Asean breaks silence to condemn Myanmar violence
ASEAN, with a statement from its chair, the Philippines, has expressed concern over the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, marking the first time the 10-nation bloc has publicly addressed the issue since an outbreak of violence in October 2016.
In an Asean chairman’s statement published online early on Sunday, Asean foreign ministers “condemned . . . all acts of violence, which resulted in loss of civilian lives, destruction of homes and displacement of large numbers of people”.
The decision to issue the statement was made during a closed-door meeting of the foreign ministers on Saturday, with Indonesia’s Retno LP Marsudi saying it was “quite out of the ordinary” for the group to issue anything from an informal gathering, especially on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The ministers also publicly acknowledged the intercommunal nature of the conflict, as well as calls for restraint and for solutions to the root causes of the conflict.
Although Retno said the chairman’s statement should reflect the views of each Asean member state, it is up to Philippine Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano to draft the final statement, which requires no consensus to be published.
In the aftermath of violence on August 25, 430,000 Rohingya Muslims fled their homes in Rakhine and headed to Bangladesh. This was caused by what the Myanmar military called “clearance operations” in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.
The ministers also said they “were prepared to support the Myanmar government in its efforts to bring peace, stability, rule of law and to promote harmony and reconciliation between the various communities, as well as sustainable and equitable development in Rakhine state”.
Asean has so far held back from commenting on the crisis on the borders between Myanmar and Bangladesh. This is largely due to the bloc’s adherence to the principle of noninterference, preventing member states from meddling in a neighbour’s domestic issues.
In addressing the decades-old conflict, Naypyidaw relied on the sovereignty approach to settle the conflict, while the human rights and the regional security perspectives were largely ignored. Concerns surrounding allegations of misconduct by the Myanmar military grew louder, as observers looked on for a response from Asean.