US again touts importance of Myanmar peace plan despite divisions within ASEAN

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Statement by top diplomats said many members viewed Thai meeting with junta foreign minister as a positive step.

Washington on Friday again urged countries to push Myanmar on a peace plan that has failed so far, although the regional bloc is divided over how to handle the Burmese crisis.

Countries must persuade the Burmese military to follow through on the five-point plan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as he met with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other countries in Jakarta on Friday.

“In Myanmar, we must press the military regime to stop the violence, to implement ASEAN’s five-point consensus, to support a return to democratic governance,” Blinken said in a speech during a meeting with ASEAN ministers. 

The bloc, of which Myanmar is a member, has sought to mediate a resolution to the situation in that country, where the military toppled an elected government in February 2021 and threw civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in prison. Nearly 3,800 people have been killed in post-coup violence, mostly by junta security forces.  

On Thursday, ASEAN issued a joint statement of its foreign ministers, but that was delayed by a day following a meeting of the region’s top diplomats Tuesday and Wednesday. Reports said the delay arose because they could not agree on what their joint statement would say about Myanmar.

The statement reflected the dissonance. 

Thailand had last month held another meeting with Myanmar’s junta-appointed foreign minister, representatives of ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and India and China. The Burmese and Thai militaries are said to be close, and the outgoing Thai PM is a former army chief.

ASEAN 2023 chair Indonesia did not take kindly to that meeting, which it skipped along with Singapore and Malaysia.

And yet, the joint statement acknowledged that meeting, noting that “a number of ASEAN member states” viewed it “as a positive development.”

The statement went on to note, however, that efforts to solve the Myanmar crisis must support the five-point consensus and efforts by ASEAN chair Indonesia.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai defended the meeting, saying it was in line with an earlier ASEAN document that called for exploring other approaches for resolving the crisis.

In another shocker for the rest of ASEAN, and indeed, everyone else, the Thai foreign minister announced on Wednesday that he had met secretly over the weekend with Myanmar’s imprisoned civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The Thai foreign ministry said that she and the junta had approved the meeting with Don.

And not everyone is on board with the five-point consensus either, although they present a unified front, reports say.

The previous foreign minister of Malaysia, Saifuddin Abdullah, was an exception. He had said last July that it was time to junk the peace plan and devise a new one on a deadline that included enforcement mechanisms. 

ASEAN operates by consensus, which means any action it takes has to be approved by every member state. Divisions within the bloc have meant that not every member has approved of tougher action against Myanmar.

Therefore, other than shutting out the Burmese junta from all high-level ASEAN meetings for reneging on the consensus, little else has happened since February 2021.

Hunter Marston, a Southeast Asia researcher at the Australian National University, said the ASEAN top diplomats’ joint statement was largely in line with his expectations.

He would have liked to see “ASEAN invite the NUG as a way of imposing costs on the junta, but that won’t receive consensus,” Marston told BenarNews, referring to the National Unity Government, which is the shadow civilian administration.

He would have also liked to see “see a clearer acknowledgement of ASEAN’s frustration with the military junta.”

And the statement “still left room for Thailand’s rogue … diplomacy,” Marston said. 

Another analyst, Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, said he had expected a little better from the joint statement.

“[N]ow I only hope that ASEAN does not accept back the junta without accountability,” he told BenarNews.

RFA News

Divided ASEAN condemns Myanmar violence again, supports five-point plan

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RECASTS WITH JOINT COMMUNIQUE

ASEAN foreign ministers on Thursday condemned violence in Myanmar again and repeated support for a peace plan ignored by its junta rulers, as the divided bloc struggled to find unity over the protracted crisis.

Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent.

A joint communique finally arrived late Thursday, more than a day after a two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial meeting ended as the fractured group wrangled over its content and wording.

It said a five-point plan agreed with Myanmar’s junta two years ago — which they have failed to implement — remained the bloc’s best hope of solving the crisis, despite Thailand launching a separate track to ASEAN efforts in recent months.

“We… reaffirmed our united position that the five-point consensus remains our main reference to address the political crisis in Myanmar,” it said.

“We strongly condemned acts of violence, including air strikes, artillery shelling, and destruction of public facilities and urged all parties involved to take concrete action to immediately halt indiscriminate violence (and) denounce any escalation.”

It asked all sides of the Myanmar conflict to “create a conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue.”

ASEAN chair Indonesia had on Wednesday urged a political solution to the crisis at two-day foreign minister talks.

But more than two years after the coup, the divided 10-member bloc’s peace efforts remain fruitless, as the junta ignores international criticism and refuses to engage with its opponents.

A Southeast Asian diplomat attending the meetings told AFP on condition of anonymity the delay was because they were “working on the language on Myanmar”.

An early draft seen by AFP on Tuesday had left a section on Myanmar blank.

The diplomat said some countries wanted outright re-engagement with the junta, while others said the five-point plan that aims to end the violence and renew talks must remain the basis for re-engagement.

This confirmed the “deep divisions within ASEAN on the Myanmar issue”, the diplomat added.

– Thai dialogue track –

Thailand has made its own initiative to speak directly with the Myanmar junta and other actors in the conflict.

Last month, Bangkok hosted the junta’s foreign minister for controversial “informal talks” that further split the bloc.

Then on Wednesday, on the second day of ASEAN talks, Thailand’s top diplomat announced that he met last week with Suu Kyi — who has been detained since the coup, and jailed by a junta court for a total of 33 years.

Don Pramudwinai said he met the Nobel laureate on Sunday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and that she was in “good health” and “encouraged dialogue”.

Don “freely discussed what he wanted” with Suu Kyi, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in an audio statement posted by the military’s information team Thursday, adding that her health was “good”.

On Thursday, Don told reporters: “It has been two years now, (and) not much improvement. So there must be re-engagement with Myanmar.”

– ‘Safe, stable, prosperous’ –

Indonesia has said any other efforts must support ASEAN’s existing five-point peace plan.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir told reporters that all members were working towards the “same issue”, which was ensuring that Southeast Asia was “a region that is safe, stable and prosperous”.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Jakarta had engaged in “quiet diplomacy” with all sides of the conflict, and in its seven months as chair had held more than 110 engagements concerning Myanmar.

But analysts said Thailand was taking the lead on the crisis, undercutting ASEAN efforts and shifting the centre of negotiation to Bangkok.

A Thai foreign ministry official declined to comment on Indonesia’s work as ASEAN chair.

Myanmar Now News

Still unsafe for Rohingya to return to Myanmar: US envoy

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A top US rights envoy in Bangladesh said Thursday that conditions remain unsafe for the return of ethnic Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, with Washington pledging further aid for the crisis.

Bangladesh is home to around a million members of the stateless minority, most of whom fled a 2017 military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar that is now subject to a genocide probe at the International Criminal Court.

“We support efforts to create the conditions for eventual, safe, dignified, informed and voluntary return of Rohingya — conditions that do not currently exist,” the US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya told reporters in Dhaka.

Zeya, speaking after talks with Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, commended Dhaka for “reaffirming their commitment against forced return” of Rohingya people.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have discussed efforts to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees to their homeland, where they have been subject to decades of persecution and are denied citizenship.

“Obviously, we will not do anything to harm the refugees or Rohingyas that we have, who have been welcomed in Bangladesh,” Momen said.

Dozens have been killed in Rohingya camp clashes between rival insurgent forces this year, with Human Rights Watch on Thursday warning of “surging violence by armed groups and criminal gangs”.

The United States is the biggest donor to Rohingya humanitarian efforts, contributing more than $2.1 billion in aid to Rohingyas and host communities in Bangladesh.

Funding cuts forced the United Nations food agency to cut rations to refugee settlements twice this year, with aid workers warning that the move would likely worsen the already precarious security situation in the camps.

Zeya on Thursday announced a further $74 million in aid, including for Rohingyas refugees in Bangladesh and in camps in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

The US diplomat also met Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and discussed “the need for free and fair elections” due in January 2024.

Myanmar Now News

Human Rights Situation update (January to July, 2023)

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Human Rights Violations Committed by Military Junta from January to June, 2023.

Military Junta troops Committed 1222 times of Human Right Violations in 15 Regions and States within 6 months from January to June 2023. According to Social Media and News Media, they committed 30 types of Human Right Violations. Among those Human Right Violations, the Military Junta attacked with heavy artillery 292 times to the Civilians and their places the most. As a second, the Military troops burnt and destroyed the civilians’ houses and properties 281 times. Third, they arrested the Anti- Military activists who protested in various ways 259 times. The Military Junta Troop is targeting and attacking Civilians entire country and also destroying the Civilians’ houses and buildings by launching airstrikes 128 times. As the worst Human Right Violations, the Military committed massacres by launching airstrikes and dropping bombs on over 100 civilians including children, and all died at Bazigyi Village in Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region on April 11th in 2023. Military Junta committed rape and kill over 8 women and a total of 12 women died within 6 months. 2 civilians from Yangon Region and 6 from Mandalay Region, a total of 8 were arrested and killed by the Thwaythout Force that works under Military Junta. They committed arresting the civilians, burning the people, raping the women, and using the locals as human shields along their matching area. Civilians fled to the safety of the Military 180 times within 6 months. The Military Junta troop has been still committing Human Right Violations in various ways since the coup on 1st February 2021.

The flow of injustice outlined in this report shines a light on the harsh reality political prisoners and their families must endure in Burma

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It describes experiences of suffering and trauma that extend far beyond their time spent in prisons. From the moment of their arrest, they are subjected to evolving hardships, including brutal interrogations of torture and inhumane treatment. Even after their release, the aftermath of this ordeal continues to impact their lives. Political prisoners are left traumatised, but equally affected are their families and loved ones, who bear witness to violent arrests and are left without any information regarding their whereabouts, charges, or physical well-being.

The collateral damage caused by the flow of injustice reaches far wider than the individual political prisoner. Families and loved ones experience profound trauma, as they helplessly scramble to gain information through extortionate measures. The lack of information about their loved ones’ fate exacerbates the emotional and psychological toll they endure.

As Nelson Mandela said, who survived hardships not dissimilar to political prisoners in Burma, “No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.” This resonates deeply with the plight of the people of Burma, where the Sit-tat ruthlessly suppresses any dissent and denies its citizens the fundamental rights and dignity they deserve. The interviews looked at in this report bear witness to the horrors of a regime that is determined to crush the spirit of its own people, perpetuating a cycle of suffering and injustice.

U Tate Naing, AAPP Secretary said “What we are facing today is the worst situation in all known times. In the past, most prisoners at least had a certain degree of safety from death, though there were always also people who were tortured to death during interrogation. However, nowadays the junta frequently takes political prisoners from their cells, to torture, severely injure, and kill. Despite imprisonment, political prisoners must live with concern of when they will get be away for brutal torture. This demonstrates the law has completely ceased to function. There is an urgent need for the world to not sit idly at these extrajudicial acts, and to take immediate action instead”

The international community, including ASEAN and the United Nations, must stand in solidarity with the people of Burma, only by working with them, can we expect to sever the flow of injustice and create a future for Burma where human rights are respected and justice prevails.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)

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Urgent Statement: Extrajudicial Murders of Political Prisoners

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July 10, 2023

On June 27, under the pretense of transferring them, the military removed political prisoners from Daik-U (Kyaiksakaw) Prison. 37 political prisoners have since gone missing. However, when concerned families of the political prisoners inquired at Daik-U Prison, the prison authorities repeatedly denied the whereabouts of these prisoners.

On July 7, 2023, the Staff Officer of Daik-U Prison, Kyaw Zeya (A-3702) sent a signed letter to the family of Khant Linn Naing (aka Ko Khant, aka Let Wel), Prison Registration No. PaKha/22/00436, the son of Than Soe Naing, to inform them of his death.

On July 8, Kyaw Zeya sent another signed letter to the family of Pyae Phyo Hein (aka Ko Pyae), Prison Registration No. DaU/22/00176, the son of Kyaw Oo, to inform them of his death.

The letters stated that while transferring prisoners from Daik-U Prison to Insein Prison, a transport vehicle suffered an accident. Seizing the opportunity, the two of them (Khant Linn Naing and Kyaw Zeya) were alleged to have attempted escape. As a result, they were killed by the security forces who fired “warning shots” at them in an attempt to recapture.

Despite the letters being dated as “June 29”, they arrived to the 2 families on only July 7 and July 8 respectively.  However, in envelope provided to the wife of Pyae Phyo Hein, the letter inside the envelope was in fact addressed to Khin Moe Moe, the wife of the still missing Aung Myo Thu. According to this, there are clear grounds to believe the life of Aung Myo Thu is in danger.

Prison transfers are but one of the excuses used, and according to events in recent months there are consistent reports of people being removed from prisons, being interrogated, and killed.

On July 2, the family of political prisoner Sein Win was informed about his passing in Myingyan Prison that same day from gastrointestinal tract bleeding. However, prisoners inside the prison revealed that Sein Win had been removed from prison and interrogated. His family members also stated that bruises were found on his body from the time of his death.

On June 7, Pyu Saw Htee militiamen went to the house of political prisoner Kaung Zarni Hein’s (aka La Pyae) mother and sister, and murdered them. Thereafter, on July 6, the junta forces killed political prisoners Kaung Zarni Hein and Kyaw Thura, according to reports from within the junta’s community.

  1. It is clear, these brazen murders of political prisoners in prisons violates not only domestic laws, but also international laws. Such killings mirror the unlawful and sadistic murders of the Jewish community by the fascist Nazi Germany during the World War II. Moreover, political prisoners removed from Daik-U Prison remain missing without a trace. It is currently unknown whether they are dead or alive. These actions overstep the procedures of prison, along with committing the heinous crime of unjust torture and illegal killings. This is also a blatant violation of the ASEAN Human Rights Convention.
  2. In Burma, the rule of law has been rendered void since the military junta coup by the supporting pillars of junta rule: the judges; soldiers; police; prison staff, who have intentionally perpetrated wrongful arrests, unlawful sentencings, illegal killings, torture and persecution of political prisoners in prisons, at the command of the junta.
  3. We, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, strongly condemn such unlawful killings and torture, we will do our best to ensure justice for all political prisoners who have been wrongfully imprisoned.
  4. All perpetrating parties must be held accountable for these acts.
  5. In addition to the above-mentioned crimes, the human rights violations, unlawful killings, and arbitrary torture that Burma experiences day after day are violations of international human rights law. These violations cannot be dealt with within the country’s judiciary at this time. Therefore, we strongly urge the international community to make a collective effort to take action through international judicial mechanisms.

Since the unjust seizure of state power by the terrorist junta led by Min Aung Hlaing on February 1, 2021, there have been at least a total 3,757 people killed. 150 of them lost their lives in prison due to poor healthcare and ill-treatment, or tortured to death during interrogation. The numbers shown here were based on the data AAPP collected, the real number of fatalities could be higher.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)

Contact – info@aappb.org