601 Myanmar, regional and international organisations sent a letter to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) calling on it to align its efforts with the will of the Myanmar people for a federal democratic union.
Below is the text of the 1 December letter:
We, the undersigned organisations, call on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to refrain from merely advocating for inclusive national dialogue in Myanmar that undermine efforts and the will of Myanmar people. ASEAN must take concrete actions to fulfil the demands made by the people of Myanmar to establish a federal democratic union and bring the illegal military junta and Min Aung Hlaing to justice for committing mass atrocity crimes.
We took note of the update provided by the ASEAN Office of the Special Envoy on Myanmar as led by H.E. Ambassador Ngurah Swajaya–representing Indonesia as the current ASEAN Chair–and attended by a representative from Laos, the next Chair of the regional bloc. The update concerned the separate exchanges it had with various stakeholders, including representatives from the military junta and the National Unity Government (NUG) on 22–23 November 2023.
While the inclusion of legitimate representatives of the Spring Revolution and the NUG in any efforts to address the crisis in Myanmar is welcome, our concern persists with the ASEAN's continued push for the realisation of the failed ASEAN Five-Point Consensus (5PC) and the call for “inclusive national dialogue”, failing to address the root cause of the intensifying atrocity crimes across Myanmar by the Myanmar military. In particular, the message conveyed by the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia that “inclusive dialogue and political solutions are the only viable solutions to address the crisis in Myanmar” disrespects and undermines the immense sacrifices of the people of Myanmar, especially the young generations, that call for an end to the military tyranny and to achieve a genuine federal democracy since the military’s attempted coup in February 2021.
At the margins of the ASEAN Summit in May 2023, more than hundreds of local and global civil society organisations called for the ASEAN to move beyond its failed 5PC, asserting that it has emboldened the illegal junta to commit further crimes and exacerbate the suffering of the people of Myanmar. As an alternative, the groups proposed the Five Counter Points, one of which stressed the necessity for ASEAN to “secure an enabling environment where federal democracy forces and stakeholders are guaranteed agency, respect, and security” prior to calling for an inclusive dialogue for all stakeholders–a condition that includes
the immediate cessation of the junta’s violence, persecution, and attacks on democracy forces as well as its collective punishment against the population.
Similar positions were also conveyed by the Myanmar Spring’s Young Revolutionaries during their meeting and exchange with the H.E. Ambassador Ngurah Swajaya as the Head of Special Envoy in July 2023. Among other messages, the youth stressed the need for ASEAN to move beyond the ineffective 5PC, to cease all engagements with the junta, and to work together with the Spring Revolution to establish a federal democracy in Myanmar.
In September 2023, civil society groups conducted the people’s hearing to present testimonies from survivors on the gross human rights violations committed by the military junta since the attempted coup in February 2021 and expert opinions and recommendations to ASEAN. Evident in these testimonies are indiscriminate air attacks and bombings, destruction of food sources and valuables, collective punishment, killings, torture, rape, ill-treatment of detainees, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, among other issues. Recommendations from the regional experts included the need for ASEAN “to cooperate with the United Nations and establish an ASEAN-backed mechanism or tribunal that will be able to receive communications and hear evidence of human rights violations and to take accountability measures against the perpetrators.”
It is extremely alarming that despite all these efforts from the civil society and the fact that it has claimed to conduct over 180 engagements with various stakeholders in 2023, ASEAN has yet to align its efforts with the Myanmar people’s very own demands and failed to recognise the military junta as the root cause of the all-out war nationwide.
ASEAN has failed to hold the military junta accountable for committing crimes against humanity and war crimes, amounting to mass atrocities. The bloc’s efforts have so far failed to match the call of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to refer the crisis in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. Instead, ASEAN continues to invite junta representatives to various ASEAN meetings, including to the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting and even allows the junta to be the Chair of the ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference under the Chairship of Indonesia, during which time it launched 20 airstrikes against civilians. ASEAN also persistently calls all parties for negotiations with the perpetrator of mass atrocity crimes, which to date has arrested more than 25,000 people, killed more than 4,200 and torched at least 76,000 properties.
We echo the sentiments stated by the NUG, ‘without the assurance of ending the military dictatorship and establishing a federal democratic union, without the genuine will of the people, spring forces and alliances, and without a guarantee of a transitional period where justice is fully upheld, there will be no engagement.’
We therefore urge all ASEAN leaders, the ASEAN Office of the Special Envoy on Myanmar, and all related ASEAN stakeholders and UN and dialogue partners of ASEAN not to endorse Indonesia’s imposed “inclusive dialogue” while the military junta’s ongoing brutality is yet to be addressed.
We call on ASEAN to respect, recognise and prioritise the aspirations of the Myanmar people by ceasing the current imposed “inclusive dialogue” process that is undermining extraordinary efforts of Myanmar’s Spring Revolutionary forces. Instead, the regional bloc must work together with the UNSC to take more concrete, coordinated action to halt the atrocities committed by the ruthless military junta and help bring the junta to justice through international justice mechanisms. ASEAN must set the goal and make the most of its unique position to assist in establishing a genuine federal democracy in Myanmar as aspired by its very own people.
