March 29, 2024, 5:56 am


Int'l Correspondent

Published:
2022-10-28 18:02:09 BdST

Southeast Asian ministers gather in Jakarta for emergency meeting on Myanmar crisis


The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should scrap the failed “five-point consensus” on Myanmar and enact emergency measures to protect the country's civilian population, said Fortify Rights on Thursday (Oct 27).

Such emergency measures should include an agreement on protecting Myanmar refugees, authorizing cross-border humanitarian aid, and coordinating with other UN member states to deprive the Myanmar military junta of weapons, dual-use technology, aviation fuel, revenue, and political recognition.

Foreign ministers from ASEAN will meet in Jakarta, Indonesia today to discuss the situation in Myanmar ahead of the annual ASEAN summit of heads of state and government, scheduled from November 10 to 13 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

As per a decision taken in October 2021, ASEAN will again exclude the Myanmar junta’s representative from Thursday’s meeting due to the junta’s non-compliance with the five-point-consensus plan.

The regional bloc should agree to exclude all Myanmar junta representatives from meetings across all ASEAN mechanisms, said Fortify Rights.

“The longer ASEAN takes to effectively respond to the human rights catastrophe unfolding in Myanmar, the more damage is done to the regional bloc’s international reputation and credibility,” said Patrick Phongsathorn, Human Rights Advocacy Specialist at Fortify Rights.

“The five-point consensus has failed, and thousands of civilians have lost their lives in these ongoing attacks. ASEAN foreign ministers know well what’s happening in Myanmar and must act decisively to bring an end to this crisis.”

On Sunday, the Myanmar junta-controlled air force reportedly bombed an outdoor concert being held to celebrate the Kachin Independence Organization’s 62nd anniversary in a village near Hpakant, Kachin State, killing at least 80 men, women, and children, including famous Kachin performing artists, and seriously injuring scores of others.

Video footage reportedly shows widespread destruction at the scene. Fortify Rights has not independently confirmed details of the attack but notes that reports of it are consistent with the junta’s ongoing attack on the civilian population, including crimes against humanity and war crimes.

On Wednesday, Cambodia—which currently holds ASEAN’s rotating chair—issued a statement noting that the airstrike in Kachin State and other reported airstrikes in Karen State have “not only resulted in worsening the humanitarian situation throughout Myanmar, but also goes against the spirit of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and undermining effort of the Special Envoy of ASEAN Chair on Myanmar to bring progress to its implementation.”

The statement fails to identify the junta directly, but instead notes that “all parties concerned, in particular one with significant power on the ground” must commit to an “immediate cessation of violence.”

Sanctioning the sale of aviation fuel to the Myanmar junta would effectively ground the junta’s aircraft, stifling its ability to conduct airstrikes against civilian populations and transport troops to attack these populations in remote locations.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, and other non-governmental organizations have already recommended sanctions on the sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar.

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