AL HAYAT - Myanmar complains over pariah treatment in ASEAN bloc

The 11-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations has shunned Myanmar from summits since the military in 2021 deposed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and detained the democratic figurehead, triggering a civil war.

After five years of martial rule, the junta staged a tightly restricted election excluding Suu Kyi's party that last month resulted in putsch-leading military chief Min Aung Hlaing taking over as civilian president.

At an ASEAN summit in the Philippines last week, the hosting country's President Ferdinand Marcos complained there had not been "any progress in Myanmar".

Myanmar's foreign ministry, in a statement, claimed that on the contrary, "positive developments taking place in Myanmar have been well recognized by the majority of ASEAN Member States".

"However, it is observed that a few Member States continue to maintain restrictions, discriminatory measures, and the exclusion of the Myanmar Government from equal representation."

ASEAN is suffering from a fraying consensus over Myanmar, analysts say, with frustration growing over a lack of progress on the bloc's peace plan to end the nation's civil war.

Some countries, such as neighbouring Thailand, congratulated Myanmar's coup-leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing when he was sworn in, pledging to make efforts to stabilise their shared border.

Others have remained aloof about Min Aung Hlaing's inauguration following an election widely criticised by democracy monitors for cracking down on dissent and not including opposition parties and voters in rebel-held territories.

At the summit in the Philippines, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Myanmar was not ready to reclaim a seat at the table because "atrocities towards their own citizens are still occurring".

Countries including Indonesia and Singapore -- which will take the bloc's rotating chair next year -- are widely believed to side with Malaysia.

But Myanmar's foreign ministry said "non-constructive engagement with the new government of Myanmar" would "disregard the genuine will of the Myanmar people, who exercised their democratic rights".

"Over the past five years, despite facing unequal treatment arising from the positions of certain ASEAN Member States, Myanmar has exercised patience," it added.

While it did not name specific countries, it also accused some nations of "interfering in Myanmar's internal affairs through criticism and pressure".

Myanmar has used similar language to criticise East Timor, the bloc's newest member, after a Dili court opened a case against Min Aung Hlaing for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Rights activists in Muslim-majority Indonesia have also filed a complaint with their country's attorney general, accusing the junta he led of atrocities including genocide against the Rohingya minority.

E.Hilali--al-Hayat