Tightening screws on Myanmar

Sanjeev Pandey

The twenty-ninth summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took place in the absence of member state Myanmar. It is not that Myanmar did not want to participate, but the ASEAN organization itself kept it away from the conference. This is a major setback for Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Leng. ASEAN’s clear message to Myanmar is that regional cooperation is not possible without democracy.

Although there is no consensus among the ASEAN member countries regarding Myanmar, the member countries with democratic influence have given a clear signal to Myanmar’s military regime that it will have to face such boycott until it takes steps to restore democracy. could. This time the annual meeting of ASEAN was more important in that the meeting was also addressed by US President Joe Biden. In his speech, he expressed concern about the policies of China and Myanmar.

earlier this year coup in myanma It was only after this that some of the ASEAN member states expressed their displeasure with the military regime over the developments in Myanmar. Of course, military rule in Myanmar may be its internal matter, but it cannot be denied that it also affects the internal politics of other countries of South-East Asia.

Thailand is an example of this, where the military and pro-democracy have clashed for a long time. There also military rulers took power by coup. In such a situation, it would be a huge mistake to treat the end of democratic rule in Myanmar as just its internal event, as well as injustice to democracy Too.

This is the reason why those member countries of ASEAN, where democracy is strong, openly expressed their displeasure with Myanmar’s military rule. Because they are afraid that the tendency of dictatorship like this might not emerge in their place. ASEAN member states Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are fully democratic countries where governments are elected. The army works entirely under an elected government. That is why these four countries have shown more displeasure with Myanmar’s military rule and have kept pressure on it to restore democracy. But the military rulers of Myanmar are ignoring the appeals of these countries.

In fact, the attitude of ASEAN member country and Myanmar’s neighbor Thailand is not clear about Myanmar. The military dominates democracy in Thailand as well. Here too there is a history of coups by the army. In 2014, there was a coup in Thailand by the military. Then in 2016, Thailand’s army made a new constitution according to its convenience, in which the army’s hold on the country was further strengthened.

However, the established principle of a regional organization like ASEAN makes it clear that there will be no interference in the internal affairs of its member states. This is the reason why ASEAN member states have not yet been able to form an opinion on how to deal with regional peace if any political event or change of power in the border of a member country affects regional peace. Some member states are strict towards Myanmar, while others have a softer attitude.

This is the reason why he was not suspended from ASEAN membership even after the military coup in Myanmar. Representatives of Myanmar’s military rulers are visiting other ASEAN forums, participating in meetings. His presence has not been withheld. Some of the meetings were attended by the Minister of Investment and the Deputy Planning Minister of the Myanmar Military Regime. But by not inviting Myanmar’s military dictator Min Aung Leng, responsible for the coup, to a meeting of the heads of member states, a clear message has been sent that he must abide by international rules and values.

Human rights abuses in Myanmar have been on the rise since the coup. ASEAN is serious about arresting political opponents. However, military ruler Min Aung Leng is arguing that the democratic government coup in Myanmar has been carried out in accordance with the law. But the world is knowing that China has indirectly contributed to the Myanmar coup. Leng is also well aware that Western countries will not allow him to rule easily. America and Britain have targeted the military ruler. The United Nations has also appealed to countries around the world to cut ties with trading companies related to Myanmar’s military.

Democracy restoration and pro-democracy leaders in Myanmar after a long time aung san suu With the return of power, there were signs of strengthening of democracy. But the democratic government was not completely free from the intervention of the army. Important ministries were with the army. The army was trying to gain complete control over the regime and finally the army was successful in doing so through a coup. It was natural for the neighboring countries to be affected by this incident. Even when there was democracy in Myanmar, the army was unbridled.

After the coup, the minority Rohingya Muslims were repressed in the country’s Rakhine province. The resources and lands of this province were controlled by military companies and foreign companies doing business with it. The repression of Rohingya Muslims had the effect that millions of Rohingya Muslims were forced to take refuge in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Thailand.

Bangladesh is the worst affected by Rohingya refugees. At present there are about nine lakh Rohingya refugee Huh. This has started affecting the economy of Bangladesh as well. Thailand, another neighboring country of Myanmar, has more than a million Rohingya refugees. Rohingya refugees also took refuge in countries like India, Indonesia, Nepal.

India has not yet clarified its policy regarding Myanmar’s military rule. Whereas a democratic country was expected to exert pressure on Myanmar’s military rulers to defend democratic values. But on the contrary, on March 27 this year, the representative of India participated in the Armed Forces Day Parade organized by the military regime. Representatives of China, Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand were also present in the military parade organized on Armed Forces Day. In such a situation, it can be assumed that this step of India is strategic. But representatives of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand were also present at the event.

All these are member countries of ASEAN. Bangladesh, which is troubled by the burden of the Rohingya people, has also taken a soft stance towards Myanmar’s military rulers as a strategy. Somewhere China is involved in the Myanmar diplomacy of India and Bangladesh. The military rulers of Myanmar are close to China. Therefore, India fears that confrontation with Myanmar’s military rule may take it closer to China. Anyway, China has invested in many big schemes inside Myanmar. On the other hand, India shares a long border with Myanmar. Therefore, India would never want the military rulers of Myanmar to open a front against it.