Human rights activists and Myanmar pro-democracy groups are intensifying their calls to prevent Myanmar junta leader and “wanted war criminal” Min Aung Hlaing from attending a high-profile regional summit in Bangkok next week.
Reports suggest the junta leader will attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit hosted by Thailand on April 3-4, despite his regime’s ongoing targeted attacks on civilians in resistance-held territory.
Thai PBS reports that a high-placed source confirmed Min Aung Hlaing will join the 6th BIMSTEC Summit on Thursday and Friday next week. However, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to confirm his attendance when contacted by a reporter.
The International Criminal Court is preparing an arrest warrant against the military leader for crimes against humanity during deadly “clearance operations” against the Rohingya ethnic minority in 2017. His coup four years later was followed by a military crackdown on opponents that has killed thousands.
Human rights groups stated that allowing Min Aung Hlaing to participate in the summit would be a blatant endorsement of the military regime’s legitimacy, undermining efforts to hold it accountable for its crimes.
Since the February 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military regime has waged a brutal campaign of terror against the population, including indiscriminate airstrikes, mass arrests, and executions. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) reports that the junta has killed more than 6,400 people and arrested over 22,000.
BIMSTEC, comprising India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, was founded to foster regional economic cooperation and stability.
Pro-democracy group Defend Myanmar Democracy condemned the invitation to Min Aung Hlaing, stating, “This war criminal – responsible for severe human rights violations in Myanmar – would be received with full diplomatic honors.”
The group further warned that if Thailand “rolls out the red carpet for a war criminal, it will not be diplomacy – it will be complicity.”
“This would amount to endorsing the junta’s actions and insulting the principles of justice and democracy,” it stated.
Rights group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) condemned BIMSTEC’s dealings with the junta as “shameful”, criticizing the bloc for legitimizing Min Aung Hlaing’s leadership by publishing his statements and referring to him as the “Honorable Chairman of the State Administrative Council of Myanmar.”
BIMSTEC also invited the regime’s foreign minister to attend its Sri Lanka Summit in 2022 and host the 4th Meeting of the BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs in 2024.
In contrast, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has banned all high-level junta officials from its summits.
JFM said BIMSTEC involvement has enabled the junta to bolster its capabilities, gain international legitimacy, produce propaganda, and strengthen ties with bloc members.
“BIMSTEC and its member nations must cease this disgraceful complicity in the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes,” JFM said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Defend Myanmar Democracy also urged BIMSTEC and its members to reject the “criminal” Myanmar junta and bar Min Aung Hlaing and his representatives from next week’s summit.
