Myanmar
Myanmar’s military regime encourages yaba smuggling to Bangladesh
The number of yaba pills ( a contraband drug) smuggled into Bangladesh from neighbouring Myanmar has surged by two and a half times under the current military regime compared to the amount reported during the rule of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
This information was obtained from the meeting minutes of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of home affairs held on Thursday.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the meeting that despite negotiations on the issue the Myanmar military regime is patronizing the smuggling of yaba pills to Bangladesh. That’s why the smuggling of the illegal drug has increased.
Also read: PM Hasina urges Myanmar to ensure dignified return of Rohingyas to their homeland
He mentioned that apart from the most-used route of bordering Naf River the contrabands enter Bangladesh through the remote land border areas too.
The home minister said that Bandarban and Khagrachari, used as yaba routes, have many inaccessible areas where round-the-clock surveillance is not possible.
It takes two days to go from one BOP to another BOP there, he added.
He also said that the number of BOP is being increased in all those areas.
Chairman of the committee Shamsul Haque Tuku said, yaba started arriving in Bangladesh through the Rohingyas coming from Myanmar.
“Then it gradually spread throughout the country,” he said.
He expressed his frustration saying that despite declaring a war against drugs, it is not possible to prevent drug trade and consumption.
According to the minutes of the meeting, issues relating to committees of mosques, temples and graveyards were discussed in the previous meeting of the parliamentary watchdog.
In that meeting, Tuku said the truly religious and good people are staying away from the mosque, temple and cemetery committees.
Also read: UK announces new sanctions, legal action in support of Myanmar’s Rohingya community
Those involved in drug or anti-social activities are coming to these positions through political influence. As a result, honest people are not able to contribute to the society, he told the meeting.
He said, if the committees of all the mosques, temples and cemeteries of the country are formed under the Islamic Foundation, it will bring positive results.
The meeting decided to invite the director general of the Islamic Foundation to a meeting of the standing committee to discuss the subject.
The meeting also discussed the issue of TikTok extensively.
Chairman Tuku said that TikTok is under fire for its negative use that leads to violence, rumours and misinformation. He recommended closing the social media app.
According to the director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC) said that young people in Bangladesh spend 80 per cent of their Internet time on TikTok.
“This platform is used to spread vindictive misinformation and hate speech. It has more negative uses than positive ones,” he said at a separate event.
He also said that a letter has already been sent to BTRC to stop TikTok app with all kinds of data.
Meanwhile, the press release of the Parliament Secretariat informed that citizens have been advised to keep vigil against any attempt to disturb communal harmony in the country.
The parliamentary body also recommended posting of husband and wife in same area, if they are working in government service.
Chairman of the committee Shamsul Haque Tuku chaired the meeting. Committee members Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Md Habibur Rahman, Samshul Alam Dudu, Kujendra Lal Tripura, Noor Mohammad, Sultan Mohammad Mansoor Ahmad and Rumana Ali were present at the meeting.
PM Hasina urges Myanmar to ensure dignified return of Rohingyas to their homeland
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said Myanmar should let the international organizations to work in the Rakhine state to create a proper environment for the dignified return of the forcibly displaced Rohingya people.
“Myanmar should allow international organizations to work in Rakhine state,” she said when UN Special Envoy for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer met her at her official residence Ganobhaban, according to a press briefing by PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim.
“We’re pursuing this with Myanmar and also discussed it with them. But no response has yet come. We want to solve it. How long can we host so many people?” the premier was quoted as saying.
She said some Rohingya people are involved in drug, human trafficking and other social problems.
In this regard, Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh had brought back the refugees of the Chittagong Hill Tracts area from India through signing the CHT peace accord in 1997.
Also read: Redouble efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, deliver justice to Rohingyas: UN expert
The UN special envoy said she visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and spoke with the Rohingyas. Now it is essential to create an atmosphere conducive to their dignified return to Myanmar, she said.
She said all including the UN agencies and NGOs are working for Rohingyas in the camps.
Appreciating Bangladesh for its Rohingya management, the UN envoy said Dhaka needs a lot of support in dealing with the Rohingya issue.
Heyzer said she also visited Myanmar and told its military government to find out a solution to the Rohingya crisis.
Also read: UK announces new sanctions, legal action in support of Myanmar’s Rohingya community
She called for an ASEAN-Bangladesh initiative to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
She said the Rohingya issue should be an agenda in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' forum.
PM’s ambassador-at-large Mohammad Ziauddin, PM’s Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus and PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim were present at the meeting.
The UN has failed to pressure Myanmar to take back Rohingyas, say civil society leaders
A group of civil society leaders on Wednesday said that the international community, including the United Nations, has completely failed to exert effective pressure on Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas to their homeland.
This emerged during an online discussion meeting organized by Cox's Bazar CSO-NGO Forum (CCNF).
The discussants said Bangladesh is bearing the brunt of the Rohingya crisis even though the fault lies with Myanmar. The international community must pressure Myanmar to take back their nationals.
The meeting, organized by CCNF, a network of around 50 local and national organizations working in Cox's Bazar, was moderated by Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Co-chair of the forum and Executive Director of COAST Foundation, and Abu Morshed Chowdhury, another Co-chair and Chief Executive of PHALS.
Shireen Haque of Naripokkho, Barrister Manzoor Hasan of BRAC University's Center for Peace and Justice , Disaster Forum's Gowher Nayeem Wahra, YPSA's Md. Arifur Rahman, Sheuli Sharma of Jago Nari Unnayan Sangtsha , Md. Mujibul Rahman of Sushilan, Sangeeta Ghosh of ACLAB and Co-Chair of CCNF and Chief Executive of Mukti Cox's Bazar Bimal Chandra Dey Sarkar and Member Secretary of the Network Md Jahangir Alam also spoke at the event.
Abu Murshed said, there are about 1.2 million Rohingya people living in Bangladesh. Except for a few UN resolutions, there has been no successful effort to return them to Myanmar thus far, which has left the Rohingya population as well as the locals unsure and frustrated. To secure repatriation, formal and informal diplomacy, known as track-2 diplomacy, should be prioritized, he said.
Read: UNHCR seeks more support from international community for Rohingyas
Bimal Chandra said, nearly half of the Rohingya population, are children and young adults. This sizable population must participate in a variety of camp activities and receive technical and life skills training. This will lessen their likelihood of going astray, and even if they return to Myanmar, they will be able to establish respectable jobs.
Md. Mujibur said, the construction of the camp caused harm to around 6,000 acres of mountainous terrain and 2,000 acres of forest. A little over 2500 families working in social forestry did not get compensation. The water level is going down. Use of plastic in camps should be banned since it is such a significant problem. An Environmental Pool Fund should be created for environmental restoration.
Sangeeta Ghosh said reproductive health services should be ensured for teenagers.
Md. Jahangir Alam said, the local government institutions should be involved in the planning and execution of the Rohingya program and the local organizations should take lead in carrying out operations on the ground to cut costs. At present, the participation of local organizations in the Rohingya program is insufficient.
Md. Arifur said, intelligence gathering should be intensified in the camps to prevent the formation of any new religious extremist organizations. If such groups emerge within the camp, the country will be in jeopardy.
General Secretary of Ukhiya Reporters Unity, Rafiq Uddin, said that although the Rohingya camp recently got help in repairing the Rohingya houses damaged by fire, the local 14 families there did not get any help. Special attention should also be given to all affected local families.
Gowher Nayeem said that repatriation should be kept at the centre of the Rohingya programme. A national strategy for resettlement should be developed and the implementation progress of the plan should be regularly reviewed. Also, the communication between the civil societies of the respective countries including Bangladesh and Myanmar should be increased.
Barrister Manzoor said that the international community, especially the United Nations, has failed in repatriation. ASEAN also failed in this regard. The Rohingya crisis has become a protracted crisis, requiring regional and international initiatives. There is no alternative to implementing a localization roadmap to deal with the crisis as funding is dwindling.
Shirin Haque said that until the repatriation, special programmes should be implemented for the women of the Rohingya camps. Tree plantation program should be implemented in camps.
Rezaul Karim said that the comprehensive development programme of the government is being implemented for Cox's Bazar. Up to 70 projects totalling roughly $3.3 billion are now being carried out. The development efforts in Cox's Bazar must be kept safe from all dangers in order to preserve the nation's wealth.
Nearly 1 mn still await life at world's largest displacement camp
This 25 August marks five long years of the massive displacement of people from Rakhine state of Myanmar, who crossed the border into Bangladesh.
The protracted crisis now stands at colossal number of displaced people in the camp – 936,733 people – who are completely reliant on humanitarian assistance to meet their everyday needs in the world’s largest camp in Cox’s Bazar.
At the beginning of this humanitarian crisis, the Government of Bangladesh called on Bangladesh Red Crescent Society to respond to the emergency in line with Red Crescent’s mandate to provide humanitarian services as auxiliary to the public authorities.
In response, an international operation was launched in Cox's Bazar with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and its RCRC partners, called Population Movement Operation.
Secretary General of Bangladesh Red Crescent Kazi Shofiqul Azam said the crisis had already tipped into a complex protracted displacement crisis a while ago.
"Top priorities must go to long-term solutions, balancing the initiatives in the camps and to the neighbouring host community."
He said they are calling for long-term commitment and resources that are very much needed to address this crisis.
Children make up almost a 51 per cent of the camp population, while women and girls represent almost 52 per cent of the population.
One in three displaced families has at least one easily identifiable protection vulnerability, such as human trafficking, underage marriage, sexual exploitation and abuse.
Read: Rohingyas must go home in Myanmar, PM Hasina tells UN rights chief
Many sustainable initiatives that were implemented at the camp have been lifesaving for the people there such as mid-term shelters or durable housing, solar-powered water supply networks, and disaster mitigation activities.
However, the people there remains completely dependent on humanitarian assistance to meet daily and longer-term needs.
Asia Pacific Regional Director of IFRC Alexander Matheou said, “What you see on the surface in the camps has improved over five years thanks to the work of the government of Bangladesh and multiple national and international partners."
“But below the surface, in people's lives, where the future is uncertain and there is no work or movement, there are less obvious but important risks - of depression, trafficking, violence, including gender-based violence. With no durable solutions in sight, the humanitarian response needs to focus on recreation and protection as much as lifesaving needs."
The situation is further compounded by the fact that Cox’s Bazar sits right on the path of cyclones, and hence is constantly subject to seasonal flash floods, devastating cyclones and heavy rainfall that cause landslides, severe water logging, shelter damages; frequent fire incidents; potential outbreaks of cholera, dengue and diphtheria.
Also due to the sheer number of people there, epidemics such as cholera and COVID are a huge day-to-day threat.
The IFRC Head of Delegation in Bangladesh, Sanjeev Kafley said, “This is one of IFRC’s largest, most complex humanitarian support in Bangladesh. For the last five years, the IFRC and many partner National Societies have been supporting Bangladesh Red Crescent in ensuring the protection and extended humanitarian support for the camp."
“Considering COVID-19 experience, the IFRC is focusing on institutional preparedness. The IFRC’s strategy of supporting the displaced and host communities in Cox’s Bazar includes integrated community resilience, social inclusion and readiness for effective response till 2024; for now."
Bangladesh Red Crescent, with the support of IFRC and Participating National Societies (PNS), will maintain and look to scale up its efforts to meet the urgent humanitarian needs and keep the hundreds of thousands of families safe through a range of life saving humanitarian assistance including shelter, health, PSS, wash, livelihood, DRM as well as emergencies and disaster response.
"The protection, gender and inclusion and community engagement and accountability are mainstreamed in our operation ensuring people at the center of our action."
Pay attention to Palestine, Myanmar, Hasan to UNHRC
Information Minister Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) should pay attention to Palestine and Myanmar.
He said it would have been better if the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet during her recent visit to Bangladesh heard from the victim families of the arson violence unleashed in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the country.
Dr Hasan, also a joint general secretary of Awami League, was addressing a discussion organised by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) Alumni Association on the occasion of the National Mourning Day at Krishibid Institute Auditorium here.
Also read: Election period in Bangladesh to be important time to maximise civic, political space: Bachelet
He said when children in Palestine threw stones at Israeli soldiers, they (Palestinians) are killed by firing a hail of bullets in response.
Pointing at Michelle Bachelet, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said it is not enough to appreciate Bangladesh visiting the Rohingya camp only. But she will also have to visit Myanmar and ensure their repatriation, he said.
“The United Nations Human Rights Council should pay attention to these countries where human rights are grossly violated,” he added.
Criticising the BNP, Dr Hasan said Zia and his party (BNP) are the biggest violators of human rights in Bangladesh. Ziaur Rahman turned the Indemnity Ordinance into law to prevent the trial of Bangabandhu murder and he also rehabilitated the killers.
And in 2013, 2014 and 2015, hundreds of innocent people were burnt to death through petrol bombs in the name of strike-blockade by BNP and their ally Jamaat, he said.
Also read: Bachelet didn’t express any concern over Bangladesh situation: Law Minister
About the remarks of Michelle Bachelet over the Digital Security Act, Hasan said that this law was enacted to ensure digital security for every citizen of the country.
“Those who raise questions about our law, I will tell them to look at the laws in Australia and Singapore where there are stricter provisions in the laws than ours,” he said adding that India and Pakistan also have similar provisions in their laws.
A framework law was enacted in the European Union to provide digital security and the EU member countries have made their laws in light of the Framework law. But, no remark about these is seen, he added.
"Yes, we are careful to ensure that this law is not misused, and we are working to ensure that no one is oppressed," said the Minister.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim, AL joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, SAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan the SAU alumni association secretary general and also Youth and Sports Secretary Mesbah Uddin also spoke at the discussion presided over by the association president Prof Dr Kamal Uddin Ahamed.
Six Myanmar nationals detained with 1.7 lakhs Yaba pills in Cox’s Bazar
Members of the Coast Guard (CG) and Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) in a joint drive detained six Myanmar nationals and recovered 1.70 lakh pieces of Yaba pills from the Bay of Bengal adjacent to the Saint Martin Island on Tuesday.
The detainees - Kefayet Ullah, 22, Md Sharif, 27, Md Hossain, 38, Rahman, 43, Nur Hossain, 21, another Md Hossain, 27 - are residents of different areas in Akyab district of Myanmar.
The news of Yaba recovery was disclosed at a press conference held at the Station Office of Bangladesh Coast Guard Teknaf BCG on Tuesday afternoon.
On information a team of the CG and DNC led by Lieutenant Commander of the CG in BCG Teknaf Station Ashiq Ahmed and DNC Assistant Director Md Sirajul Mostafa conducted the drive in the Bay around 3am.
Read: Over 4kgs crystal meth, 1.5 lakh Yaba pills seized in Cox’s Bazar
The team signaled an engine-run boat heading towards Cox’s Bazar from Myanmar to halt following their suspicious movement.
Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the drug peddlers turned back towards Myanmar but they were detained with the Yaba pills after a chase.
A process is underway to file a case against the detainees in this connection.
UN envoy travels to strife-torn Myanmar for the first time
The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar traveled to the Southeast Asian nation Monday for the first time since she was appointed to the post last October.
The trip by Nellen Heyzer followed the U.N. Security Council’s latest call for an immediate end to all forms of violence and unimpeded humanitarian access in the strife-torn country.
Heyzer “will focus on addressing the deteriorating situation and immediate concerns as well as other priority areas of her mandate,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Also read: ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar warns on further executions
He gave no details on whether Heyzer would meet with Myanmar’s military rulers or the country’s imprisoned former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a longtime U.N. demand. Suu Kyi was convicted earlier Monday on more corruption charges, adding six years to her earlier 11-year prison sentence.
Heyzer’s visit “follows her extensive consultations with actors from across the political spectrum, civil society as well as communities affected by the ongoing conflict,” Dujarric said.
Earlier this month, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, special envoy to Myanmar for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said efforts by Myanmar’s neighbors to help restore peace and normalcy to the strife-torn nation were hindered by the country’s recent execution of four political activists.
He warned that further executions would force the regional group to reconsider how it engages with fellow member Myanmar.
In February 2021, Myanmar’s army ousted Suu Kyi’s elected government and then violently cracked down on widespread protests against its actions. After security forces unleashed lethal force on peaceful demonstrators, some opponents of military rule took up arms.
Also read: Rohingya Repatriation: Momen urges Western leaders to impose economic sanctions on Myanmar
Myanmar’s military rulers agreed to a five-point ASEAN plan in April 2021 to restore peace and stability to the country, which includes an immediate halt to violence and a dialogue among all parties. But the country’s military has made little effort to implement the plan, and Myanmar has slipped into a situation that some U.N. experts have characterized as a civil war.
Heyzer, a women’s rights activist from Singapore, headed UNIFEM, a U.N. development organization that focuses on promoting women’s economic advancement, in 1994-2007. She was the first woman to serve as executive secretary of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, in 2007-2014.
MPs urge ASEAN to put strong pressure on Myanmar
As the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Phnom Penh this week, they should take the opportunity to reach an agreement on strong and coordinated measures to put pressure on Myanmar’s military junta, parliamentarians from the region have urged.
Over fifteen months after ASEAN members and the chief of the military junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, signed a Five-Point Consensus to address the political and humanitarian crisis triggered by the illegal coup d’état on 1 February 2021, the situation in Myanmar has continued to deteriorate.
The self-styled State Administration Council (SAC) is still hijacking humanitarian assistance, has not taken steps towards initiating a political dialogue, and continues waging a brutal campaign of repression against the population at large in order to stamp out widespread opposition to military rule.
“ASEAN member states must recognize that the Myanmar military has become a criminal organisation that is holding hostage the whole of the country’s population,” said Eva Sundari, former member of the House of Representatives in Indonesia and Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
Read: Myanmar violence, Ukraine war loom over ASEAN meetings
ASEAN’s Foreign Ministers are meeting less than two weeks after the Junta executed four political prisoners sentenced to death, Phyo Zeya Thaw, former lawmaker for the National League for Democracy (NLD); the prominent activist Kyaw Min Yu, widely known as ‘Ko Jimmy’; Aung Thura Zaw; and Hla Myo Aung.
Those are the first known judicial executions in Myanmar since 1988, according to Amnesty International, and were carried out secretly, after trials conducted by military tribunals without any respect for due process, as APHR has denounced.
The junta went on with the executions despite international pleas not to carry them out. Even Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, and current ASEAN Chair, made a plea for the prisoners to be spared, despite the leniency that his government has shown towards the junta this year.
As ASEAN Chair, Cambodia has undone a great deal of the work that other member states had been doing to isolate the Myanmar generals, thus granting them legitimacy they do not deserve.
“After those barbaric executions, Cambodia should stop pandering to the generals, and ASEAN foreign ministers should make their meeting in Phnom Penh a turning point to lift the Myanmar people out of their suffering. The junta believes it can get away with its crimes and ignore the international condemnation because up to now it has not led to any concrete consequences,” said Sundari.
ASEAN should put in place enforcement mechanisms in order for the Five Point Consensus to work. Starting with imposing targeted sanctions and travel bans in the region on Min Aung Hlaing and his men.
The regional group should also publicly engage and recognize the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG), which is leading the pro-democracy forces and represents the Myanmar people’s aspirations for democracy, as well as ethnic organisations.
Myanmar violence, Ukraine war loom over ASEAN meetings
Southeast Asian foreign ministers are gathering in the Cambodian capital for meetings addressing persisting violence in Myanmar and other issues, joined by top diplomats from the United States, China, Russia and other world powers amid tensions over the invasion of Ukraine and concerns over Beijing’s growing ambitions in the region.
The meeting in Phnom Penh of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will see U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov together at the same venue for the second time in a month, though it's not clear whether the two will meet.
The two did not meet separately when they both attended the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in early July. But they had their first direct contact since before Russia invaded Ukraine in a phone call Friday, when Blinken urged Moscow to accept a deal to release American detainees Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan and discussed other issues.
Also attending is Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Many have urged Beijing to use its partnership with Russia to push for an end to the conflict in Ukraine and to help promote peace and a return to civilian rule in Myanmar after a February 2021 coup sparked mass protests and an armed resistance.
The meetings come at a time of tension between Washington and Beijing as the U.S. pushes back against China’s growing economic and military influence in the Asia-Pacific.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is touring the region and arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday. That has heightened friction further, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian cautioning last week that “those who play with fire will perish by it.”
Communist-ruled China considers Taiwan its own territory, and has said it might take the island by force if it deems it necessary. The U.S. follows a “one China” policy in which it recognizes Beijing as the government of China yet maintains informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan.
In a call last week with U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese leader Xi Jinping objected to the possibility of a visit by Pelosi, who became the highest-level U.S. official to travel to Taiwan in more than 25 years.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, its impact on global food and energy prices and escalating China-U.S. friction are of high concern for the 10 ASEAN nations, said Susannah Patton, director of the Southeast Asia Program for Australia’s Lowy Institute.
“This is one of the first regional meetings of foreign ministers to have been held in person since 2019, so for the United States, China and even Russia, meetings like this are a really important opportunity to demonstrate their support for ASEAN and present their own narratives about their commitment to regional security and prosperity,” she said.
Blinken, Wang and Lavrov have all been jockeying for influence recently in multiple foreign trips. Following the meetings, Blinken heads to the Philippines and then on to Africa.
Biden hosted ASEAN leaders at the White House in May at the group's first-ever summit in Washington. During those meetings, Biden announced he was nominating one of his top national security aides as ambassador to the group, underscoring the Asia-Pacific region's importance to the U.S.
Most recently, Lavrov has focused on Africa, while Wang visited multiple Pacific islands in May and made a five-nation swing through Southeast Asia last month.
During that trip, he said China was speeding up talks with ASEAN, which includes four countries that are in dispute with Beijing over territorial claims in the South China Sea, to come up with a nonaggression pact called a “code of conduct” to turn the body of water “into a sea of peace and cooperation.”
The ASEAN meetings also bring together some countries that have, or are negotiating, partnerships with ASEAN, including India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Australia, in particular, has highlighted the importance of the ASEAN nations, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying last month that they should see new alliances, including the “Quad” group of Australia, U.S., India and New Japan and the “AUKUS” group of Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S., as beneficial to the region.
“ASEAN centrality means that we will always think about our security in the context of your security,” she said at a forum in Singapore.
“We understand deeply the ways in which they are interconnected. We believe that Australia must find its security in Asia, not from Asia, and that means, above all, in Southeast Asia.”
Myanmar, where the military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, is a member of the 10-nation ASEAN group. It is not sending any delegates after other members decided no Myanmar political representatives could attend.
Escalating violence in the country is prominent on the ASEAN agenda as it struggles to implement a five-point consensus it reached on Myanmar last year. It calls for dialogue among all concerned parties, providing humanitarian assistance, an immediate end to violence and a visit by a special ASEAN envoy to meet with all parties.
Read: Rohingya Repatriation: Dhaka seeks proactive role from Indonesia, ASEAN
Suu Kyi’s ouster triggered widespread peaceful protests that were violently suppressed. They have evolved into an armed resistance and the country has slipped into what some U.N. experts characterize as a civil war.
Blinken has criticized ASEAN for not doing enough on Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The resumption of judicial executions in late July, when the military-led government hanged four political prisoners, has driven a stronger backlash against its military rulers, with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah condemning the act as a “crime against humanity.”
New sanctions are being considered and Saifuddin said ahead of the meetings that the group should consider scrapping or revising its five-point consensus. He said ASEAN’s special envoy also needs to meet with the National Unity Government, a shadow civilian administration established outside Myanmar, to help develop a new political framework.
“The end game is a democratic, inclusive and just, peaceful and harmonious, prosperous Myanmar whose civil and political rights are guaranteed by the constitution,” he said.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has proposed that ASEAN hold a special meeting on Myanmar specifically to discuss recent developments.
More than 2,100 people have been killed by the military government since it took power and nearly 15,000 have been arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-governmental organization that tracks killings and arrests.
“All developments in Myanmar, including the death penalty for political prisoners, show a setback rather than progress from the implementation of the five-point consensus,” Marsudi said.
Cambodia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, which also includes the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei in addition to Myanmar.
Japanese video journalist detained at Myanmar protest march
A Japanese video journalist has been detained by security forces in Myanmar while covering a protest against military rule in the country’s largest city, pro-democracy activists said Sunday.
Toru Kubota, a Tokyo-based documentary filmmaker, was arrested on Saturday by plainclothes police after a flash protest in Yangon, according to Typ Fone, a leader of the group Yangon Democratic Youth Strike, which organized the rally. Like many activists, he uses a pseudonym for protection against the military authorities.
Myanmar’s army seized power in February last year by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and has since cracked down hard on dissent.
According to a detailed tally compiled by Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 2,138 civilians have been killed by the security forces and 14,917 arrested since the military takeover.
Last week, the military government drew sharp international criticism after announcing that it had hanged four activists convicted of terrorism in secret trials.
Typ Fone told The Associated Press that two protesters in Saturday’s march were also arrested and detained in a township police station. The arrests were also reported by several other anti-government groups.
Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara on Monday said “a Japanese male citizen in his 20s” was arrested Saturday while filming a demonstration in Yangon and that he has since been detained by local police. Kihara said Japanese embassy officials have been requesting his early release, while “doing utmost” for his safety and information gathering.
An official from the Japanese Embassy told The Associated Press earlier that a Japanese national was reported detained, but declined to reveal details. The man is being held for questioning at a police station in Yangon and the embassy was taking action to release him, said the official, who asked not to be identified because was not authorized to share information with the media.
Read: Widespread condemnation of Myanmar's execution of prisoners
State-run daily newspapers, which usually report on arrests of pro-democracy protesters, did not mention it.
However, pro-military accounts on the Telegram messaging app said the Japanese man was arrested not for taking pictures but for participating in the protest by holding a banner. Typ Fone said that photos of Kubota with the banner uploaded to the Telegram channels were taken after he had been arrested, indicating they were done under duress.
During the march, about a dozen protesters chanted slogans opposing the military takeover, and shortly after, scattered into the crowds in the surrounding streets.
“He was taking a picture with his camera from a short distance from our strike yesterday,” Typ Fone said of Kubota. “When we finished the strike and dispersed, he was arrested by the security forces in plainclothes and put into a Probox car.” The vehicle is typically used by taxis in Yangon, and Typ Fone said the car in question also had the markings of a taxi.
According to a portfolio of Kubota’s work online, his primary focus was on ethnic conflicts, immigrants and refugee issues, and he has tried to highlight the conditions of “marginalised, deprived communities.”
It says he has worked with media companies such as Yahoo! News Japan, VICE JAPAN and Al Jazeera English.
Virtually all independent journalism in Myanmar is carried out underground or from exile.
The military government has arrested about 140 journalists, about 55 of whom remain detained awaiting charges or trial. Kubota is the fifth foreign journalist to be detained, after U.S. citizens Nathan Maung and Danny Fenster, who worked for local publications, and freelancers Robert Bociaga of Poland and Yuki Kitazumi of Japan, all of whom were eventually expelled.
Most of those still detained are being held under the charge of causing fear, spreading false news, or agitating against a government employee. The charges carry up to three years in prison.