Dozens of parliamentarians from several Southeast Asian countries urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the international community to take “swift and concrete action” against Myanmar’s military junta.
The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights’ (APHR) also called for “real assistance” to pro-democracy forces in Myanmar during a roundtable discussion on the Myanmar crisis in Jakarta on Friday, March 3.
The discussion, which was part of APHR’s annual members’ forum, was held at the Indonesian House of Representatives and included parliamentarians and civil society organizations from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Myanmar itself.
“The crisis in Myanmar is causing a humanitarian catastrophe of gigantic proportions. The junta’s atrocities have displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes,” said Mercy Barends, member of the Indonesian House of Representatives and APHR chairperson, in a statement.
She said the number of internally displaced persons in Myanmar now stands at more than a 1.3 million.
“The sole responsible for this disaster is the junta led by Min Aung Hlaing, and it is high time that ASEAN stop treating it with kid gloves,” said Barends, adding that “strong pressure to isolate the Myanmar military is more imperative and urgent than ever.”
On Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim slammed the ASEAN for its inaction on Myanmar, saying the regional bloc’s principle of non-interference in member-states’ affairs must not descend into indifference.
Consensus-based decision making should not devolve into silence on violations of the bloc’s core principles of respect for democratic values, human rights and fundamental freedoms, he said during a lecture at the University of the Philippines in Manila.
Anwar, who is on an official visit to the Philippines, spoke to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. a day earlier about Myanmar, suggesting the ASEAN should explore new approaches to resolving the post-coup crisis there.
Myanmar’s military, which toppled an elected government on Feb. 1, 2021, reneged on a five-point consensus – a roadmap to restore peace and democracy – it “agreed to” with other ASEAN members in April that year.
According to the local organization Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), over 16,000 political prisoners are currently jailed and at least 3,075 people have been killed by the military since the coup.
“What is happening in Myanmar is an affront to humanity and we, as fellow humans, should take it seriously and not stand idly as the military continues to violate the human rights of the Myanmar people,” said António de Sá Benevides, member of Parliament of Timor Leste.
The International Parliamentary Inquiry into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar, which was organized by APHR in 2022, found that the global community has largely failed to provide the help that the people of Myanmar sorely need. – with a report from Benar News
