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ASEAN hopes to set up Humanitarian Task Force for Myanmar
The ASEAN Special Summit is being closely watched around the world, with the regional bloc’s reputation on the line in its role to bring an end to violence and instability in Myanmar.
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Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar, demonstrate against the military coup for a second day in front of the Indonesian Embassy on Feb. 24. (AFP/Ye Aung Thu)
T
he proposal to set up an ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force will be tabled before the bloc leaders at a special summit on Saturday, with Myanmar expecting to be its immediate destination if approved, according to diplomatic sources.
All except two ASEAN leaders – from the Philippines and Thailand – will attend the summit in Jakarta, which initiated the gathering in the wake of the crisis in Myanmar. The latter will be represented by coup leader Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hliang who will deliver a five-minute remark in a two-hour, tightly calibrated program.
The special summit is being closely watched around the world, with ASEAN’s reputation on the line in its role to bring an end to violence and instability in Myanmar. The coup, which took place on Feb. 1, has led to street protests nationwide and the military responding with violence. Some 730 people have been killed, 3,300 are in detention and according to the United Nations, almost 250,000 people have been displaced.
China issued a statement on Thursday welcoming the ASEAN Special Summit. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China hopes the meeting will help promote Myanmar’s “domestic political reconciliation” while ASEAN can provide constructive assistance and ease tensions.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post, Evan Laksmana of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said Indonesia had been seeking a “humanitarian pause” that would bring an end to the violence so that aid can be facilitated by ASEAN. The best-case scenario would be a dialog among stakeholders, he said.
The CSIS has also proposed humanitarian aid in the form of medical assistance, COVID-19 relief and basic necessities to the people of Myanmar. These would be carried out by the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force operating with a special ASEAN fund to be agreed upon at the special summit.
Diplomatic sources in Bangkok said that despite the absence of Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at the special summit, Thailand had continued to try and build “trust” with the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s term for the military, because trust was needed if the Jakarta meeting was to make headway on “humanitarian pause, humanitarian work and humanitarian space”.
