Civil society groups, political activists, and legislators from Southeast Asia met in Jakarta Tuesday September 5th to galvanize pressure against Myanmar’s government and call on Asean, China, India, and Japan to urge the junta to begin real democratic reform.
The seminar, organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), was attended by over 200 people, including politicians, the media, diplomats, and academics
Malaysian parliamentarian and member of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar (AIPMC) Dr Wan Azizah urged those in attendance to keep their focus on the military-ruled country: “We must always put Myanmar issue on the map. Sometimes we forget the issue because many other international issues come up.”
Panelists at the seminar also spoke out about Asean’s policy of non-interference. “The noninterference principle can’t be used to justify gross human rights’ violations inside a member country,” said Sann Aung, an elected member of Myanmar’s never convened 1990 parliament, now living in exile in Thailand. Sann Aung argued that the situation inside Myanmar was provoking destabilizing refugee flows throughout Asean.
Jakarta Post: ASEAN public urged to crank up pressure on Myanmar- 6 Sept
