At the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on 19 January, ministers called on the Myanmar military junta to prioritize peace before holding its long-threatened sham election. While discouragement is welcomed, the junta’s planned sham election is a shameless plot to acquire illegitimate authority and must be more ardently contested and stopped. Peace in Myanmar cannot come from dialogue and negotiation with the junta in any guise. ASEAN leaders must promptly cut political, economic, and military ties with the junta and support meaningful and inclusive processes by legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people.

Chairing the Retreat, Malaysian Foreign Minister, Mohamad Hasan, urged for a cessation of violence from all actors and unhindered humanitarian access, asserting that the sham election should not be prioritized over these aims. Once again, ASEAN failed to acknowledge the junta as the root cause of the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. The junta’s sham election is a blatant attempt to find an exit strategy amid mounting military losses, and to garner international recognition with false claims of legality. For ASEAN to speak of the sham election as simply “not a priority” demeans the threat it poses to embolden the junta in making illegitimate claims of authority and exacerbating its campaign of violence. The Malaysian Chair, particularly the newly appointed Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, Othman Hashim, must lead the bloc to disengage from the junta, contravene sham election plans, and work with legitimate actors to support the Myanmar people’s pursuit of peace and democracy.

ASEAN ministers continued burning the flame for the ineffectual, harmful Five-Point Consensus (5PC) which should long ago have been extinguished as a policy never sanctioned by Myanmar’s people. Reflecting the people’s collective aspirations for a “Myanmar owned and -led” approach to building peace and justice, recommendations to ASEAN and its member states are detailed in the civil society position paper endorsed by 290 organizations. If ASEAN truly aims for a “peaceful and durable resolution,” immediate actions must move beyond ideas of negotiations and dialogue. The Special Envoy must also not recklessly embark on so-called peace negotiations with the junta but follow the path already paved by the Myanmar people.

Inviting junta representatives to the negotiation table to sit with bloodstained hands and talk of peace is insult to the Myanmar people who have withstood their immeasurable violence and made countless sacrifices for decades. Genuine and sustainable peace will not come from any so-called peace dialogue with the junta’s involvement. Ministers’ righteous calls for any dialogue must heed the position paper’s recommendation “to support a locally led political consultation process that entirely excludes the junta.” Myanmar’s people will bring the longed-for peace and stability by themselves, and ASEAN must support their efforts to build peaceful, democratic, and inclusive institutions from the ground up, a future Myanmar free of junta tyranny.

Further, ministers called for all actors to “create a conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance” and reasserted of the primary role of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) in delivering aid. Evidently, the AHA Centre is not equipped to respond to man-made and conflict-related situations, has permitted the junta access to people on whom it inflicted suffering, and given the junta a stake in controlling aid responses—the architects of the crises themselves. Moreover, the Centre’s practice of funneling aid through junta mechanisms—including its auxiliary Myanmar Red Cross Society—has exacerbated its weaponization, failed distribution to highest-needs areas, and manipulation of funds intended as aid. ASEAN must disengage from junta-controlled channels and support local humanitarian responders, through cross-border channels, who have the experience, knowledge, and trust of local communities.

To achieve any semblance of peace in Myanmar, ASEAN must follow the Myanmar people’s voices in any discussions regarding their future, supporting their locally led initiatives in the face of adversity, and honor their calls for genuine peace. No form of dialogue or negotiation with the junta will be accepted by the people for the results will neither be sustainable nor effective based on series of ceasefires or so-called peace agreements throughout decades—all of which were unilaterally violated by the Myanmar military. ASEAN and its member states must denounce and stop the junta’s sham election and its attempt to once again manipulate Myanmar into a transition to ‘business-as-usual,’ starting by ceasing any political, financial or technical assistance to the junta. Foreign Minister Hasan’s call for increased humanitarian aid must also be acted upon in the absence of the AHA Centre, with increased aid through local responders through cross-border channels to help meet the escalating needs of affected communities countrywide.

The Malaysian Chair and the ASEAN Special Envoy have a unique opportunity to play an impactful role during their 2025 tenure if only they lead ASEAN in moving beyond the 5PC, and cutting all ties with the junta in all arenas including ceasing allowing junta representatives to ASEAN meetings at all levels. Beyond that, they must formally recognize and fully support legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people in their nation-state building. This includes the National Unity Government which “extend[s] its full cooperation” to ASEAN, the National Unity Consultative Council, Ethnic Resistance Organizations, and newly established federal units. By aligning with and acting on the people’s aspirations, ASEAN can play a truly constructive role in fostering genuine peace and stability, rather than imposing solutions that overlook the realities on the ground and the people who are living these realities.

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[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.

Resources from the past week

Statements and Press Releases

Press Statement by the Chair of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat

By Association of Southeast Asian Nations

American Tech Firms Must Cut Ties to Sanctioned Burmese Military Firm Mytel

By Burma Campaign UK and International Campaign for the Rohingya

Civil society welcomes GANHRI’s final decision to remove accreditation of junta-controlled Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, urges APF and SEANF to follow suit

By CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) and Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI)

Myanmar: ‘Scorched Earth’ Tactics Intensify

By Human Rights Watch

Reports

Echoes of Anger: Social Media Responses to Increasing Violence in Myanmar

By Insecurity Insight

Attacks on Health Care in Myanmar: 25 December 2024 – 07 January 2025

By Insecurity Insight

Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”