Myanmar armed forces chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (right) meeting with Brunei s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof (third from the left) and Asean Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi (second from the left) in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on June 4, 2021. - AFP
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): President Joko Jokowi Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have initiated an Asean-led diplomatic initiative to stop the ruthless Myanmar junta from killing innocent people who have refused to accept a government that was born of a coup against a democratic regime.
But Indonesia now faces the bitter fact that resistance to concerted efforts to stop gross human rights violations in Myanmar comes not only come from the military junta but also from within Asean itself.
TO restore the credibility of Asean, which was damaged by Brunei’s Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof and Asean Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi’s visit to Myanmar on behalf of the regional bloc last week, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should waste no time in discussing the matter with Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the chair of Asean for this year.
Power rift: In this 2018 file photo, Suu Kyi attends a meeting with General Hlaing. AFP
MYANMAR’s military staged a well-planned bloodless coup a week ago, overthrowing democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but the ripples created by the coup in the region can be more wide-ranging and worrying.
The military is back in power after allowing Myanmar to enjoy around a decade of difficult democracy, fought tirelessly by Suu Kyi’s camp in one of the world’s poorest countries.
From 1962 to 2011, Myanmar was under direct army rule. After the democratic transformation took place in 2011 under external pressure, the military gradually gave up most of its political power.