Asean chair Indonesia says Myanmar human rights abuses cannot be tolerated

Name: Human Rights Watch urges Asean chair Indonesia to ‘resolve’ crisis in junta-run Myanmar
Uploaded: 2023-05-11T08:05:43.000Z
Duration: 2 min 3 s
Description: Human Rights Watch urges Asean chair Indonesia to ‘resolve’ crisis in junta-run Myanmar

President Joko Widodo, current chair of Asean said the bloc must keep pushing for a peace plan and rights violations in military-ruled Myanmar cannot be tolerated

The bloc also urged restraint and peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea and said a surge in missile tests by North Korea was a threat to regional peace

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Indonesia president Joko Widodo said Myanmar human rights abuses cannot be tolerated at the conclusion of a Southeast Asian leaders summit. Photo: Pool via Reuters

Agencies

Published: 4:05pm, 11 May 2023

Violations of human rights in military-ruled Myanmar cannot be tolerated and violence should be immediately halted and people must be protected, Indonesia’s president said on Thursday at the conclusion of a Southeast Asian leaders summit.

President Joko Widodo, current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), said the bloc must keep pushing for a peace plan to be implemented in Myanmar and Indonesia was ready to talk to anyone with a stake in the conflict, adding that engagement did not mean endorsement or recognition.

“Asean unity is needed to formulate the way forward,” Indonesia’s leader said on Thursday on the island of Labuan Bajo. “But the issue of Myanmar must not hinder the accelerated development of the Asean community, cause this is what we have been waiting for.”

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said violations of human rights in military-ruled Myanmar cannot be tolerated. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool

Myanmar, one of the group’s 10 members, is a lingering problem for Asean as violence remains rampant in a country run by a military junta, with no signs that the peace proposal pushed by its neighbours will be adopted any time soon. The junta continues to use force to crack down on its citizens and political parties critical of its authoritarian rule.

In April, more than 50 people were killed following a Myanmar military strike in the Sagaing region. The US condemned the violence and urged Myanmar to “to respect the genuine and inclusive democratic aspirations of the people of Burma.”

While Asean has taken an increasingly tougher stance on Myanmar by banning its military generals from attending regional meetings and actively promoting the peace plan, critics find these steps insufficient and are calling for stronger measures including sanctions. The regional bloc has a policy of non-interference in its members affairs and the group remains divided in resolving Myanmar’s crisis.

02:03

Human Rights Watch urges Asean chair Indonesia to ‘resolve’ crisis in junta-run Myanmar

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim publicly expressed his frustrations. He has said that about 200,000 people have fled to Malaysia to escape the tumult in Myanmar.