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Open letter from 319 organizations to disinvite Min Aung Hlaing and exclude Myanmar military junta from BIMSTEC

March 29th, 2025  •  Author:   319 Organisations  •  11 minute read
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TO:
Government of Thailand
Prime Minister
H.E. Paetongtarn Shinawatra
Minister for Foreign Affairs
H.E. Maris Sangiampongsa

Governments of BIMSTEC Member States
Ministers for Foreign Affairs of
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka

BIMSTEC Secretariat
General Secretary
H.E. Indra Mani Pandey

29 March 2025

Dear BIMSTEC Leaders,

Re: Call to disinvite Min Aung Hlaing and exclude Myanmar military junta from BIMSTEC

In the lead-up to the BIMSTEC Summit, scheduled for April 3 to 4 in Bangkok, we the undersigned 319 organisations, write this open letter to call on the Government of Thailand and the leadership of BIMSTEC to take a stand against the illegal military junta and its commission of international crimes by:

  1. Barring the Myanmar junta head Min Aung Hlaing from the BIMSTEC Summit;
  2. Excluding all other military junta representatives and their appointees from all BIMSTEC meetings and events.

Since its coup attempt on February 1, 2021, the military has committed massacres, indiscriminate airstrikes, artillery shelling, sexual and gender-based violence, mass torture and mass arson. It has arbitrarily arrested over 28,900. Each year, the military junta has increased the frequency of its air strikes as well as the number of civilians killed and injured. The Myanmar military has conducted 4,631 airstrikes, including on internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, clinics, schools, and religious sites—a serious international crime that violates international humanitarian law. These include the use of fire bombs, which are prohibited in civilian areas. From their airstrikes alone, over 2,603 civilians have been killed and over 4,184 injured. As a result of these crimes, over 3 million people are now internally displaced. The military junta meets the criteria for a terrorist organisation under both Myanmar national law and as defined in international law.

The Myanmar military’s atrocities amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. These are being committed by the same military that stands accused of genocide and other international crimes against the Rohingya before the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and in the universal jurisdiction case in Argentina. The federal criminal court in Argentina under universal jurisdiction recently ordered arrest warrants for 25 Myanmar individuals for their alleged roles in genocide and crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya, including junta head Min Aung Hlaing and other senior military officials.

The Myanmar military junta is not, by any definition, a government and therefore has no legitimacy to represent the people of Myanmar in any BIMSTEC meetings or activities, regardless of the level of the meeting or the junta representative.

When foreign governments and international organisations engage with the military junta as though it were a government, and/or enable the junta’s appointees and associates to network with the international community, this causes significant harms for the people of Myanmar, including:

  • Emboldening the military junta and thereby increasing violence against civilians;
  • Decisions being made illegitimately on behalf of Myanmar people;
  • Legitimising the military junta and assisting their illegal attempts to appear as a government;
  • Assisting the military junta to build relationships and gain access to funds and resources; and
  • Ultimately, assisting the military junta in its war against the people of the country

Anyone providing legitimacy or facilitating the flow of funds and resources to the military junta risks being complicit in the junta’s ongoing atrocity crimes. Thus, it is extremely important to avoid facilitating any potential diplomatic and financial relationships between the Myanmar military junta and others through international meetings and networks.

Other intergovernmental organisations including ASEAN and the United Nations have already taken actions against the Myanmar military junta. For example, ASEAN has decided not to allow the Myanmar junta to assume the rotating leadership in 2026 and has excluded the junta from foreign ministers’ meetings and summits. The ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) has excluded the junta’s defence minister from summits. The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia boycotted an ADMM air force chiefs meeting hosted by the military junta. Singapore boycotted ADMM-Plus counter-terrorism training sessions hosted by the Myanmar military junta and Russia. All of these actions have been welcomed by the people of Myanmar.

Yet, further serious action is urgently needed. Your decision to exclude the illegal military junta from your upcoming visit and meetings would be in line with the United Nations’ decision to avoid allowing military junta members to represent Myanmar in the General Assembly. This request also echoes the concerns raised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in Myanmar who recommends that ASEAN must not allow Myanmar military junta personnel to participate in any ASEAN meetings. He also calls on ASEAN Member States to: “not attend if the invitations to the junta military personnel are not rescinded.” Further, the Special Rapporteur urges that “Member States who support human rights, democracy, and the aspirations of the people of Myanmar publicly reject the SAC’s false claim as a legitimate government.”

We await your response with anticipation. Meanwhile, we will continue to monitor whether your actions support the people of Myanmar or the brutal and illegitimate military junta.

Sincerely,

This letter is endorsed by 319 organisations representing Myanmar, regional and international civil society, including the 285 organisations listed below and 34 organisations which have chosen not to disclose their names.

List of organisations:

  1. 5/of Zaya State Strike
  2. A-Yar-Taw People Strike
  3. Action Against Myanmar Military Coup (Sydney)
  4. Action Committee for Democracy Development (ACDD)
  5. Action Committee of Basic Education Students (ACBES)
  6. Ah Nah Podcast- conversations with Myanmar
  7. All Arakan Students’ & Youths’ Congress – AASYC
  8. All Aung Myay Thar San Schools Strike Force
  9. All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Monywa District)
  10. All Kachin Student’s and Youth Union – AKSYU
  11. Alliance of Students’ Union – Yangon (ASU-Yangon)
  12. ALTSEAN-Burma
  13. Amazeyate
  14. Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon-AJAY
  15. Anti-junta Forces Coordination Committee ( AFCC)
  16. Anti-junta Forces Coordination Committee (AFCC -Mandalay)
  17. Arakan Youth Peace Network
  18. Asia Youth’s Association AYA
  19. Asian Cultural Forum on Development
  20. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners -AAPP
  21. Association Suisse-Birmanie
  22. Athan – Freedom Of Expression Activist Organization
  23. Aung San Suu Kyi Park Norway
  24. Basic Education General Strike Committee (BEGSC)
  25. Basic Education Worker Unions – Steering Committee (BEWU-SC)
  26. Blood Money Campaign
  27. Boston Free Burma
  28. Building and Wood Workers Federation of Myanmar ( BWFM)
  29. Burma Action Institute (BAI)
  30. Burma Action Ireland
  31. Burma Affairs and Conflict Study (BACS)
  32. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
  33. Campaign for Popular Democracy
  34. CAN-Myanmar
  35. CDM Medical Network (CDMMN)
  36. CEIAS (Central European Institute of Asian Studies)
  37. Chanmyatharzi Township People’s Strike
  38. Chaung Oo Township Youth Strike Committee
  39. Chin Community in Norway
  40. Chindwin (West) Villages Women Strike
  41. Civic Voice Communications
  42. Civil Health and Development Network (CHDN)
  43. Civil Information Network (CIN)
  44. Civil Society Organizations Coordination Committee (Monywa)
  45. Co-operative University Mandalay Students’ Strike
  46. Coalition Strike Committee – Dawei
  47. Community Resource Centre
  48. Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar
  49. Cross Cultural Foundation
  50. CRPH & NUG Supporters Ireland
  51. CRPH Funding Ireland
  52. CRPH Support Group In Norway
  53. Daung Sitthe Strike
  54. Dawei ( Ashaetaw) Women Strike
  55. Dawei Development Association
  56. Dawei Nursing School Students Union
  57. Dawei Youths Revolutionary Movement Strike Committee
  58. Defend Myanmar Democracy
  59. Democratic Party for a New Society, Norway
  60. Depayin Township Revolution Steering Committee
  61. Depayin Women Strike
  62. Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
  63. Educational Initiatives Prague
  64. Equality Myanmar
  65. Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee (Mandalay)
  66. ETOs Watch Coalition
  67. Federal Corner
  68. Federation of Sagaing Forum
  69. Food Workers’ Federation of Myanmar – FWFM
  70. For Our People
  71. Former Political Prisoners and New Generation Group – Monywa
  72. Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC)
  73. Freedom and Labor Action Group
  74. Freelance Volunteer Myanmar
  75. Friends Against Dictatorship (FAD)
  76. Gangaw Women Strike
  77. General Strike Collaboration Committee (GSCC)
  78. General Strike Committee of Basic and Higher Education (GSCBHE)
  79. General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB)
  80. Generation Wave
  81. Generations’ Solidarity Coalition of Nationalities -GSCN
  82. German Solidarity Myanmar e.V.
  83. Green Network Mergui Archipelago
  84. Home Vocational Training Center
  85. Human Right Educator Network -HREN
  86. Human Rights Defenders and Promoters-HRDP
  87. Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
  88. IDPs Support Group
  89. India for Myanmar
  90. Industrial Workers Federation Of Myanmar – IWFM/CTUM
  91. Industries Strike
  92. Info Birmanie
  93. Inle Women Union (IWU)
  94. INTEGRIA, z.u. (CZ)
  95. InternationalAssociation,MyanmarSwitzerland (IAMS)
  96. Justice and Equality Focus- JEF
  97. Justice For Myanmar
  98. Justice Movement for Community-Innlay
  99. K’cho Ethnic Association( Europe)
  100. Kachin Association Norway
  101. Kachin Environmental Group – KEG
  102. Kachin Human Rights Watch – KHRW
  103. Kachin Legal Aid Group-KLAG
  104. Kachin Student Union
  105. Kalay Township Strike Force
  106. Kalay Women Strike
  107. Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG).
  108. Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN)
  109. Karenni Human Rights Group-KnHRG
  110. Karenni Humanitarian Aid Initiative (KHAI)
  111. Karenni National Women’s Organizational (KNWO)
  112. Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY)
  113. Kayan Rescue Committee (KRC)
  114. Kayaw Youth Organization (KwYO)
  115. Keng Tung Youth
  116. Khayan Supporting Community – Korea
  117. Kyae Lak Myay
  118. Kyain Seikgyi Spring Revolution Leading Committee
  119. Kyauktada Strike Committee (KSC)
  120. Latpadaung Region Strike Committee
  121. Let’s Help Each Other(LHEO)
  122. LGBT Alliance
  123. LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kalay Region)
  124. LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kyaukse Region)
  125. LGBT Community Yangon
  126. LGBT Union – Mandalay
  127. Local Development Network (LDN)
  128. Magway People’s Revolution Committee
  129. Magway Region Human Rights Network
  130. Maharaungmyay Township People’s Strike
  131. Mandalar University Students’ Strike
  132. Mandalay Alliance Coalition Strike
  133. Mandalay CDM Organization
  134. Mandalay Medical Family (MFM)
  135. Mandalay Strike Force (MSF)
  136. Mandalay Women Strike
  137. Mandalay Youth Strike
  138. Mandalay-based People’s Strike
  139. Mandalay-Based University Students’ Unions (MDY_SUs)
  140. MATA စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်း
  141. MayMyo Strike Force
  142. Milk Tea Alliance – FriendsOfMyanmar
  143. Milk Tea Alliance Thailand
  144. MilkTeaAlliance Calendar Team
  145. Mon State Development Center (MSDC)
  146. Monywa LGBT Strike
  147. Monywa People’s Strike Steering Committee
  148. Monywa Women Strike
  149. Monywa-Amyint Road Strike Leading Committee
  150. Monywa-Amyint Road Women Strike
  151. Multi-Religions Strike
  152. Mya Taung Strike
  153. Myanmar Action Group Denmark
  154. Myanmar Catholic Community In Norway
  155. Myanmar Community in Norway
  156. Myanmar Hindu Union
  157. Myanmar Institute of Information Technology Students’ Strike
  158. Myanmar Labor Alliance (MLA)
  159. Myanmar Teachers Federation MTF
  160. Myanmar Tourism Committee
  161. Myat Won Thit Knowledge Society
  162. Myaung Youth Network
  163. MyaYar Knowledge Tree
  164. Myeik District Political Force
  165. Myingyan Civilian Movement Committee
  166. N.C.F.H. Theater Group
  167. National League for Democracy (Monywa Township)
  168. Nattalin Board of Education
  169. ND-Burma.
  170. Network of University Student Unions – Monywa
  171. New Myanmar Foundation
  172. New Power Generation
  173. New Step
  174. New York City Burmese community( NYCBC)
  175. NL(DLA) Jp
  176. NLD Organization Committee (International) Norway
  177. No Boundary Supporting Group
  178. No.12 Basic Education Branch High School (Maharaungmyay) Students’ Union
  179. Norway Matu Community
  180. Norway Rvwang Community
  181. NRFF – New Rehmonnya Federated Force
  182. Nway Oo Guru Lay Myar
  183. Olive organization
  184. Oway Institute
  185. Paju Myanmar Community
  186. Pakokku Youth Development Council
  187. Pakokku Youth Network
  188. Palaw Youth Network
  189. Pale Township People’s Strike Steering Committee
  190. PDFs Support Group
  191. Peace Rights Foundation
  192. Political and Civil Engagement Group
  193. Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM)
  194. Progressive Muslim Youth Association
  195. Progressive Voice
  196. Purple Window Counselling
  197. Pyi Gyi Tagon Strike Force
  198. Queers of Burma Alternative endorses
  199. Representative Committee of University Teacher Associations (RC of UTAs)
  200. Rohingya Community in Norway
  201. Samgha Sammaga-Mandalay
  202. Seinpann Strike
  203. Shan MATA
  204. Shwe Pan Kone People`s Strike Steering Committee
  205. Shwegu,Board of Education
  206. Sisters 2 Sisters
  207. Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation
  208. Southern Initiative
  209. Southern Youth Development Organization
  210. Spirit in Education Movement (SEM)
  211. Spring Bridge Foundation
  212. Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Community
  213. Spring Traveler
  214. Support Group for Democracy in Myanmar ( NL )
  215. Synergy – Social Harmony Organization
  216. Ta’ang Students and Youth Union (TSYU)
  217. Ta’ang Women’s Organization _ TWO
  218. Taiwan Alliance for Myanmar
  219. Tamar Institute of Development
  220. Tavoyan Women’s Union (TWU)
  221. Taze Strike Committee
  222. Taze Women Strike
  223. Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma
  224. Thailand NOC for ACSC/APF
  225. Thakhin Kodaw Mhine Peace Network (Monywa)
  226. Thanlwin Citizen Empowerment Program
  227. Thantaunggyi (BOE)
  228. Thayat Chaung Women Strike
  229. The Ladies Organization
  230. The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (Monywa)
  231. The Ants – Humanitarian Aid Team
  232. The Mekong Butterfly
  233. The Mergui 88 Generation Peace & Open
  234. Thint Mart Lo Thu Myar Organization
  235. Twitter Team for Revolution (TTFR)
  236. U.S. Campaign for Burma
  237. Union for Civil Liberty (UCL)
  238. Union of Karenni State Youth-UKSY
  239. University Students’ Unions Alumni Force
  240. Volunteers in Myanmar
  241. WE Generation Network
  242. We support NUB-NB
  243. We’re the Same
  244. Wetlet Revolution Leading Committee
  245. Wetlet Township Women Strike
  246. White Coat Society Yangon (WCSY)
  247. Women Activists Myanmar
  248. Women Alliance Burma (WAB)
  249. Women for Women Foundation (WWF)
  250. Women Lead Resource Center
  251. Women’s League of Burma
  252. Women’s Organization Of Political Prisoners(WOPP)
  253. World Peace Working Group, Thailand
  254. Yadanabon University Students’ Union (YDNBUSU)
  255. Yangon Deaf Group
  256. Yangon Rangers – Rescue Team
  257. Yangon Women Strike
  258. Yasakyo Township People`s Strike Steering Committee
  259. Yinmarpin and Salingyi All Villages Strike Committee
  260. Young People for Social Democracy YPD-Thai
  261. Youth Development Institute
  262. Youth Empowerment
  263. Youth for Democratization of Myanmar (UDM)
  264. Youth Heart Beams
  265. Zomi Christian Fellowship of Norway
  266. Zomi Community Norway
  267. พระต้น จิรวฑฺฒโน
  268. ကြားကာလ မြန်မာ့ မီးရထား ကောင်စီ (IMRAC)
  269. ကော့သောင်းခရိုင်နိုင်ငံရေးအင်အားစု – KDPF
  270. ​စစ်ကိုင်း ​ကလေးလူထုတိုက်ပွဲ ဦးဆောင်ကော်မတီ
  271. စစ်အာဏာသိမ်းမှုဆန့်ကျင်ရေးကော်မတီ (ကိုရီးယား)
  272. ဒို့မြေကွန်ရက် – Land In Our Hands
  273. ပြည်သူ့ဂုဏ်ရည် နယူးဇီလန်
  274. ပြည်သူ့သပိတ်အင်အားစု
  275. မကွေးဒေသ တော်လှန်ရေး အင်အားစုများ ကွန်ရက်
  276. မန်းတိုင်းဆုံစည်းရာ
  277. မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ တောင်သူလယ်သမားနှင့် စိုက်ပျိုးရေး အလုပ်သမား သမဂ္ဂများ အဖွဲ့ချုပ် (AFFM)
  278. မြန်မာမွတ်စလင်အစည်းအရုံး BMA
  279. ယိမ်းနွဲ့ပါး
  280. ယောလူထုတိုက်ပွဲကော်မတီ
  281. သပြေညိုရွှေဘိုပန်း-TPN-SBO
  282. သမိုင်းသယ်ဆောင်သူများ
  283. သောင်ရင်းသတင်းလွှာ(မီဒီယာ)
  284. အညာ​တောအိမ်
  285. အညာလွင်ပြင်ရပ်ဝန်း

Myanmar version.