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What to expect from the ASEAN Summit on Myanmar
Expectations on ASEAN have never been higher as the world looks on for a solution to a bloody campaign that has killed more than 730 people and led to arrest of thousands.
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A man walks outside the ASEAN Secretariat building in Jakarta shortly after its inauguration on Aug. 8, 2019. Brunei will chair the ASEAN Summit on Myanmar in Jakarta this weekend. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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outheast Asian leaders started arriving in Jakarta on Friday ahead of the highly anticipated ASEAN Summit on Saturday to address the crisis in Myanmar, nearly three months after the military usurped power from the civilian government.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said preparations for the summit are still underway at the senior official and foreign minister levels. "We hope that at the ASEAN leaders’ meeting tomorrow, we can reach an agreement on the next steps that can help the people of Myanmar get out of this delicate situation," she said at the Presidential Palace.
Expectations on ASEAN have never been higher as the world looks on for a solution to a bloody campaign that has killed more than 730 people and led to the arbitrary arrest of thousands more since the Feb. 1 coup.
Prodemocracy protesters and members of a growing civil disobedience movement are hoping that ASEAN can deliver an outcome that ensures Myanmar’s return to democracy and holds the military accountable.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said that ASEAN’s role was more crucial than ever to prevent further deterioration. The secretary-general’s special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, is already in Jakarta.
Various human rights organizations have demanded that ASEAN impose targeted economic sanctions and press the junta to release political detainees, with some suggesting that if the coup government failed to cooperate, the leaders should consider ousting Myanmar from the bloc.
However, experts have warned against setting unrealistic expectations on what could be achieved when the leaders meet physically for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
