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Stop recognizing Myanmar’s junta, 'pak' Jokowi
President Jokowi needs to drum up calls for tougher actions against the Myanmar’s military regime before Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen takes his turn as the rotary chair.
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Detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi (left) and detained president Win Myint (right) during their first court appearance in Naypyidaw on May 24, since the military detained them in a coup on Feb. 1. (AFP/Handout)
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ecognizing, albeit partially, the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar could become a second effective action by Indonesia and ASEAN to force Myanmar’s military junta, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, to implement the five-point consensus he agreed upon during a meeting with the group’s leaders in Jakarta on April 26.
The Myanmar government in exile is the official representative of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted by the military on Feb. 1 and just recently was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for incitement and violating COVID-19 restrictions.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had previously played a leading role in ASEAN’s unprecedented decision to bar the Myanmar junta leader from attending the bloc’s summit in October.
The idea to recognize the NUG has been circulating for quite some time among government officials here for several reasons, including that the government does not want the Myanmar issue to haunt Indonesia’s Group of 20 presidency. Indonesia will host several meetings, including the G20 Summit in November 2022. The military junta’s refusal to respect the April agreement will overshadow Indonesia’s G20 agenda.
Just hours after the court handed down its prison sentence to Suu Kyi, Gen. Hlaing halved the penalty for no reason. The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader, however, still has to face nine other charges that if proven would force her to spend 100 years in jail.
The NLD won the 2015 and 2020 elections by a landslide, but the military, which has ruled the impoverished nation since 1962, has refused to share, let alone lose, power.
Any decision to recognize Myanmar’s government in exile may carry risks, but there is always a solution. What if the Myanmar junta retaliates by closing the Indonesian Embassy there? Just let them do it. What if other ASEAN leaders such as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ask ASEAN to treat Hlaing equal to other leaders? President Jokowi can easily skip any meeting to discuss such a request with perfect excuses; for instance, he is preoccupied with the G20 agenda.
