TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
‘To do nothing is not an option’: Indonesian foreign minister defends meeting junta
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi has defended Indonesia's decision to maintain open channels of communication with the military coup leaders, insisting it was the only way that the "wishes of the Myanmar people" are heard.
Change Size
Then-Myanmar foreign minister U Wunna Maung Lwin (right) looks on during a visit to the Indian Foreign Services Institute in New Delhi on July 15, 2015. The former top diplomat, who has been reappointed to represent the coup government, met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Agence France Presse/Money Sharma)
I
ndonesia’s top diplomat has defended the inevitability of keeping all channels of communication open in seeking solutions to the political crisis that has split Myanmar, insisting that it is an important step to ensure the “wishes of the people” are heard by the junta that seized power earlier this month.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi met with U Wunna Maung Lwin, the Myanmar coup government’s appointed foreign minister, in a three-way meeting with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok on Wednesday, as confidence in a regional solution dimmed.
Speaking to the media upon her return, Retno said Indonesia intended to keep communication lines open with all parties in Myanmar, including the Myanmar armed forces and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), which represents ousted members of parliament.
“In these difficult conditions, communication with all parties must be carried out so that messages can be conveyed, contributions can be offered, the situation does not deteriorate and efforts to resolve it can be made,” she told reporters in a virtual press conference.
During the meeting, Retno reiterated Indonesia’s concerns and called for all parties to exercise restraint and avoid the use of force to prevent casualties and bloodshed, while also pressing the junta representative on the importance of undertaking an inclusive transition to democracy.
She reminded the military-appointed minister that all ASEAN members including Myanmar must respect the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter and open humanitarian access and visits to the civilian detainees.
The minister underlined that this communication was carried out with the intention of contributing to finding solutions for the benefit of the people.
