The ASEAN Foreign Ministers have come out with a strong statement in the United Nations demanding the Myanmar military junta stop using violence against demonstrators and voiced “revulsion” at the killings at Yangon.
However, the time for just strong statements is past as it has been overtaken by the brutality of the violent crackdown in Burma in the past two days and concrete ASEAN and international action is urgently needed to ensure that the 40th ASEAN anniversary at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November and the 10th anniversary of Myanmar’s admission into ASEAN are not marred by another dastardly repeat of the 1988 massacre where thousands pro-democracy activisits and supporters were killed by the Myanmese military.
The Myanmar military junta has confirmed that nine people, including a Japanese journalist, had been killed in the brutal crackdown of the peaceful demonstrators led by monks in the past two days, although the true Burma death toll may never be known.
A source from the National League for Democracy inside Burma, citing hospital contacts, said 30 bodies had been brought to the hospital on Wednesday alone.
Having admitted Myanmar as a member of ASEAN with the reciprocal understanding that the Myanmar military junta would seriously embark on national reconciliation and democratization in Burma, ASEAN leaders cannot just wring their hands in impotence and revulsion with another round of violent crackdown of peaceful protestors in Burma.
I urgently call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is in New York to participate in the annual United Nations General Assembly debate to place Burma as the top priority of his address and, together with other ASEAN leaders, speak up in United Nations to rally international support for a special debate in the General Assembly and emergency meeting of Security Council on the violent crackdown of peaceful protests by Myanmar military junta.
They should work with China, India, Russia, United States and European Union to craft a joint response to end the spiral of violence by the Myanmese military.
United Nations Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon should fly direct to Yangon to intercede with the Myanmese military junta and not just depend on his special envoy Ibrahim Gambari.