Myanmar crisis international inquiry to present report to Malaysia, urge more Asean action

Lawmakers are pushing for Asean to do more to counter violence since last year’s military coup that has already seen more than 2,000 people die

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah recently lashed out at Asean for its lack of urgency dealing with the issue

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Protesters take part in a demonstration against last year’s military coup in Myanmar. File photo: AFP

Published: 7:30pm, 13 Sep 2022Updated: 7:38pm, 13 Sep 2022

An international parliamentary inquiry on the global response to the Myanmar crisis is expected to present its report Tuesday to Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, who has publicly criticised Asean, in a bid to push the bloc to take a stronger position on the deadly violence that followed the military coup.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) last year barred Myanmar’s top junta officials from attending key meetings over their failure to honour a “five-point consensus” peace plan they had agreed to.

Still, the 10-nation bloc has since come under criticism for doing little to stop spiralling violence that has claimed more than 2,000 civilian lives since the military takeover in February 2021.

Members of the new inquiry committee, convened by the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), are expected to present their findings to Saifuddin at a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Chaired by European Union parliamentarian Heidi Hautala, the committee also includes APHR Chairman Charles Santiago, US congresswoman Ilhan Omar and elected representatives from Indonesia, Gambia, South Africa and Thailand.

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