in the right direction, as yesterday the ICRC was allowed to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, where she appears to be in good health. This has been what Thailand has advocated for all along,” he said. A day earlier, his Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow also issued a statement welcoming the meeting and expressed hope that the regime would take “further positive steps” for a long-lasting peace. That suggests the meeting was chiefly aimed at appeasing Thailand ahead of Min Aung Hlaing’s trip. Bangkok is also under fire for inviting the dictator, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant for genocide. By arranging the meeting, the putsch leader hoped to ease pressure on him to some extent while saving Thailand from criticism. “It’s clear that Min Aung Hlaing wanted to appease Thailand,” Debbie Stothard of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma told The Irrawaddy. She noted that using the ICRC is a convenient ploy since the organization is painstakingly apolitical and its rules do not permit it to pass on any messages Daw Aung San Suu Kyi might have had to the wider world. “It’s not a genuine concession,” she warned. “Thailand and the Philippines should not allow themselves to be scammed by Min Aung Hlaing in this way.” Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/analysis/why-myanmar-regime-let-icrc-see-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-now.html
