MANILA, Philippines — A group of lawmakers in Southeast Asia promoting human rights called on Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro to "resist pressure" from some countries in the region seeking premature normalization of ties with Myanmar's military regime.
The Reuters reported that in a forum organized by Nikkei in Tokyo, Lazaro said she intends to "meet with certain ethnic armed groups [in Mynmar] and find out the situation and how we can really try to help."
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as chairman of Asean in 2026, has designated Lazaro as Asean Special Envoy to Myanmar. She was tasked to facilitate a peaceful solution to the Myanmar political crisis.
The Human Rights Watch reported in 2022 that Myanmar security forces have killed more than 1,700 people, including at least 130 children, arbitrarily arrested about 13,000 others. The junta also displaced over 550,000 people in its operations in ethnic minority areas.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) welcomed Lazaro's recent stated intention to meet with Myanmar’s political and ethnic resistance organizations (EROs).
The APHR described Lazaro's planned meeting with EROs as a "potentially meaningful step toward inclusive dialogue under the Asean Five-Point Consensus (5PC)" or peace plan for Myanmar adopted on Apr. 24, 2021.
Lazaro’s planned meetings with Myanmar’s EROs "would mark a departure from the narrow, junta-centric engagement that has long undermined Asean’s credibility on Myanmar," said Mercy Chriesty Barends, member of Indonesian House of Representatives.
"For years, resistance forces and civil society have called on Asean to widen its engagement beyond the military, and this initiative signals a willingness to heed that call,” added Barends, also APHR chairman.
The 5PC peace plan consist of immediate cessation of violence, constructive dialogue, designation of an Asean special envoy, humanitarian assistance, and visit of the special envoy.
The APHR said that "any political roadmap that emerges must be people-centered and responsive to the aspirations of all those impacted by years of military brutality."