Asean excludes Burmese junta leader from next summit

Published on : 10/16/2021 – 19:13

ASEAN foreign ministers, meeting virtually on Friday (October 15), have decided that Min Aung Hlaing will not be invited to the summit to be held from October 26 to 28, said on Saturday (October 16) Brunei, which currently holds the presidency. turning point of the association. Instead, it was decided to “invite a non-political Burmese representative”.

“Burma is extremely disappointed and strongly opposes the conclusions of the meeting of (ASEAN) foreign ministers,” the junta’s foreign ministry said in a statement, saying that “the talks and the decision on the question of the representation of Burma took place without consensus, and are contrary to the objectives of ASEAN “.

Burma denounces “interference” by non-ASEAN countries

Earlier, the Burmese junta had criticized this decision, accusing ASEAN of having broken the rule of non-interference in the domestic politics of its member states. “We can also see interference from other (non-ASEAN) countries,” junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told the local BBC team.

He was referring to talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and ASEAN envoy for Burma, Brunei Deputy Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, held ahead of the meeting, and pressure from the European Union.

The organization, which brings together ten Southeast Asian countries, took this exceptional step after the junta rejected requests to send a special representative to engage “with all stakeholders”, including the ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi, overthrown by the army in February. The statement said “insufficient progress” in the implementation of a five-point plan, adopted in April, which was to help restore dialogue in Burma and facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid.

“Difficult but necessary”

For ASEAN, the situation in Burma “has an impact on regional security, as well as on the unity, credibility and centrality of (the organization)”. For Singapore’s foreign ministry, this decision was “difficult but necessary to maintain the credibility of ASEAN”.

The exclusion of the head of the Burmese junta “establishes the reputation (of Asean) as an organization which can still play an active role in South East Asia”, Mustafa Izzuddin told AFP. , specialist in international relations in the consulting firm Solaris Strategies in Singapore. It sends a “political signal” to the junta, according to which Asean does not let it go and that Burma must show its seriousness and its commitment to implement the five-point plan, he added.

Burma, mainly ruled by the military since a coup d’état in 1962, has been a thorn in the side of Asean since it joined the organization in 1997. A coup d’état ended on February 1, to a democratic parenthesis of ten years. Military repression is bloody against opponents, with more than 1,100 civilians killed and 8,400 imprisoned, according to a local NGO, the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Among those imprisoned, Aung San Suu Kyi, 76, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, is being prosecuted in particular for having violated restrictions linked to Covid-19 during last year’s elections, which her party won by large numbers, and for illegally importing walkie-talkies. She faces decades in prison.

United States approves ASEAN

A senior official of the American administration, qualified as “perfectly appropriate” and “completely justified” the decision of the ASEAN, even before its official announcement. Aung Myo Min, Minister of Human Rights in the Government of National Unity (NUG), formed by former deputies of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, hailed this exclusion as “a very strong measure” and said he hoped ASEAN would recognize NUG as the legitimate government. Asean’s main partners supported the call for the special envoy to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a joint statement, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway and East Timor expressed their “deep concern over the critical situation in Burma “, calling on the junta to” participate constructively “in the dialogue with the special envoy of ASEAN.

The junta has promised to hold elections and lift the state of emergency in 2023.

With AFP