ASEAN “strongly condemns” recent airstrikes in Myanmar in which dozens of people were reported killed, ASEAN chair Indonesia said in a statement yesterday.
“All forms of violence must end immediately, particularly the use of force against civilians,” it said.
A statement issued by the ASEAN chair does not necessarily indicate the agreement of all member states.
Photo: AFP
The official death toll from Tuesday morning’s strike on the remote Kanbalu Township in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region remains unclear, but at least 100 fatalities have been reported by the BBC, The Irrawaddy and Radio Free Asia.
Myanmar’s junta on Wednesday confirmed it had launched limited airstrikes after receiving a tip-off from residents about an event marking the opening of a local defense force office connected to the military government’s opponents.
The attack drew swift condemnation from the UN and Western powers.
Indonesia — Southeast Asia’s biggest economy — is serving as this year’s chair of ASEAN and is to host the 10-member bloc’s annual leaders’ meetings next month and in September.
Jakarta is working to implement the “five-point consensus” agreed with the Myanmar junta in April 2021, which calls for an end to violence and dialogue between the military and rebels, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said last week.
However, the plan has been largely ignored by the junta, and mediation attempts by ASEAN countries to solve the crisis have failed, she said.
Jakarta chairing of the bloc had raised hopes that ASEAN could push for a peaceful solution in Myanmar, using Indonesia’s weight as a regional economic power and its diplomatic experience. Indonesia earlier this year announced plans to set up a special envoy’s office in its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish low-level dialogue with the junta, but little information has emerged about the status of any talks.
The junta remains an ASEAN member, but has been barred from top-level summits over its failure to implement the peace plan.
Following the coup that toppled former Burmese state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in 2021, a military crackdown on dissent and armed groups opposed to their rule has left more than 3,200 people dead, a Burmese monitoring group said.
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