The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) holds a leaders' meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in Myanmar at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 24, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Further contacts, visits and talks between the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations and Myanmar can speed up the implementation of a
five-point consensus reached last month to resolve the Myanmar crisis,
experts said.
Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for Myanmar's State Administration Council,
said the country's Foreign Ministry will hold talks with ASEAN officials
this week, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Lina Alexandra, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies think tank in Jakarta, said: "If this meeting is
going to discuss the five-point consensus, regarding the implementation,
of course it's really a good opportunity for the ASEAN to clarify …
regarding the visit to Myanmar."
"It is very critical for the ASEAN to speed up the process" of the implementation of the consensus, said Alexandra.
The meeting of the ASEAN's leaders in Jakarta on April 24 saw agreement on a five-point consensus－ending the
violence in Myanmar, opening constructive dialogue among all parties
concerned, appointing a special ASEAN envoy to facilitate the dialogue,
with a visit by the envoy to Myanmar, as well as the provision of
humanitarian assistance to the strife-torn nation
A summit of the bloc's leaders in Jakarta on April 24－the first
face-to-face meeting among ASEAN leaders since the onset of the
pandemic－was attended by Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's commander-in-chief
of defense services and chair of the country's newly formed State
Administration Council.
The meeting saw agreement on a five-point consensus－ending the
violence in Myanmar, opening constructive dialogue among all parties
concerned, appointing a special ASEAN envoy to facilitate the dialogue,
with a visit by the envoy to Myanmar, as well as the provision of
humanitarian assistance to the strife-torn nation.
Myanmar has witnessed mass protests after its military took state power and announced a yearlong state of emergency on Feb 1.
Street protests by tens of thousands demanding the restoration of
civilian government have led to clashes with security forces, despite
the military's pledge to hold "free and fair" elections once the state
of emergency is over.
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Alexandra said an immediate priority "is to appoint the ASEAN special
envoy in order to carry out the implementation of the five-point
consensus, including the visit (to Myanmar)".
"The special envoy will be the head of the so-called taskforce that
will do the implementation of the five-point consensus in order to
achieve the outcomes－stopping the violence, coordinating the delivery of
humanitarian assistance and facilitation－together with the (ASEAN)
Chair," Alexandra said.
The special envoy may visit Myanmar and meet with all parties
concerned to know what Myanmar needs and what kind of assistance ASEAN, a
10-nation bloc that includes Myanmar, can provide.
Important visit
Noting that there are reports that Brunei－which currently chairs the
regional bloc－will send its foreign minister to visit Myanmar after the
Ramadan Muslim festival, which concluded last week, Kavi Chongkittavorn,
senior fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies at
Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said the visit would be important.
If that happens, ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi can be part of the delegation.
"Their joint visit is significant as they will have first-person assessment of the situation on the ground," Kavi said.
Kavi said the ASEAN chair needs to make it clear to Myanmar's leaders
that ASEAN centrality will be at stake if the consensus is not fully
implemented.
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"(A) sustainable solution to the Myanmar crisis will take time," said
Kavi, noting that there must be a complete cessation of violence" for
any serious dialogue to make progress. At present, ASEAN is preparing
action plans in terms of providing humanitarian assistance to
communities affected in the conflict, he said.