Jakarta: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said it "strongly condemns" a Myanmar military airstrike that killed over 100 people, including children, as calls for the regional bloc to play a larger role in resolving the crisis grow.
On Tuesday, the Myanmar Air Force dropped multiple bombs on Pa Zi Gyi village in the central Sagaing region, while military helicopters fired on a gathering attended mostly by civilians. Infants and the elderly were among those killed in the strike.
On Thursday, ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member, joined the global condemnation of the deadliest junta attack since the country's military coup two years ago.
"ASEAN strongly condemns the reported recent air strikes carried out by the Myanmar Armed Forces in Pa Zi Gyi Village, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region of Myanmar, that claimed the lives of at least dozens of civilians," ASEAN chair Indonesia said in a statement.
It also reaffirmed ASEAN's commitment to assisting Myanmar in resolving the crisis "through promoting the full implementation of the Five-Point Consensus," referring to a peace plan agreed to in 2021 to end the violence triggered by the military coup.
"All forms of violence must end immediately, particularly the use of force against civilians," the statement said.
According to Aung Myo Min, the human rights minister of the defunct shadow National Unity Government, at least 165 people were killed in the airstrike, including 27 women and 19 children.
The attack on Tuesday came just a week after Indonesia announced diplomatic progress in Myanmar, following the military's continued efforts to crush resistance, including airstrikes and ground attacks.
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These moves have displaced thousands of people and killed numerous civilians, including children, while also destroying schools, clinics, and hospitals. This week's airstrike has also highlighted ASEAN's role in the crisis, as Southeast Asian leaders prepare to meet in Indonesia in May for the 2023 ASEAN Summit.
"ASEAN leaders must use their upcoming Summit in May 2023 to initiate complementary punitive action," Myo Min said in another tweet, urging the group to bar junta representatives from all ASEAN meetings.
When it comes to addressing the conflict in Myanmar, ASEAN's role is "important, yet still constrained," according to Dr. Ahmad Rizky Mardhatillah Umar, an Indonesian international relations researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Despite the five-point consensus, he added, ASEAN has a long-held principle of non-interference. The reactions of ASEAN to the recent air strike by the Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military) demonstrate this quandary. "To date, ASEAN has engaged in quiet diplomacy to reach an agreement with all parties in the conflict," Umar told Arab News.
"The next steps from ASEAN in the next ASEAN Summit are critical to achieving a long-term solution in Myanmar." According to Amnesty International Indonesia, the Myanmar junta has "clearly ignored" the 2021 agreement with ASEAN.
"ASEAN must immediately push for new, stronger efforts to put an end to the human rights crisis in Myanmar," it said in a statement issued on Thursday. According to Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, ASEAN's five-point consensus is "on its last legs because of SAC junta intransigency," referring to the military government.
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"Yet the EU, US, Australia, and others continue to prop up this straw man because if they didn't, they would have to come up with their own solution, and so far, they are not prepared to do so," Robertson told Arab News. "The problem is that simply hoping things will improve and the Myanmar military will recognise the need to negotiate has gotten ASEAN nowhere."