BANGKOK: ASEAN leaders must urgently chart a new course in coordination with the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar and Ethnic Revolutionary Organisations to end the mass suffering caused by the military junta since last year’s coup.
Founding member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) Marzuki Darusman said ASEAN has wasted 20 months in trying to reason with Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and persisting with ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus (5PC) while the junta continued to brutalise the people.
“The upcoming ASEAN Summit (next month) must be a turning point to speedily, effectively and irreversibly lead to the end of the junta’s erratic behaviour and the whole conflict,” he said in a statement in response to the deadly airstrike in Kachin State on Oct 23.
Marzuki added that launching an airstrike on civilians attending a music concert is the ultimate act of junta cowardice and inhumanity.
Media reported that an air strike killed at least 50 people at a concert in Hpakant, Kachin State on Oct 23.
Kachin Independence Army (KIA) spokesperson Naw Bu said the attack targetted celebrations of the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Kachin army’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), according to Reuters.
SAC-M founding member Yanghee Lee said the horrific airstrike in Kachin State was an act which constitutes a war crime.
“When will the international community, including the UN and ASEAN, stand with the people of Myanmar and support the democratic revolution,” she questioned.
ASEAN Foreign Ministers will hold a special meeting in Indonesia on Thursday to discuss the Myanmar peace process. Experts said drastic recommendations and strategies are expected to implement the 5PC to resolve the crisis.
Myanmar will not be represented at the ASEAN Summit next month after the junta declined a proposal to send a non-junta representative.
Meanwhile, Chris Sidoti of SAC-M said the International Criminal Court urgently needs to act on the National Unity Government of Myanmar’s article 12(3) declaration so that Myanmar military leaders face justice for their horrific crimes.
On Feb 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup, hours before the newly elected parliament was due to convene for the first time leading to unrest and turmoil in the country ever since. - Bernama
