Myanmar’s junta commits to ending violence against civilians

The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) obtained this Saturday the unexpected commitment of the military junta of Myanmar to “cease violence” against civilians and engage in “a constructive dialogue with all parties”.

In a consensual statement after the meeting on the Burmese crisis held in Jakarta, members of the bloc, including Myanmar, agreed on five points, including “an immediate cessation of violence” and “a constructive dialogue between all parties to seek a peaceful solution ”.

In addition, the Burmese military junta accepted ASEAN’s mediator intervention and that a special envoy visit Myanmar to meet with all interested parties.

The points approved by the ten member countries do not include the request of Indonesia and Singapore to release political prisoners, including the elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the majority of her government.

The summit, the first international meeting focused on solving the serious situation in Myanmar, was held behind closed doors for almost three hours and was controversially attended by the leader of the Burmese military junta, the coup general Min Aung Hlaing.

“Myanmar has accepted the proposal to end violence against civilians. It has been a success. This outcome of the meeting was beyond our expectations, ”Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said after the meeting.

Since the February 1 coup that toppled the democratic government, Burmese people have staged daily peaceful demonstrations across the country against the military junta and in favor of the release of elected politicians.

The brutal repression against these protests by the security forces has left at least 745 dead, most of them shot by police and soldiers.

The military justifies the military uprising by alleged fraud in the November 2020 elections, in which the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest since the coup, won with a huge advantage.

The bloc of Southeast Asian countries is made up of Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.