Wishes of the Myanmar people must be heard, says Indonesia

Indonesia has told Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister in Bangkok that the ‘wishes of the Myanmar people must be heard’ in the first regional talks with the new junta.

Protesters mass outside the Indonesian embassy in Yangon to push for the release by the Myanmar military of Aung San Suu Kyi. Picture: AFP

Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi has told Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister in Bangkok that the “wishes of the Myanmar people must be heard” in the first regional talks with the new junta aimed at resolving the crisis triggered by the February 1 coup that toppled the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ms Retno confirmed late on Wednesday that she met with Myanmar’s Wunna Maung Lwin and Thailand’s Foreign Minister Dom Pramudwinai in the Thai capital to “find the best resolution for the situation in Myanmar right now”.

She had also been holding “intensive” discussions with the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, formed by members of Myanmar’s deposed National League for Democracy government, she added.

The surprise Bangkok talks were held just hours after Indonesia’s foreign ministry confirmed Ms Retno had cancelled a planned trip to Myanmar on Thursday because “this is not the ideal time”.

Ms Retno said she was only made aware that Wunna Maung Lwin was in Bangkok during her discussions with Mr Dom, but that she had conveyed Indonesia’s concern about the situation in Myanmar and the need for an “inclusive democratic transition process” during a later meeting on Wednesday between all three ministers.

“The safety and wellbeing of the people is priority number one. Therefore, we ask all parties to exercise restraint and not use force, to avoid casualties and bloodshed. The wishes of the Myanmar people must be heard,” Ms Retno said.

“During the meeting with U Wanna I also (stressed) the importance of all ASEAN member countries to respect the principles in the ASEAN charter … and the importance of humanitarian access and visits to detainees.”

Some 700 people, including Suu Kyi herself, have been detained by the military since it seized power.

Ms Retno said she had spoken with all nine fellow ASEAN foreign ministers about Myanmar, and would be speaking on Thursday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres and former Australia prime minister Kevin Rudd, now head of the Asia Society.

“Shuttle diplomacy is not an easy thing to do during a pandemic … (but) Indonesia chooses not to be silent. To do nothing is not an option,” she said.

Indonesia has led ASEAN efforts to resolve the Myanmar issue and lobbied fellow member states to support a special meeting of foreign ministers to find a way out of the crisis.

Those plans appeared to falter this week amid anger in Myanmar over reports Indonesia had proposed a resolution that accepted the military junta’s pledge to stage fresh elections in 12 months subject to independent election monitoring.

The Myanmar military insists it acted constitutionally in overthrowing the Suu Kyi government because it failed to address unsubstantiated allegations of mass electoral fraud in last November’s elections, which overwhelmingly returned her administration to power.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin were among the first ASEAN leaders to express concern over the coup, and in a meeting earlier this month agreed to work together to address the crisis.

But the Malaysian government shocked many on Tuesday when it ignored an order by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to delay the deportation of 1200 Myanmar nationals on three Myanmar navy ships dispatched by the new coup government earlier in the week.

Amnesty International and Asylum Access Malaysia had filed a joint petition on Monday against the deportation on the grounds that it violated the UN Refugee Convention principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits people from being returned to a territory where they may face serious harm.

It also argued that there were UNHCR-registered refugees and 17 minors among the group. Malaysian immigration director general Khairul Dzaimee Daud has insisted all 1086 people who left Malaysia on Myanmar naval ships on Wednesday evening were illegal immigrants who had gone voluntarily, and that none were Rohingya refugees or UNHCR ‘cardholders’.

But Human Rights Watch has demanded a full investigation into the deportation, which it said had put lives at risk.

“Given the Myanmar military’s repression of critics of the coup or the junta, as well as the military’s record of abuses against ethnic minorities, Malaysia’s failure to provide fair asylum procedures or allow UNHCR to make refugee determinations violates the government’s international legal obligations,” HRW Asia legal adviser Linda Lakhdhir said.

Sebastian Strangio, a southeast Asia analyst and editor with The Diplomat, said the Myanmar navy’s offer to collect the immigrants was “very clearly designed to curry favour with the Malaysian government, or at least its silence over the military takeover of power”.

“The fact that the Malaysian government from one side of its mouth voices concern over what’s happening in Myanmar and on the other takes the opportunity to rid itself of more than 1000 people from immigration detention – in the process defying a court order – is remarkable,” he said.

“It shows that for a lot of Southeast Asian leaders the law sits downstream of political power.”

Additional reporting: Chandni Vasandani