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Indonesia frustrated at ASEAN progress on Myanmar
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi touted on Thursday the urgent need to have the junta give access to the ASEAN special envoy to carry out his mandate.
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Children from Pu Phar village, displaced after fighting between the military and members of the People's Defense Force, attend a school lesson under a makeshift structure as they take refuge in the jungle near Demoso in Myanmar's Kayah state, on July 3, 2021, as the country remains in turmoil after February’s military coup. (AFP/Stringer)
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ndonesia’s top diplomat has expressed concerns that ASEAN’s attempt to roll back the coup in Myanmar might move at an even slower pace than the time taken to appoint a mediator to handle the crisis, one that has now persisted for seven months.
Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, have escaped international scrutiny relatively unscathed after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February, despite taking the reins of a faltering economy faced with a global health crisis and opposition by the people.
The military takeover has sparked daily protests leading to hundreds of deaths and thousands displaced by fighting between the army and local militias.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi touted on Thursday the urgent need for the junta to give access to the ASEAN special envoy to carry out his mandate.
A month ago, the 10-nation association tasked Brunei’s senior diplomat Erywan Yusof to mediate talks between the military rulers and prodemocracy protesters and follow a Five-Point Consensus to bring an end to the hostilities.
The appointment itself dragged on over months of diplomatic squabbles before the region’s top diplomats settled on one of its own to lead the mission in Myanmar.
Read also: Brunei minister named ASEAN envoy to Myanmar
