ASEAN role urged to help restore normalcy in Myanmar

By Erric Permana

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – Indonesia and Singapore agreed on Thursday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can play an important role in facilitating constructive dialogue and helping restoration of normalcy in Myanmar.

Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi met her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in Singapore to discuss Myanmar crisis, said an official statement released in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The two ministers expressed their support for the proposed ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Myanmar to be convened soon.

Both Marsudi and Balakhrisnan believed that the meeting will facilitate a constructive exchange of views and identify a possible way forward.

Expressing serious concerns about the current crisis, Balakrishnan urged that there should be no violence against unarmed civilians and that all parties involved should show restraint.

“In particular, live bullets should not be fired at unarmed civilians under any circumstances," the minister said.

On Wednesday, Marsudi visited Brunei Darussalam, the current chair of ASEAN, and met with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah to discuss the recent developments in Myanmar.

Marsudi said Indonesia will continue to consult other ASEAN members on a possible meeting of the foreign ministers.

"As the ASEAN family, it is the responsibility of all the members to respect what is stated in the organization’s charter,” she explained.

*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita in Jakarta