Backchannel discussions held to deescalate tensions in Myanmar

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – Officials and non-governmental foreign policy experts from Myanmar and its neighboring countries met earlier this week in New Delhi, India's capital, to discuss ways to de-escalate tensions in the Southeast Asia nation plagued by armed clashes between the army and armed militia groups since a coup in Feb. 2021.

It was the second round of the "Track 1.5 discussions" on Myanmar hosted by the New Delhi-based think tank Indian Council for World Affairs, sources told Anadolu on Thursday.

The first round of discussions was held in Thailand last month.

A source familiar with the discussions held on Tuesday told Anadolu on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, that representatives from Myanmar and its neighboring countries, including China, and some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), were present.

There were also representatives from governments, think tanks, and academia, and the discussions covered the "current situation in Myanmar, reduction of violence, countering transnational crimes, national reconciliation, and delivery of humanitarian aid," he said.

It was agreed that humanitarian aid would be "expedited" to Myanmar and that countries in the region would continue to support ASEAN's peace efforts, he added.

ASEAN is a political and economic union of 10 member states, including Myanmar. It promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, and sociocultural integration among its members.

According to other sources, there was a call for a reduction in violence and the creation of a political space for dialogue, which the participants agreed to continue.

The participants renewed calls for a reduction in violence in Myanmar comes following a recent military junta airstrike in Kanbalu township in the central Sagaing region earlier this month, which, according to the National Unity Government that runs from exile, killed over 100 people.

Earlier, Ban Ki-Moon, former UN Secretary-General and current deputy chair of The Elders, a group of global leaders working for peace, visited Myanmar on April 23-24, calling for an immediate cessation of violence and the implementation of ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus.

Soon after the military coup, ASEAN issued the Five-Point Consensus plan, also known as the 5PCs, urging all parties in Buddhist-majority Myanmar to end violence and "exercise utmost restraint."

Under the 5PCs, ASEAN also provides humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, and has assigned a special envoy to "meet with all parties concerned."

The military takeover on Feb. 1, 2021, triggered mass protests in the country, but lately, they died down.

According to UNICEF, the number of displaced people has risen to more than 1.5 million since the junta took power, while at least 2,890 people lost their lives at the hands of the military and those working with them.