ASEAN FOREIGN CHIEFS PROD MYANMAR JUNTA: FREE AUNG SAN SUU KYI

THE Philippines led an Asean members’ consensus to push the Myanmar junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi and initiate full dialogue among all parties, amid the deepening crisis and violence in that country.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. made the call as he stated the Philippine position during an informal meeting among Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). He expressed “deep concern” about the rise of violence in Myanmar against those protesting and calling for the release of the iconic Asian leader.

The junta’s foreign minister designate received a flood of what were described as anti-junta statements at the recent Informal Asean Ministerial Meeting.

For weeks following Suu Kyi’s detention, protesters have demanded the release of democratically elected officials—including the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The United Nations said the total death toll since the February 1 coup had risen to 50, though activists put that total as higher. Soldiers and police have opened fire on civilians who gathered in the thousands to call for the restoration of democracy.

Code for SCS

MEANWHILE, the Philippines is winding up its role as country coordinator in the regional bloc, and Locsin said it hopes to end this by completing the second reading of the Single Draft Negotiating Text for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

“We have produced an 8-page draft entirely taken from the first Single Negotiating Text but shorn of repetition and motherhood statements on which, finally, we can sit down in all sincerity to complete the second reading. We count on your sincere cooperation and support, crucial to realize this goal.”

On Myanmar, while affirming fealty to Asean centrality and respect for each member country’s sovereignty, the Philippines nonetheless stressed the non-compromisable goal of always moving “for the welfare, and not to the hurt of its people,” in apparent reference to the rising number of those killed, arrested, and detained among civilians protesting the coup.

“The first step should be for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and subsequent dialogue among the parties involved in their country’s destiny,” Locsin said.

“As part of Asean, we are deeply concerned about the recent developments in Myanmar,” the Foreign Affairs chief said.

“We are cognizant of the Army’s role in preserving Myanmar’s territorial integrity and national security, just as we recognize the unifying role of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in its history and destiny,” Locsin said.

The Philippines, he recalled, has always been by Myanmar’s side as it tried to fix its ethnic challenges, which he described as “legacies” of reckless Western imperialism.

“We have stood by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, defended her, hit back at her critics, and worked to give her the respect due a responsible member of the community of nations moving with all the challenges towards a fuller democracy.”

Locsin said the momentum should not stop now. “Our appeal is not from an outsider but from within what we claim is one family, a family of peoples not of governments, feeling the hurt of its members.”

He cited a Philippine saying: “the hurt of the small finger is felt by the whole body.”

“Myanmar is not a small finger but a big part of the Asean family,” the country’s highest Envoy said, adding “Our call is for the complete return to the previously existing state of affairs.”

Locsin believes a return to the status quo is needed to realize Myanmar’s democratic process and will be good for the people of Myanmar.