Junta rejects ASEAN foreign ministers’ chiding joint communiqué

By Admin 15 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
July 15 2023, Sittwe

Myanmar’s military regime has objected to a joint communiqué issued at a recent ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting that criticised the post-coup state of affairs in Myanmar and the military’s conduct specifically.

“We strongly condemned the continued acts of violence, including air strikes, artillery shelling, and destruction of public facilities,” the regional grouping’s top diplomats said in the joint communiqué on Thursday.

In response, the regime said it was disappointed by “unfair and one-sided facts about Myanmar in the Joint Communiqué.”

“Myanmar reiterates its principled position on not accepting any country-specific paragraphs in any ASEAN Statement, including the Joint Communiqué since it contradicts the principle of non-interference, which is enshrined in the ASEAN Charter,” the junta’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The regime’s failure to take accountability for its actions against its own people since the February 2021 coup is nothing new, observers said.

“When there is fighting, the regime targets civilians, and torches villages. It did so in Arakan State. But they have never admitted their crimes. They are not protecting people. They are only protecting their interests,” said politician U Pe Than.

“ASEAN should acknowledge what may work,” said political observer U Ye Htun. “It is important to acknowledge the efforts of the Thai foreign minister. It is the first step toward implementation of the five-point-consensus that ASEAN is demanding.”

Thailand’s outgoing Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Indonesia that he met with detained Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during an unannounced visit to Naypyitaw last week, ahead of the foreign ministers’ meeting.

The junta has rejected several requests by ASEAN and UN special envoys on Myanmar to meet with her.

Myanmar’s military leaders have been frequently criticised for failing to implement a five-point peace plan put forward by ASEAN in April 2021, which calls for a halt to violence and inclusive dialogue.

Myanmar has been in a state of political chaos and economic freefall since the coup, with the military regime fighting a nationwide popular uprising against it. The anti-regime forces include several ethnic armed groups that have long been at odds with Myanmar’s military establishment, as well as dozens of People’s Defence Forces and similarly anti-junta militias formed since the coup.