The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has strongly condemned the invitation extended to Myanmar’s illegal military council to attend the upcoming BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) meeting scheduled for April 3-4 in Bangkok, Thailand. The group urged Thailand to take a firm stance by preventing the military council from participating in the meeting.
Thailand, one of the founding members of BIMSTEC, will host this iteration of the meeting. APHR warned that giving the military council a place at the meeting would not only legitimize its brutal rule but also undermine confidence in BIMSTEC, a regional organization committed to peace, stability, and development. The military has committed numerous human rights violations since seizing power and continues to conduct airstrikes across the country, including in earthquake-affected Sagaing Region, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
The military council has systematically blocked international aid and rejected humanitarian assistance, repeating its pattern of limited, performative disaster response as seen during Cyclone Nargis. Unlike ASEAN, which has attempted to address Myanmar’s crisis through at least five-point consensus, BIMSTEC has remained notably silent on Myanmar issues. This failure to take action has raised serious concerns about the organization’s commitment to democratic governance and human rights. While the people of Myanmar continue to resist military dictatorship at great cost, BIMSTEC is effectively providing a political platform for the military council instead of supporting their struggle.
APHR board members, including representatives from Indonesia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines, have emphasized that engaging with the military council without demanding firm commitments to human rights and democracy betrays the Myanmar people and tarnishes BIMSTEC’s reputation. They called on BIMSTEC member states, particularly Thailand and India, to reject the military council’s participation, provide clear support for democracy and human rights, and stand for justice to maintain regional trust. The parliamentarians stressed that any engagement with Myanmar should focus on supporting the oppressed rather than the oppressors, urging Thailand, as the host nation, to take responsible leadership in opposing the military council’s participation.
