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Critical eyes turn to Indonesia's search for ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar
Growing discontent overshadows ASEAN progress on the Myanmar crisis as Indonesia searches for the regional bloc’s next special envoy and the junta regime in the conflict-torn country inks a cooperation deal with Moscow.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on Sept. 7, 2022 during the 2022 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
(AFP/Valery Sharifulin)
W
ith no immediate end in sight to the Myanmar crisis that has tested ASEAN unity, the onus is on incoming chair Indonesia to pick a special envoy that can rise to the challenge of mediating a solution within their limited tenure of one year – and perhaps even beyond.
Pressure is mounting for Indonesia to lead the regional bloc toward resolving the political, humanitarian and economic crises stemming from the junta-led coup of Feb. 1, 2021, when the repressive military regime usurped power from Myanmar’s democratically elected civilian government.
The two successive ASEAN chairs following the coup yielded poor results, despite an ultimatum from the bloc’s nine other member states to restore peace and attain national reconciliation through the Five-Point Consensus, which was negotiated with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Jakarta in April last year.
Among the agreed points of the consensus is for ASEAN’s sitting chair to appoint a special envoy to Myanmar for overseeing the peace process. Observers have been critical that, as the position was restricted to the one-year tenure of the group’s rotating chairmanship, it would only impede any meaningful progress.
Bruneian foreign minister Erywan Yusof was appointed the first ASEAN Myanmar special envoy to visit the country post-coup. He was succeeded this year by Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn, who made two visits and reported immense difficulties in getting all parties involved to speak with each other at any level.
Prak Sokhonn is to visit Myanmar a final time before his tenure as Myanmar special envoy ends this year, to assist in its “return to normalcy and the democratic path”.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry has entered into discussions about selecting the special envoy for 2023, even taking into account criticisms from NGOs running low on patience with ASEAN’s performance, one source close to the matter told The Jakarta Post.
