MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –
Source: The Holy See in Italian
Vientiane (Agenzia Fides) – Reactivating dialogue to aim for a solution to the political crisis in Myanmar and a realistic peace: this is the objective of the international conference that Laos, current president of the “Association of Southeast Asian Nations” (ASEAN) – of which Myanmar is a member – has proposed to organize and host. This is a step to address the crisis and civil conflict that is upsetting Myanmar after the military coup of 2021, which is also having effects on neighboring nations, on a social and economic level but also for the flow of refugees. The conference would be organized by the ASEAN “troika”, composed of Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia, established in September 2023 to continue diplomatic efforts. The announcement was made by Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane on October 3, without specifying the date when the conference would be held. In the aftermath of the coup in 2021, ASEAN leaders issued a “five-point plan” on the situation in Myanmar, calling for: an immediate end to violence; the initiation of constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution; the appointment and hosting of an ASEAN special envoy to facilitate the mediation of the dialogue process; the possibility for ASEAN to provide humanitarian assistance; and frequent visits by the ASEAN special invitee to Myanmar to meet with all relevant parties. Some ASEAN member states have not recognised the military government in Myanmar, and Myanmar’s prime minister and foreign minister have been barred from ASEAN summits and ASEAN foreign ministers’ meetings since 2022. “There is no progress in implementing the ASEAN five-point plan. Therefore, Myanmar’s participation in ASEAN foreign ministers’ meetings and summits remains at a non-political level,” said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. Marsudi said both the military and the resistance forces have refused to participate in the dialogue, a key plank of ASEAN’s proposal: The exiled “National Unity Government” (NUG), formed by a group of lawmakers ousted in the coup, has said it will engage in dialogue with the military only if it stops all violence, releases all political prisoners and agrees to form a federal democratic union. The ruling military junta said on August 22 that it will only consider dialogue if the People’s Defense Force (PDF) – the resistance militias formed after the coup – renounce violence and attacks against the military. After the stalemate lasted for about two years, without any significant progress, in early 2024 – when Laos took over the rotating presidency of ASEAN – the Burmese junta began sending a non-political representative to attend the organization’s summits. Now, with the proposal of the international conference, something is moving again on the level of regional diplomacy. Particular commitment is recorded by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, which is organizing informal sessions of talks on the civil war in Myanmar in Jakarta, involving representatives of Indonesia, ASEAN, the European Union and the United Nations. Furthermore, after the resistant forces of the “Brotherhood Alliance” took control of the Burmese region bordering China, Beijing – interested in trade and stability in the area – has also become more involved, mediating a ceasefire between the Alliance and the Burmese military government, hoping for “maximum moderation”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 4/10/2024) Share:
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.