US urges ASEAN members to hold Myanmar accountable under 5-point consensus

US State Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to address the volatile situation of Myanmar.

Blinken was speaking at the Friends of Mekong Ministerial meeting when he beseeched ASEAN members to quickly hold the "military regime in Myanmar accountable to the ASEAN's five-point consensus", presented before the United Nations (UN) in April 2021. Separately, he welcomed the appointment of the special envoy by ASEAN, Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof from Brunei, to the ASEAN Chair of Myanmar.

During his speech, The US Secretary of State urged the ASEAN nations to include all pro-democratic leaders in taking action on Myanmar's military coup and work towards ending violence and restoring Myanmar's democratic transition. He also demanded the release of the "unjustly detained" political prisoners, which is also a stated provision in the April 2021 consensus.

UN urges Tatmadaw to end violence

Meanwhile, the United Nations has appealed to the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw to respect the will of people and refrain from violence. Talking about the UN agenda for Myanmar, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the UN looks forward to "continuing cooperation with ASEAN on co-ordinating respond to Myanmar crisis." He mentioned that the UN has focused on extending "humanitarian and life-saving assistance" along with unimpeded support to all the international communities which tend to co-operate on the same.

The Myanmar coup

On February 1, Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw deposed the Aung San Suu Kyi-led NLD government and annulled the November 2021 general elections. Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw Min Aung Hlaing declared a year-long emergency in the state and charged President Win Mynt with breaching COVID-19 pandemic restrictions under the country's National Disaster Management Law. The Tatmadaw also detained State Councillor and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other parliamentarians.

The coup d'etat triggered a wave of protests and paved the way for mass violence in the country. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as many as 945 people have been killed since the military takeover in February. On August 1, Min Aung Hlaing declared that he would remain in charge until 2023, after which he plans to hold an election.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: ANI)