Marise Payne commits humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Myanmar
Foreign Affairs Minister agrees to provide assistance in Myanmar as military junta leader turns up at ASEAN meeting.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has committed $5m in government funding to provide humanitarian assistance in Myanmar amid escalating security crackdowns against protesters by the country’s military junta.
Following an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders meeting on Saturday Senator Payne condemned the horrific use of lethal force against civilians, including women and children, and committed funds to ASEAN’s Co-ordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management.
The group agreed to send a special envoy of the ASEAN chair to Myanmar to help mediate the situation, as well as provide humanitarian assistance.
“Australia sees ASEAN at the core of an open, stable and resilient Indo-Pacific. It has a critical role to play in charting a course out of the current crisis,” she said.
Senator Payne said Australia would continue to work closely with its regional partners to de-escalate the situation in Myanmar and support regional efforts towards a resolution.
“Australia’s policy settings on Myanmar, including options for sanctions, will continue to be revised in support of the Myanmar people,” she said.
Overnight, ASEAN leaders told Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing he must end the killings and violence by security forces, release all political detainees, allow in humanitarian aid, and grant access to a special envoy to meet with all concerned parties.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the regional bloc had “reached consensus” during a special leaders’ meeting in Jakarta on Saturday that the situation in Myanmar “cannot be accepted and may not continue”.
“The violence must stop and democracy, peace and stability in Myanmar must be restored,” he said in a recorded statement after the three-hour meeting.
“I stressed the importance of the Myanmar military leader committing to — one — stop the use of violence by the Myanmar military. At the same time all parties must restrain themselves so the tension can be reduced.
“Second, a process of dialogue must be started. Political prisoners must be released and a special ASEAN envoy must be formed (comprising the bloc’s chair [the Sultan of Brunei] and secretary-general) to push for dialogue with all parties.
“Third, open access for all humanitarian help from ASEAN, co-ordinated by the chair and secretary-general.”
A statement issued later by the ASEAN chair included a five-point consensus outlining agreement on all the demands made by President Jokowi, except for the release of all political prisoners.
President Jokowi, whose government lobbied hard for the crisis meeting, did not discuss the Myanmar coup leader’s response, and was careful to refer to him as military leader, rather than as head of state, though Min Aung Hlaing is understood to have addressed the meeting.
But Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told Malaysian media after the summit that the bloc had succeeded “beyond our expectation in getting the outcome from today’s meeting”.
Mr Muhyiddin said the junta leader had accepted all three proposals: to stop the violence against civilians, release political detainees promptly and unconditionally and allow the ASEAN chair and ASEAN secretary-general to have access into Myanmar to all parties concerned.
“Myanmar responded well and did not reject all the three proposals by Malaysia,” he said.
The Myanmar senior general flew into Jakarta before midday on Saturday, his first trip outside the country since orchestrating the February 1 coup that toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and thrust the country into chaos.
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