ASEAN urged to act as airstrikes kill civilians watching SEA Games replay in Myanmar

Mizzima

A civil society statement released on 15 December has urged Malaysia, the current Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Philippines, the incoming Chair, to lead ASEAN action against military junta airstrikes in Myanmar. The statement cited deadly attacks that killed civilians in Mrauk-U on 10 December and on Depayin on 5 December, where civilians were killed, including people watching a replay of a SEA Games women’s football match. 

The statement is as follows.

In light of this, we appeal to Malaysia as the current Chair and the Philippines as the incoming Chair of ASEAN to lead ASEAN to demand the illegal military junta in Myanmar to stop these aerial bombings. Such a gesture would send a powerful message of regional unity and moral leadership.

Within the true spirit of the SEA Games unity, mutual respect, and cooperation, we urge ASEAN to step up and take concrete action to cease the Myanmar military’s unprecedented violence in Myanmar. The Games symbolize more than athletic achievement; they represent a temporary truce, a neutral ground, and a powerful metaphor for peaceful coexistence. It is now incumbent upon regional leaders to honor that spirit by transforming the temporary goodwill of sports diplomacy into a political commitment with substantial action to ensure human security and peace for the people of Myanmar and the region.