Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has rejected Indonesia’s recent controversial statement that key stakeholders in Myanmar’s conflict were about to hold an “inclusive dialogue” to solve problems sparked by military rule, saying it has no plans for dialogue with the country’s military junta until its conditions are met.
Indonesia is currently the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar—which has been in social and political chaos since the military staged a coup in 2021—is a member. The Myanmar junta has been struggling with an increasingly successful anti-regime armed resistance across the country.
Indonesia’s Office of the Special Envoy on Myanmar organized what it said was a meeting of some of the key Myanmar stakeholders from Nov. 20-22 “to bring conflicting parties to an inclusive dialogue, to reduce violence, and to ensure safe deliveries of humanitarian assistance for the people of Myanmar affected by the conflict.”
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the envoy’s office held a number of separate meetings with members of various groupings: anti-regime groups, including the NUG; interlocutors for the Myanmar regime; and representatives of 10 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) who have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and who are known collectively as the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST). Also present was a representative of the government of Laos, which will hold the ASEAN chair in 2024.
Formed after the coup by lawmakers from the elected National League for Democracy party and their ethnic allies to challenge the regime at home and abroad, the NUG is considered by the vast majority of people in Myanmar to be their legitimate government.
The Indonesian envoy’s office said it facilitated exchanges of “messages” between the groups.
“Upon receiving the respective messages, stakeholders indicated positive indication on the possibility of convening dialogues in an inclusive and genuine manner soon,” it said.
The statement has caused an uproar among Myanmar’s pro-democracy groups as it implies the anti-regime camp agreed to open a dialogue with the regime.
On Saturday, the NUG’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the civilian government had separately briefed ASEAN on its stand on what occurred at the meeting, and on the development of the anti-resistance movement in which it has been playing a major role, but stressed that it has never met with “any individual, including so-called representatives of the illegitimate military junta, neither at any place nor at any point in time.”
“The comment stated in the Press Release of Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry regarding the possibility of a dialogue solely reflects the view of the Office of Special Envoy. We wish to clarify that this comment is unrelated to the National Unity Government,” it added.
NUG Deputy Foreign Minister U Moe Zaw Oo told The Irrawaddy that the statement by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry was misleading, prompting the NUG to issue the statement to avoid any misunderstanding, as the NUG was named in the statement.
“We have never indicated that we want a dialogue [with the junta]. It would only happen when conditions we have set are met,” he said.
In 2022, the NUG set conditions for dialogue, saying there would be no engagement without assurances from the junta that it would end the military dictatorship and establish a federal democratic union; without the genuine will of the people, Spring Revolution forces and allies; and without a guarantee of a transitional period in which justice is fully upheld.
U Moe Zaw Oo said there is no dialogue in sight at this moment as the junta has shown no interest in honoring the conditions.
So far, the regime has killed 4,200 people, including pro-democracy activists and civilians, as of Nov. 24 this year while waging war against ethnic armed groups and resistance forces across the country who have been fighting to root out the military dictatorship and establish a federal democratic union in the country.
