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Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis

May 22, 2025/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements

To:H.E. Datuk Seri Anwar IbrahimPrime Minister of MalaysiaChair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2025 CC:H.E. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Prime Minister of Brunei DarussalamH.E. Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of CambodiaH.E. Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of IndonesiaH.E. Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic RepublicH.E. […]

At Least 11 Schoolkids Massacred in Myanmar Junta Air Raid in Sagaing

May 13, 2025/in News

A junta airstrike on a school in a resistance stronghold in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township on Monday killed at least 17 people, mostly students. A fighter jet from Meiktila airbase dropped a 500 lb bomb on the school at O Htein Twin Village, where around 100 youngsters were studying, according to residents. “The explosion was […]

Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis

May 22, 2025/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements

At Least 11 Schoolkids Massacred in Myanmar Junta Air Raid in Sagaing

May 13, 2025/in News

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Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis

May 22, 2025/in Member statements, Press Releases and Statements

To:
H.E. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2025

CC:
H.E. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Prime Minister of Brunei Darussalam
H.E. Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia
H.E. Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of Indonesia
H.E. Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
H.E. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines
H.E. Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore
H.E. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
H.E. Phạm Minh Chính, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

21 May 2025

Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis

Your Excellency,

We—the undersigned 285 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations—write to you at the most critical juncture for Myanmar and for the credibility and efficacy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the region. As Malaysia chairs ASEAN and is set to host the 46th Summit later this month, we urgently call for your decisive leadership to unify and steer ASEAN to adopt a stronger, more principled stance and take concerted efforts to address the intensifying multifaceted crisis in Myanmar.

This should begin with ASEAN cutting all ties with the Myanmar military junta and shifting official engagement to Myanmar’s legitimate stakeholders: the National Unity Government (NUG) and Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs).

We are compelled to express our condemnation of your recent meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, the architect of the ongoing terror campaign, and main perpetrator of genocide against the Rohingya and war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Myanmar. This meeting, far from being a diplomatic necessity, is a grave misstep that further harms the people. It offers the junta a dangerous façade of false legitimacy at a time when it is desperately seeking to escape international isolation and accountability. Such engagement does not serve the interests of peace or justice for the Myanmar people, for which ASEAN allegedly strives. Instead, it once again emboldens an illegitimate military junta responsible for the most heinous crimes in Southeast Asia’s recent history, and signals to the world that ASEAN is willing to compromise its credibility for the sake of hollow dialogue.

This is not an isolated error, but a symptom of ASEAN’s broader failure since the military’s illegal coup attempt in 2021. We note that this meeting—and in fact, each and every previous meeting—with junta representatives, has consistently empowered the military to continue its brutal attacks and airstrikes against civilians. For over four years, acting alone and within ASEAN, the region’s leaders have clung to an approach that prioritizes engagement with the perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes over the rule of law, justice and accountability, and solidarity with victims and survivors. The perfunctory Five-Point Consensus, repeatedly invoked but never effectively nor meaningfully implemented, has become a shield for the military to continue its campaign of terror with total impunity. The ongoing presence of junta representatives at ASEAN meetings at any level continues to undermine the bloc’s credibility and betrays its founding commitment to democracy, peace, security, and respect for human rights.

Since its illegal coup attempt in February 2021, the Myanmar military junta has perpetrated a multitude of grave human rights violations and mass atrocity crimes, including massacres, torching and pillaging entire towns, and lethal airstrikes against civilians and places where they take refuge. Since February 2021, the military has conducted more than 4,000 airstrikes, exponentially escalating such attacks over the past two years. The military’s widespread and systematic violence has so far internally displaced more than 3.5 million people—likely a gross underestimation of the true magnitude of displacement. Since your meeting with Min Aung Hlaing on 17 April, the junta has conducted at least 171 airstrikes, the vast majority on civilian areas with no intention other than to inflict harm and terrorize the people. The latest massacre in Depayin Township, Sagaing Region, on 12 May 2025, in which a junta airstrike on a school killed at least 22 children and two teachers, is yet another horrific testament to the military’s utter contempt for human life and international law.

In light of these grave realities, we urgently call on Your Excellency to exercise the courageous and principled leadership that this moment demands. Malaysia must immediately and unequivocally sever all ties with the junta, and use its position as ASEAN Chair to unify and lead the bloc with the same courageous and decisive action, in support of Myanmar people’s revolution to dismantle military tyranny and establish federal democracy. We expect that Malaysia recognizes the gravity of this call and will ensure no junta representatives are permitted to participate in any ASEAN meetings at any level—including the upcoming Summit.

ASEAN, under Malaysia’s leadership, must recognize and engage with the legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people, the NUG and EROs, as well as Myanmar civil society. These are the actors who have demonstrated genuine commitment to finding a long-term sustainable solution in the best interests and desires of Myanmar’s people: democracy, federalism, and human rights. ASEAN’s engagement must be formal, meaningful, and conducted at the highest levels—not relegated to unofficial channels in the name of quiet diplomacy or tokenistic side meetings. Engagement must be open and transparent to gain the confidence of the Myanmar people. Only then can the bloc move beyond the failed Five-Point Consensus and support a Myanmar-owned and -led solution, as it so often claims to do. ASEAN must stop clinging to empty rhetoric and prove its pledges with concrete, meaningful actions to stop the junta’s violence—most urgently the airstrikes. Anything less will only prolong ASEAN’s complicity in the cycle of military violence and impunity which has defined Myanmar over the past seven decades.

Furthermore, the humanitarian catastrophe intensifying in central Myanmar and its ethnic borderlands and regions demands an urgent and principled response, particularly following the devastating earthquake on 28 March 2025. The current approach—channeling aid through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre)—has failed to deliver aid meaningfully and effectively, and has further allowed the junta to weaponize aid for its own advantage. We urge Malaysia to lead ASEAN in steering Myanmar’s neighbors to collaborate with the NUG and EROs and directly support existing local civil society, networks, and community-based responders to do their important work without interference or bureaucratic obstacles.

Malaysia’s Madani values of sustainability, respect, trust, and compassion provide a strong foundation for Your Excellency to lead ASEAN to adopt a bold, inclusive, and principled approach with decisive and pragmatic action to help resolve the Myanmar crisis. Your leadership as ASEAN Chair can restore ASEAN’s regional relevance by responding to the threats posed by the Myanmar military and the multifaceted crisis it has caused and by demonstrating genuine commitment to democracy, peace, justice, human security, and development in the region.

Your Excellency, history will judge this most critical moment for the region by the choices you and your fellow ASEAN leaders make. We urge you to reject the path of hypocrisy and complicity, and instead chart a course grounded in humanity, solidarity, and respect for the rights and dignity of the Myanmar people.

We stand ready to support your efforts and urge you to seize this critical opportunity to lead ASEAN to support a Myanmar people-owned and -led political transformation process toward a just and lasting resolution in Myanmar.

For more information, please contact:

Saw Albert, Karen Human Rights Group; albert@khrg.org
Naw Aung, Defend Myanmar Democracy; communication@defendmyanmardemocracy.org
Nai Aue Mon, Human Rights Foundation of Monland; auemon@rehmonnya.org
Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice; info@progressive-voice.org

Signed by 285 civil society organizations, including 31 organizations that have chosen not to disclose their names:

5/ of Zaya State Strike
8888 Generation (New Zealand)
A-Yar-Taw People Strike
Action Committee for Democracy Development (ACDD)
Action Committee of Basic Education Students (ACBES)
Ah Nah Podcast
All Arakan Students’ & Youths’ Congress – AASYC
All Arakan Youth Organizations Network (AAYON)
All Aung Myay Thar San Schools Strike Force
All Burma Democratic Front in New Zealand
All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Monywa District)
Alliance of Students’ Union – Yangon (ASU-Yangon)
ALTSEAN-Burma
Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon – AJAY
Anti-junta Forces Coordination Committee (AFC – Mandalay)
Arakan CSO Network
Arakan Rohingya National Union (ARNU)
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Asian Health Institute
Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP)
Association Suisse-Birmanie
Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
Auckland Kachin Community NZ
Auckland Zomi Community
Aung San Suu Kyi Park Norway
Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation (AWDO), Magway
Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation (AWDO), Nagphe
Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT)
Basic Education General Strike Committee (BEGSC)
Basic Education Worker Unions – Steering Committee (BEWU-SC)
Blood Money Campaign (BMC)
Burma Action Ireland
Burma Campaign UK
Burma Civil War Museum (BCM)
Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
Burma Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
Burma Solidarity Philippines (BSP)
Burmese Community Group (Manawatu, NZ)
Burmese Muslim Association (BMA)
Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK)
Burmese Rohingya Welfare Organisation New Zealand
Campaign for a New Myanmar
CAN-Myanmar
CDM Medical Network (CDMMN)
Chanmyatharzi Township People’s Strike
Chaung Oo Township Youth Strike Committee
Chin Community in Norway
Chin Community of Auckland
Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO)
Chindwin (West) Villages Women Strike
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Civil Information Network (CIN)
Civil Society Organizations Coordination Committee (Monywa)
Co-operative University Mandalay Students’ Strike
Coalition Strike Committee – Dawei
CRPH & NUG Supporters Ireland
CRPH Funding Ireland
CRPH Support Group, Norway and members organizations
CRPH, NUG Support Team Germany – Deutschland
CSOs Nexus Consortium – Tanintharyi
Daung Sitthe Strike
Dawei (Ashaetaw) Women Strike
Dawei Development Association
Dawei Youths Revolutionary Movement Strike Committee
Defend Myanmar Democracy (DMD)
Democracy for Ethnic Minorities Organization (DEMO)
Democracy Youth Myanmar
Democracy, Peace and Women’s Organization
Democratic Party for a New Society, Norway
Depayin Township Revolution Steering Committee
Depayin Women Strike
Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
Educational Initiatives Prague
Equality Myanmar (EQMM)
Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee (Mandalay)
Federal Myanmar Benevolence Group (NZ)
Former Political Prisoners and New Generation Group – Monywa
Free Burma Campaign (South Africa) (FBC(SA))
Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC)
Future Light Center (FLC)
Gangaw Women Strike
General Strike Collaboration Committee (GSCC)
General Strike Committee of Basic and Higher Education (GSCBHE)
General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB)
Generation Wave (GW)
Generations’ Solidarity Coalition of Nationalities (GSCN)
German Solidarity Myanmar e.V. (GSM)
Global Myanmar Spring Revolution (GMSR)
GMSR Korea 글로벌 미얀마 봄혁명 연대
Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
India for Myanmar
Industries Strike
Info Birmanie
Integria, z.u.(Czech Republic)
International Association, Myanmar–Switzerland (IAMS)
International Campaign for the Rohingya
International Peace Bureau
Italia-Birmania.Insieme
Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines
Justice & Equality Focus (JEF)
Justice For Myanmar (JFM)
K’cho Ethnic Association (Europe)
Kachin Association Norway
Kachin Student Union
Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT)
Kalay Township Strike Force
Kalay Women Strike
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN)
Karen Women’s Organization (KWO)
Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG)
Karenni National Women’s Organization (KNWO)
Karenni Society New Zealand
Keng Tung Youth
KontraS
Kyae Lak Myay
Kyain Seikgyi Spring Revolution Leading Committee
Kyauktada Strike Committee (KSC)
La Communauté Birmane de France
Latpadaung Region Strike Committee
Let’s Help Each Other (LHEO)
LGBT Alliance
LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kalay Region)
LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kyaukse Region)
LGBT Community Yangon
LGBT Union – Mandalay
Listeners (နားဆင်သူများအဖွဲ့ )
Magway People’s Revolution Committee
Magway Region Human Rights Network (MHRN)
Maharaungmyay Township People’s Strike
Mandalar University Students’ Strike
Mandalay Alliance Coalition Strike
Mandalay Medical Family (MFM)
Mandalay Strike Force (MSF)
Mandalay Women Strike
Mandalay Youth Strike
Mandalay-based People’s Strike
Mandalay-Based University Students’ Unions (MDY_SUs)
MATA Sagaing
MayMyo Strike Force
Mekong Watch
Metta Campaign Mandalay
Minority Affairs Institute (MAI Myanmar)
Monywa LGBT Strike
Monywa People’s Strike Steering Committee
Monywa Women Strike
Monywa-Amyint Road Strike Leading Committee
Monywa-Amyint Road Women Strike
Multi-Religions Strike
Mya Taung Strike
Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP)
Myanmar Action Group Denmark
Myanmar anti-military coup movement in New Zealand
Myanmar Campaign Network
Myanmar Catholic Community In Norway
Myanmar Community Group Christchurch New Zealand
Myanmar Community Group Dunedin New Zealand
Myanmar Community in Norway
Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS)
Myanmar Engineers – New Zealand
Myanmar Gonye (New Zealand)
Myanmar Hindu Union
Myanmar Institute of Information Technology Students’ Strike
Myanmar Labor Alliance (MLA)
Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State)
Myanmar Students’ Union in New Zealand
Myanmar Tourism Committee
Myaung Youth Network
MyaYar Knowledge Tree
Myingyan Civilian Movement Committee
Nelson Myanmar Community Group New Zealand
Network for Human Rights Documentation–Burma (ND-Burma)
Network of University Student Unions – Monywa
New Myanmar Foundation (NMF)
New Rehmonnya Federated Force – NRFF
New York City Burmese community (NYCBC)
New Zealand Campaign for Myanmar
New Zealand Doctors for NUG
New Zealand Karen Association
New Zealand Zo Community Inc.
NLD Organization Committee (International) Norway
No Business With Genocide
No.12 Basic Education Branch High School (Maharaungmyay) Students’ Union
Norway Matu Community
Norway Rvwang Community
Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica
Olive organization
Overseas Mon Association. New Zealand
Pa-O Women’s Union (PWU)
Pale Township People’s Strike Steering Committee
Peace and Social Justice Group
Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM)
Progressive Voice (PV)
Purple Window Counselling
Pwintphyu Development Organisation
Pyi Gyi Tagon Strike Force
Pyithu Gonye (New Zealand)
Queers of Burma Alternative (QBA)
Representative Committee of University Teacher Associations (RC of UTAs)
Rohingya Community in Norway
Rvwang Community Association New Zealand
Samgha Sammaga-Mandalay
Save Myanmar Fundraising Group (New Zealand)
SEA Junction
Seinpann Strike
Shan Community (New Zealand)
Shan MATA
Shwe Pan Kone People`s Strike Steering Committee
Sisters2Sisters
Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation
Southern Initiatives
Southern Youth Development Organization
Sujata Sisters Group (NZ)
Support Group for Democracy in Myanmar (the Netherlands)
Swedish Burma Committee (SBC)
Ta’ang Students and Youth Union (TSYU)
Ta’ang Women’s Organization (TWO)
Taze Strike Committee
Taze Women Strike
Tenasserim River & Indigenous People Network
Thakhin Kodaw Mhine Peace Network (Monywa)
Thayat Chaung Women Strike
The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (Monywa)
Twitter Team for Revolution (TTFR)
U.S. Campaign for Burma
University Students’ Unions Alumni Force
Volunteers in Myanmar
Wetlet Revolution Leading Committee
Wetlet Township Women Strike
White Coat Society Yangon (WCSY)
Women Alliance Burma (WAB)
Women Lead Resource Center (WLRC)
Women’s League of Burma (WLB)
Women’s Peace Network (WPN)
Yadanabon University Students’ Union (YDNBUSU)
Yangon Deaf Group
Yangon Women Strike
Yasakyo Township People`s Strike Steering Committee
Yinmarpin and Salingyi All Villages Strike Committee
Youth Empowerment (YE)
Youth for Democratization of Myanmar (UDM)
Zomi Christian Fellowship of Norway
Zomi Community Norway
ကရင်/ကြာအင်းဆိပ်ကြီးမြို့ သပိတ်အင်အားစု
ဂန့်ဂေါဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်ရေးအဖွဲ့
နွေဦးရွက်သစ်
ပြည်သူ့သပိတ်အင်အားစု
မင်းဘူးတောင်သူများအစုအဖွဲ့
မင်းလှတောင်သူများအစုအဖွဲ့
မျိုးဆက်-Generations
မြင်းခြံလူထုလှုပ်ရှားမှုကော်မတီ
သမိုင်းသယ်ဆောင်သူများ
သောင်ရင်းသတင်းလွှာ
အညာလွင်ပြင်ရပ်ဝန်း

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At Least 11 Schoolkids Massacred in Myanmar Junta Air Raid in Sagaing

May 13, 2025/in News

A junta airstrike on a school in a resistance stronghold in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township on Monday killed at least 17 people, mostly students.

A fighter jet from Meiktila airbase dropped a 500 lb bomb on the school at O Htein Twin Village, where around 100 youngsters were studying, according to residents.

“The explosion was quite powerful,” a resident told The Irrawaddy. “By the time we heard the aircraft, the bomb had already dropped, so there was no time to escape, and many were killed and injured.”

A local education aid group said 17 people including several students were confirmed dead, and the death toll is expected to be higher. Around 30 others were injured, and some of them are in critical condition amid a lack of proper treatment in the area.

A photo released by local anti-regime activists shows the dead bodies of 11 students in school uniforms and a severed leg lying in the school grounds.

An official of the activist group Some Messages from Depayin told the Irrawaddy that the regime intentionally targeted the school as the township is under the administration of the parallel National Unity Government (NUG).

Locals and family members prepare the funerals of schoolkids who were killed in a junta airstrike on O Htein Twin Village, Depayin Township on Monday. /S&C IDPs Aid Group

In September 2022, regime helicopter gunships also bombed the school of Let Yat Kone Village in Depayin, killing 13 people including seven children.

The junta declared a post-earthquake ceasefire until the end of May, but the NUG’s Human Rights Ministry on Monday said the regime conducted a total of 372 airstrikes across 13 states and regions between March 28 and May 9, killing 334 people and injuring 552 others.

Irrawaddy

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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