Tuesday, July 11, 2023

ASEAN chair urges unity over Myanmar junta


Top diplomats in Jakarta for the ASEAN regional bloc meeting. Photo: AAP

Kate Lamb, Jul 11, 2023


ASEAN chair Indonesia has stressed the importance of the regional bloc’s unity in remaining credible as its foreign ministers start talks expected to touch on the thorny issue of engaging Myanmar’s ostracised ruling generals.

The meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta comes as doubts about ASEAN’s effectiveness grow, with some disagreement over how to approach a bloody conflict in Myanmar and the junta’s failure to implement an agreed ASEAN peace plan.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi made no direct mention of Myanmar in her opening remarks at Tuesday’s plenary session, but said ASEAN “can only matter if it has credibility”.


“So we have no choice but to show that ASEAN can navigate the regional and global dynamics and continue to instil the paradigm of collaboration,” she said.

“We can only achieve this if we maintain ASEAN unity and centrality.”

Myanmar has been gripped by fighting since the military seized power in early 2021 before unleashing a fierce crackdown on pro-democracy opponents, which resulted in the formation of an armed resistance movement and an intensification of conflict.

ASEAN has barred the junta from its high-level meetings for not honouring its commitment to a “five-point consensus” agreed two years ago, which includes ending hostilities.

Indonesia has been trying to initiate a peace process behind the scenes by engaging key stakeholders, but those efforts were dealt a blow last month when Thailand called its own meeting to discuss re-engaging with the generals, a move widely criticised as undermining Jakarta’s work.

Foreign ministers of key ASEAN members stayed away, however, with only those of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos attending and some countries sending junior representation.

Sources familiar with Indonesia’s peace effort say it is being complicated by pre-conditions made by all sides to start even informal talks.

Retno last week said any “zero-sum approach” would mean durable peace “will never be achieved”.

Human rights groups and some United Nations experts have accused Myanmar’s military of committing widespread atrocities against civilians.

It says it is fighting “terrorists”.

The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, recently urged the UN Security Council to refer the escalating violence to the International Criminal Court, and for countries to stop supplying weapons to the junta.

Tuesday’s meetings come ahead of the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum later this week, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov both slated to attend.

China on Tuesday confirmed its foreign minister Qin Gang would not attend due to health reasons.

It said top diplomat Wang Yi would join instead, confirming a Reuters report citing sources familiar with the matter.

-AAP

Little evidence of progress in Myanmar politics, say experts


July 11, 2023

ANN/THE JAKARTA POST – There has been little evidence of progress in Myanmar’s political condition since the 2021 coup, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said. He said this following a meeting with United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, US.

Balakrishnan told a press conference a lack of progress meant it was not the time to re-engage at a high-level with Myanmar’s junta. He said current Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair Indonesia was engaging with “a wide spectrum of stakeholders” on Myanmar, a reference to talks involving opponents of the coup.

“You do need everyone ultimately to sit down and negotiate. I don’t know how long it will take. The last time it took 25 years for some form of democratic transition to occur in Myanmar. I hope it won’t take that long,” he said, adding that he remained “pessimistic”.

Blinken said he agreed with his Singaporean counterpart and that Washington supports ASEAN’s efforts on Myanmar.

“It’s very important that we continue – all of us – to sustain the appropriate pressure on the junta and look for ways, of course, to engage the opposition,” he said.

The US has issued sanctions against Myanmar’s military and its companies, and urged other countries to stop weapons sales to the junta.

A United Nations (UN) expert in May identified USD254 million of supplies shipped from entities in Singapore to the Myanmar military.

Asked about the report, Balakrishnan said Singapore’s policy was to “do our best” to prevent arms or so-called dual-use items that can be used in warfare getting to Myanmar and said the city-state would act on the UN expert’s findings.

Singapore is a member of the ASEAN, which bar Myanmar’s junta from its high-level meetings after the putsch plunged the country into violence, with the military battling on multiple fronts to crush an armed pro-democracy resistance movement.




Access Now’s UNHRC statement: Urge arms embargo to stave off expanding military abuse of surveillance and digital tools against people of Myanmar

PUBLISHED: 10 JULY 2023



On Thursday, July 6, 2023, Wai Phyo Myint, Asia Pacific Policy Analyst at Access Now, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council at its 53rd session regarding the intensified abuse of surveillance and digital tools by the Myanmar military, ahead of the elections.

In the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Wai Phyo Myint highlighted how the military is steadily fortifying surveillance infrastructure across the country — including through installing CCTVs with facial recognition powers and activating intercept technologies across military-controlled telecommunications networks.

Wai Phyo Myint also raised the alarm on the military’s abuse of digital tools — allowing it to collect massive amounts of personal data from people’s SIM and IMEI registrations, and from their National Registration Cards. Combined, these information can be used to track people’s communications, location and networks via their mobile devices, and target those who resist the military.

Access Now calls for a comprehensive arms embargo — including a ban on the sale or transfer of surveillance technologies, equipment, intelligence or related assistance to the military, particularly “dual-use” and biometric technologies enabling mass and discriminatory targeted surveillance.

READ THE TRANSCRIPT

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