YANGON: Myanmar's shadow government of ousted lawmakers has welcomed a call by Southeast Asian leaders for an end to "military violence" after their crisis talks in Jakarta with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The general attended a high-level summit on Saturday (Apr 25) with leaders from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss Myanmar's mounting crisis.
Since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a Feb 1 coup, Myanmar has been in an uproar - with near-daily protests and a nationwide boycott of work in all sectors of society staged to demand a return to democracy.
Security forces have deployed live ammunition to quell the uprising, killing more than 740 people in brutal crackdowns, according to local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
READ: Myanmar junta chief 'not opposed' to visit by ASEAN delegation to help resolve crisis, says PM Lee
READ: ASEAN leaders reach consensus on 'immediate cessation' of violence in Myanmar
The ASEAN meeting produced a consensus that there would be "an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar", the bloc said on Saturday.
It added that ASEAN will also have a special envoy to "facilitate mediation" between all parties, and this representative will be able to travel to Myanmar.
But while they "heard calls for the release of all political prisoners", a commitment to free them was not included in the consensus statement.
A spokesperson from the shadow government - known as the National Unity Government - on Saturday said ASEAN's statement was "encouraging news".
"We look forward to firm action by ASEAN to follow up its decisions and restore our democracy and freedom for our people and for the region," said Dr Sasa, the National Unity Government's minister of international cooperation, who is currently in hiding with the rest of his fellow lawmakers.
The lawmakers - most of whom were part of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party - are wanted for high treason by the junta.
Overnight, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc will continue to call for the release of political prisoners.
"BUSINESS AS USUAL"
Myanmar's pro-democracy activists sharply criticised the agreement between the junta's chief and ASEAN, and vowed on Sunday to continue their protest campaign.
"Whether it is ASEAN or the UN, they will only speak from outside saying don't fight but negotiate and solve the issues. But that doesn’t reflect Myanmar's ground situation," said Khin Sandar from a protest group called the General Strikes Collaboration Committee.
"We will continue the protests. We have plans to do so," she told Reuters by phone.
As Myanmar nears three months under the military regime, escalating violence by its security forces - especially in urban centres - has pushed protesters and prominent activists into hiding.
The junta has also throttled communications across the country, imposing a nightly Internet shutdown for 70 consecutive days and restricting mobile data to a mere trickle.
By Saturday, the number of detainees climbed to 3,389, according to AAPP.
COMMENTARY: Solution to Myanmar's political crisis lies beyond Aung San Suu Kyi or the military
Independent news outlet the Irrawaddy confirmed on Sunday that a former editor, Thu Thu Tha, was arrested in Thanlyin, a port city across the river from commercial hub Yangon.
"In spite of Min Aung Hlaing's appearance in the ASEAN summit, it's business as usual," Irrawaddy's founder Aung Zaw told AFP, adding that most of his staff are currently in hiding.
On Saturday, as the junta chief attended the meeting with ASEAN leaders and foreign ministers in Jakarta, soldiers and police fired on protesters near Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw.
One 50-year-old protester was held by the police and shot dead by a soldier, an eyewitness told AFP.
Despite the threat of violence, protesters across Myanmar continued to take to the streets on Sunday - from the northern jade mining city of Hpakant to eastern Karenni state.
In central Myingyan - where brutal crackdowns have forced residents to hide in nearby villages - protesters smeared red paint on some of the city's buildings to protest the bloodshed.
"Give power back to the people," read graffiti on the city's sidewalks.
"We realised that whatever the outcome from the ASEAN meeting, it will not reflect what people want," said Wai Aung, a protest organiser in Yangon. "We will keep up protests and strikes till the military regime completely fails."
Several people took to social media to criticise the deal.
"ASEAN's statement is a slap on the face of the people who have been abused, killed and terrorised by the military," said a Facebook user called Mawchi Tun. "We do not need your help with that mindset and approach."
Aaron Htwe, another Facebook user, wrote: "Who will pay the price for the over 700 innocent lives."
"WILL THE KILLING STOP?"
State-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar on Sunday reported on Min Aung Hlaing's visit to Jakarta and said he discussed the country's "political changes".
But it made no mention of ASEAN's consensus for a halt to violence.
UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said it remains to be seen how effective the bloc's engagement will be.
"The result of the ASEAN Summit will be found in Myanmar, not (in) a document," Andrews tweeted on Sunday.
"Will the killing stop? Will the terrorising of neighbourhoods end? Will the thousands abducted be released?"
The junta has justified its power seizure as a means to protect democracy, alleging electoral fraud in November elections which Aung San Suu Kyi's party had won in a landslide.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy9hc2lhL215YW5tYXItc2hhZG93LWdvdmVybm1lbnQtd2VsY29tZXMtYXNlYW4tZW5kLXZpb2xlbmNlLTE0NjkwNTM00gEA?oc=5
2021-04-25 07:07:30Z
52781531121052
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar