On the two-year anniversary of the Five-Point Consensus, lawmakers from Southeast Asia are calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to acknowledge the failure of the agreement signed with Myanmar’s junta in April 2021.
The leaders of nine ASEAN member states and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s junta chief, agreed to the following five points: an immediate end to violence in the country; dialogue among all parties; the appointment of a special envoy; humanitarian assistance by ASEAN; and the special envoy’s visit to Myanmar to meet with all parties.
However, the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Chair and member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mercy Barends, said in a statement on 24 April that recent airstrikes in the Sagaing region, which killed hundreds of civilians, including children, are “further evidence that the Myanmar junta is completely unwilling and incapable of adhering to the Five-Point Consensus.”
Barends argued that if ASEAN insists on sticking to an agreement that has proven to be “utterly ineffective,” then it is complicit in the ongoing crimes and atrocities of the junta.
APHR Co-chair and former Malaysian member of parliament Charles Santiago called out ASEAN’s weak-willed approach towards the junta and Indonesia’s “soft-diplomacy” approach as ASEAN chair.
Santiago urged Indonesia to take a stronger stance and be transparent about how they are addressing the Myanmar crisis, especially given the limited amount of time left in their chairmanship.
Santiago further stated that “ASEAN needs to live up to its role as a regional mediator and it needs to do so immediately, starting with Indonesia as chair. Closed-door and informal meetings are no longer enough. It is clear that ASEAN needs to negotiate a new agreement that includes the National Unity Government and the representatives of ethnic minorities while providing clear enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the agreement is upheld.”
The International Parliamentary Inquiry into the global response to the Myanmar coup (IPI), organized by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, indicated in its final report in November 2022 that “it is clear that the Five-Point Consensus has failed, and a new mode of engagement is needed in its place.”
The IPI report noted that, from the start, it was “thoroughly clear that Min Aung Hlaing was insincere in signing it and had no intention of following it.”
The Consensus’ first point on the cessation of violence has been ignored by the junta, as evidenced by the ongoing airstrikes and malicious attacks against unarmed civilians.
Meanwhile, ASEAN’s intention to provide humanitarian aid, as noted in the IPI report, has been “stymied by a lack of resources and genuine commitment.”
The ASEAN Special Envoy position has also proven to be ineffective, especially since it changes along with the ASEAN chair.
The situation in Myanmar has been escalating since the military coup in February 2021, which ousted the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military junta has cracked down on dissent, leading to mass protests, strikes, and a civil disobedience movement. The junta’s use of force against unarmed civilians has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and the displacement of thousands.
According to the human rights minister of the ousted shadow National Unity Government, Aung Myo Min, at least 165 people, including 27 women and 19 children, were killed after Myanmar’s military junta bombed Kanbalu township in the central Sagaing region on 11 April.
In a statement issued on 13 April, ASEAN called for the creation of a conducive environment for an inclusive national dialogue to find a sustainable, peaceful solution in Myanmar.
Lawmakers urge ASEAN to take swift and concrete action against the illegal military junta and provide real assistance to the pro-democracy forces in Myanmar, including by recognizing the National Unity Government (NUG) and having open and public negotiations that include the NUG, ethnic groups, and other pro-democracy forces.
In a roundtable discussion at the Indonesian House of Representatives in Jakarta on 3 March, dozens of parliamentarians from several Southeast Asian countries urged ASEAN and the international community at large to take action against the junta.
The lawmakers called for ASEAN to negotiate a new agreement that includes the National Unity Government and the representatives of ethnic minorities while providing clear enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the agreement is upheld.
“The failure of the Five-Point Consensus highlights the need for a new approach to the Myanmar crisis. The international community must act swiftly to prevent further violence and support the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar,” said APHR.
It added, “The ASEAN must take a stronger stance and negotiate a new agreement that includes the National Unity Government and the representatives of ethnic minorities while providing clear enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the agreement is upheld.”
