Why Asean must hear from Myanmar's coup mastermind Min Aung Hlaing
Activists and ousted elected Myanmar lawmakers who have formed the National Unity Government are outraged, saying Asean is essentially acknowledging that the general is Myanmar's leader, and ignoring the results of the November 2020 election. They have called on Interpol to arrest the junta leader once he arrives in Jakarta and requested that Asean invite members of the NUG instead.
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Thus, the most realistic goal for the meeting is to seek an immediate halt to the killings and an end to a brewing civil war, before opening a path to peaceful dialogue. Asean leaders can get the Tatmadaw to agree to a proposal for an action plan in three stages: beginning with a humanitarian pause to stop clashes between security forces and residents, followed by humanitarian assistance to help displaced people and restart economic activity and then a space for confidence-building dialogue between the junta and the NUG.
Yet it remains to be seen if we should be this hopeful. At the meeting, leaders and diplomats will be dealing with a military officer, who is more familiar with force than diplomacy or give-and-take negotiations.
Like all the players, we will be watching the summit closely.
Rene L Pattiradjawane is a retired journalist who spent 32 years with Kompas, Indonesia's largest newspaper. A former Hong Kong correspondent for the paper, he now serves as Chairman of the China Studies Centre Foundation, running its Centre for Chinese Studies-Indonesia and is an associate fellow with The Habibie Center, an independent think-tank established by the late President BJ Habibie. He was previously a Fellow of the EastWest Institute
Ple Priatna is a former Indonesian diplomat with more than three decades of experience. He has written opinion pieces on foreign affairs, diplomacy and Asean Affairs and served stints in cities including Rabat, Copenhagen, Brussels, Wellington, Beijing and Tokyo
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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