OpinionWhy Asean must hear from Myanmar’s coup mastermind Min Aung Hlaing

Name: SCMP Explains: How did Myanmar’s military become so powerful?
Uploaded: 2021-04-24T00:00:23.000Z
Duration: 5 min 18 s
Description: SCMP Explains: How did Myanmar’s military become so powerful?

The bloc is under fire for inviting the Tatmadaw general to its summit; critics say doing so is tantamount to recognising his leadership claim

But it is vital to hear his explanation of events and to demand the violence ends. What Asean should not do is take sides

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Myanmar’s junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Photo: Reuters

René L PattiradjawaneandPle Priatna

Published: 8:00am, 24 Apr 2021Updated: 8:00am, 24 Apr 2021

Saturday’s Asean summit on the Myanmar coup crisis is widely seen as a test of the bloc’s credibility, to see if it can bring an end to the lethal force used on residents in Southeast Asia’s poorest country since the military took power on February 1.

In the run-up, Asean is already facing a conundrum. It has been criticised for inviting the leader of Myanmar’s ‘Tatmadaw’ military Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the putsch that brought down the democratically elected government. The general will reportedly head to Indonesia’s capital to meet Asean leaders and foreign ministers.

Activists and ousted elected Myanmar lawmakers who have formed the National Unity Government are outraged, saying Asean is essentially acknowledging that the general is Myanmar’s leader, and ignoring the results of the November 2020 election. They have called on Interpol to arrest the junta leader once he arrives in Jakarta and requested that Asean invite members of the NUG instead.

An anti-military coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar. Photo: Stringer

But inviting NUG representatives will most certainly result in Min Aung Hlaing aborting his plans to go to Jakarta. The general’s presence is important, because Asean must seek an explanation from him for what has transpired but demand that the violence comes to an end. We believe this should be a key outcome of the meeting. Ideally, the summit must also call for the Bamar ethnic majority to promote and foster true democracy for Myanmar’s long-marginalised ethnic groups who are seeking more autonomy and rights.

What Asean should not do at the meeting is take sides, either by according legitimacy to the Tatmadaw or by recognising the NUG. Doing so will not achieve anything – the Myanmar people have made clear that they will not accept the establishment of a new military-led order while the Tatmadaw have also shown they will not give up their absolute power. Calls for the junta to hand back power to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy which won last year’s election will fall on deaf ears, even if Asean freezes Myanmar’s membership of the bloc.

Thus, the most realistic goal for the meeting is to seek an immediate halt to the killings and an end to a brewing civil war, before opening a path to peaceful dialogue. Asean leaders can get the Tatmadaw to agree to a proposal for an action plan in three stages: beginning with a humanitarian pause to stop clashes between security forces and residents, followed by humanitarian assistance to help displaced people and restart economic activity and then a space for confidence-building dialogue between the junta and the NUG.

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SCMP Explains: How did Myanmar’s military become so powerful?

Yet it remains to be seen if we should be this hopeful. At the meeting, leaders and diplomats will be dealing with a military officer, who is more familiar with force than diplomacy or give-and-take negotiations.