MANILA: Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was “indispensable” to restoring democracy to the country, the Philippines foreign minister said Sunday, echoing condemnation of her recent sentencing by a junta court.
The Nobel laureate, who has been detained since the February 1 coup last year, was convicted on January 10 of three criminal charges and sentenced to four years in prison.
The junta court has since hit Suu Kyi, 76, with five new corruption charges adding to a slew of cases against her.
While several Western countries, including the United States and Norway, have slammed the latest sentencing, Southeast Asian leaders have been largely silent.
Philippines Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin broke ranks Sunday, tweeting he had adopted “as my own” a statement by his Norwegian counterpart Anniken Huitfeldt that condemned the sentencing.
“Suu Kyi is indispensable in a democratic restoration that will pose no threat of anarchy, dissolution, and civil conflict,” Locsin said, adding Myanmar’s armed forces “have nothing to fear”.
“I will work with ASEAN colleagues in the next few weeks to find measures to ease the suffering of the people of Myanmar, and push for dialogue among all stakeholders, most especially Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and substantial progress in the Five-Point Consensus of ASEAN,” Locsin said.
He also backed the recent visit to Myanmar by Cambodia’s strongman ruler Hun Sen—the first by a foreign leader since the coup—highlighting regional tensions over how to deal with the crisis-hit nation.
Critics said the visit by Hun Sen, whose country holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), risked legitimising the junta and undermining efforts to isolate the generals.
But Locsin said Hun Sen achieved “headways” and “deserves wholehearted support”.
ASEAN has sought to help Myanmar, agreeing to a “five-point consensus” last year aimed at defusing the crisis, but the generals have shown little sign of changing course.
More than 1,400 civilians have been killed as the military cracks down on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.
In October, the bloc took the highly unusual step of excluding junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from a summit in response to an ASEAN envoy being denied a meeting with Suu Kyi.
But Hun Sen met the military leader during his visit, and has insisted the trip could have a positive impact.
Manila also called on the military leadership to participate in an inclusive dialogue and resume the democratic transition process.
Locsin said the Special Envoy’s participation in the ceasefire talks with the Ethnic Armed Organizations is a welcome development “but these talks must include all, not just a select few.”
Locsin said the Special Envoy’s access to all parties concerned must not be subject to any conditionally.
“Most especially, the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus must not be tied to any roadmap, for the Consensus is the only one agreed to by the ASEAN Leaders during that meeting in Jakarta in April 2021,” he said.
The Philippines will also work with Norway, as president of the Security Council for this month, in finding ways to end the killings in Myanmar that have dragged on for a year, far too long for that country’s suffering people.
The court in Myanmar sentenced Suu Kyi to four years in prison last Monday, the second round of verdicts against the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Suu Kyi, 76, was found guilty of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions.
She was convicted last month on two other charges and given a four-year prison sentence, which was then halved by the head of the military-installed government.
Suu Kyi was Myanmar’s state counselor and de facto leader of the country before she was ousted and detained by the military in a coup 11 months ago.
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