ASEAN Parliamentarians condemn Thailand’s ‘dangerous normalization’ of Myanmar’s military junta

Mizzima

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) condemned the Thai government’s deepening engagement with Myanmar’s military on 20 August, warning that Bangkok is lending legitimacy to a junta responsible for what the group called one of the world’s gravest ongoing human rights catastrophes.

The statement followed a visit to Bangkok this week by Myanmar military chief and former intelligence head Gen. Ye Win Oo for what APHR described as high-level talks, days after Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul hosted junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on 6-7 August.

“This is a betrayal of the people of Myanmar and blatant disregard for ASEAN’s own commitments,” said Mercy Chriesty Barends, an Indonesian member of parliament and APHR chairperson. She said the visits came barely weeks after ASEAN foreign ministers agreed to maintain restrictions on Myanmar’s military leadership pending meaningful engagement with the Five-Point Consensus.

APHR said it was further alarmed by reports that Thai authorities had begun acting against Myanmar resistance groups on the junta’s behalf, citing a recent seizure of equipment along the border. Any move by Bangkok to become an active partner in the junta’s military campaign would make Thailand complicit in the suffering of Myanmar’s civilians, the group said.

APHR called on the Thai government to immediately halt engagement that legitimizes Myanmar’s military leadership and to refrain from security cooperation that facilitates the junta’s campaign against civilians.

It called on ASEAN and its member states to publicly reaffirm their commitments to restoring peace and democracy in Myanmar and hold Thailand accountable, and on the international community to maintain and strengthen targeted sanctions and reject normalization of the junta absent genuine democratic progress.