Aria Cindyara, Jakarta – The youth activists movement network the Milk Tea Alliance in Indonesia is pushing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations (UN) to take firm measures in relation to the situation which is developing in Myanmar following the February 1 military coup.
During the evening solidarity action which was held in front of the ASEAN Secretariat building in Jakarta on Friday March 12, the Alliance slammed the Myanmar military junta and called on the ASEAN member nations, the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights High Commissioner to "immediately take a firm and clear position to stand alongside the Myanmar people and promote overseas efforts to return power to the ordinary Myanmar people".
They also called for these international bodies to use regional and international mechanism to pressure the Myanmar military junta to release all prisoners, including those from the National League for Democracy (NLD) and civil society organisations, and unify global agreement to apply sanction "which are strong and heavy on Myanmar military institutions".
Calls for the protection of civilians were also articulated as well as calling for all parties to halt military actions and acts of violence against people holding protests.
"Protection including psychological rehabilitation, particularly for ethnic minorities, youth groups, journalists, women and children. Protect them so they can be free to express themselves, communicate and safeguard themselves from killings and shootings", said the network.
"An immediate response is needed, because the world is watching".
As was reported earlier by Reuters, on Wednesday March 10 the UN Security Council condemned the violence against protesters in Myanmar and urged the military to restrain themselves.
But the council members were unable to reach an agreement on referring to the change of government in Myanmar by the military as a coup d'etat. The council also failed to issue any further threats against the Myanmar junta because China and Russia opposed the move.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), since the elected leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi was removed from power on February 1, more than 60 protesters have been killed and around 2,000 detained by security forces.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "'Milk Tea Alliance' dorong ASEAN, PBB ambil langkah terkait Myanmar".]
