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ASEAN talks on Myanmar
ASEAN cannot just sit and watch the generals in Myanmar topple a democratically elected government and annul its landslide election victory based on a groundless accusation of massive fraud.
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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his guest, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, agreed to instruct their foreign ministers to work with Brunei, as the current chair of ASEAN, in organizing a special ASEAN foreign ministers meeting to discuss the recent coup in Myanmar. The two leaders openly expressed their concern and willingness to take concrete measures in dealing with the crisis in neighboring Myanmar.
We hope Jokowi and Muhyiddin won’t just offer political rhetoric but act on what they have promised without delay. Brunei is likely to support the initiative, considering its concern about the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
The Myanmar coup dominated the talks between Jokowi and Muhyiddin, apart from bilateral issues like the protection of hundreds of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers, both documented and undocumented, as well as export barriers facing their top commodity, crude palm oil, especially to Europe. Indonesia and Malaysia are respectively the world’s largest and second-largest palm oil producers.
There is strong reason to be optimistic that Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei can break through ASEAN’s rigid principle of noninterference in dealing with the Myanmar issue. The former three are predominantly-Muslim countries that have long called for a solution to atrocities against the minority Rohingya. The international community, including the United Nations, has grown angry with the genocidal acts perpetrated by the Myanmar military.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her Malaysian counterpart, Hishamuddin Hussein, have now received a strong mandate to launch a quick diplomatic offensive. ASEAN cannot just sit and watch the generals in Myanmar topple a democratically elected government and annul its landslide election victory based on a groundless accusation of massive fraud.
In their joint press conference after their bilateral summit at Merdeka Palace on Friday, Jokowi and Muhyiddin emphasized that both sides in Myanmar should abide by the Constitution.
“We hope that political differences can be resolved in accordance with the prevailing laws,” said Jokowi. Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said: “Like Indonesia, Malaysia also takes seriously the current political situation in Myanmar, which is a step backward in the country’s democratic process. It is feared that political unrest in Myanmar could affect peace and stability in the region.”
People in Myanmar have demonstrated their opposition to the military coup and started a civil disobedience movement in several cities, spearheaded by health workers and teachers. However, the military appears to belittle the people’s reaction.
The negative public response to the coup reflects disbelief in the military’s claim about election fraud. That more than 80 percent of the electorate put its faith in Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), is a public vote of non-confidence for the military ruler.
Jokowi’s reaction to the political crisis in Myanmar is encouraging. He has been a staunch supporter of Palestine’s independence and has taken several initiatives to help settle the ordeal of the Rohingya in Rakhine state. More than just a matter of Islamic solidarity, the Rohingya crisis is a gross human rights violation.
Good luck, Bapak Jokowi and Bapak Muhyiddin.
