Southeast Asian leaders strongly condemned violence and attacks on civilians in Myanmar at a summit Tuesday, directly blaming the ruling junta, with host Indonesia saying there had been scant progress on an agreed peace plan.
Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since the 2021 military coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and prompted a bloody crackdown on dissent.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — long decried by critics as a toothless talking shop — met in the Indonesian capital Jakarta to seek a united voice on the crisis.
The leaders “urge the Myanmar Armed Forces in particular, and all related parties concerned in Myanmar to de-escalate violence and stop targeted attacks on civilians, houses and public facilities, such as schools, hospitals, markets,” they said in a 19-point statement seen by AFP.
“We strongly condemned the continued acts of violence in Myanmar.”
Rights groups have accused the junta of air strikes on rebel strongholds and civilian infrastructure.
Diplomatic attempts to solve the crisis have been fruitless, with the junta ignoring the five-point peace plan agreed with ASEAN members two years ago as well as international criticism, and refusing to engage with its opponents.
