By APHR
JAKARTA, Indonesia--Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s official visit to Myanmar, his meeting with the self-declared State Administration Council leader Min Aung Hlaing, and their Joint Press release, are a brazen and dangerous attempt to seize the initiative away from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN’s) collective approach to the crisis in Myanmar.
These two coup makers are conducting another coup within ASEAN that threatens to split the organisation itself. The other eight members of ASEAN must jointly demand that Cambodia adheres to the Five-Point Consensus and works within the collective framework of ASEAN to tackle the multiple urgent crises in Myanmar.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Min Aung Hlaing agreed in April 2021 to the Five-Point Consensus as ASEAN’s approach to the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Myanmar.
Almost immediately, Myanmar’s junta broke the agreement by escalating the violence and has failed to make any genuine progress on the agreed plan.
Even before Cambodia took over the Chairmanship of ASEAN, Prime Minister Hun Sen signalled his disdain for the Five-Point Consensus, declaring he had his own plans.
It is deeply concerning for the whole region that he has subverted the ASEAN process, and is hijacking the Chairmanship to oppose the will of the people of Myanmar who have made their stance clear for close to a year that they will not accept junta control.
Their joint press statement announces a number of apparent breakthroughs in their talks, but no one should be fooled that any actual progress has been achieved.
There is no mention of imprisoned elected officials such as President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, nor of the National Unity Government formed by elected representatives who were unconstitutionally ousted from power by the military.
No progress can be made, unless the military junta’s campaign of terror against the Myanmar people is stopped and the Myanmar people and their elected representatives are consulted and included.
An enduring solution to the crisis cannot be reached with the junta setting its own conditions.
“The joint statement released by the Cambodian Prime Minister with the leader of the illegal junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is a misguided and dangerous attempt to deceptively portray a breakthrough, when in fact, his unilateral actions have dramatically weakened ASEAN’s collective leverage to solve the Myanmar crisis.
It is clear that Myanmar’s military has displayed a flagrant lack of respect for ASEAN, and in fact since its coup attempt on February 1, 2021, it appears to have used the bloc to try to gain legitimacy while at the same time intensifying brutal reprisals against the people of Myanmar, PM Hun Sen has chosen to be complicit in their strategy by recklessly attempting to legitimise the junta against the collective will of ASEAN leadership.
“Hun Sen should know better, having lived through the Khmer Rouge genocide, than to act as an accomplice to the Myanmar junta that is accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights and Progressive Voice call on the other eight members of ASEAN to jointly demand that Cambodia, as ASEAN Chair, adheres to the Five-Point Consensus and works within the collective framework that has been maintained since its founding 55 years ago.
We call on ASEAN leaders to reiterate their commitment to support the Myanmar people’s aspirations to achieve peace, freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights in their country.
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