By TON Research Desk

After passing one and half year, the Myanmar junta has not ready to collaborate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s peace plan for Myanmar, known as its Five-Point Consensus, in spite of approving it at a meeting with the leaders of the regional grouping’s member states.

The Myanmar junta is still away from implementing the promise made by the junta chief and his associates have run a brutal nationwide crackdown to suppress widespread public opposition to its rule.

The Five points the regime decided with the ASEAN leaders are an instant finish to ferocity in the country; discourse among all parties concerned; the choice of a special envoy; delivery of humanitarian aid by ASEAN; and a visit by the bloc’s special envoy to Myanmar to see all parties.

However, the junta has ignored its pledges to ASEAN over the past 12 months, and that ‘is why the peace plan has miserably failed to make any progress ahead. Instead of instantly ending violence as pressed for, the junta has sustained to commit carnages across the country with additional killings, bombings, mass arbitrary arrests, and continuing violence.

The number of innocent citizens killed by the junta rose to over 1,800 this month. More than 1,075 of those killings happened after the joint promise was issued. Those killed include more than 130 children, old persons, adolescents, serene protesters, and politicians, doctors, and human rights activists.

More than 13,000 people have been imprisoned by the junta, which in recent months has progressively resorted to taking family members and relatives in lieu of wanted activists in a bid to blackmail them into taking sides with themselves.

Additionally, the junta violated the call to exercise restraint, the junta has unrelenting its undiscerning violence campaign and scorched civilian houses in confrontation strongholds including racial minority areas, compelling hundreds of thousands to escape, and murdering nationals including children.

More than 11,000 civilian houses were scorched down by junta forces from May last year to onward and occurred some of the regime’s nastiest assaults against the people of Myanmar.

The junta has also disallowed ASEAN’s call for positive dialogue among all parties concerned in order to pursue a nonviolent result. In the opposing to this, the junta leader has rejected the negotiations with regime adversaries.

In a speech on Armed Forces Day in March, The junta chief swore to thrash all opposition to his rule. The regime has professed major resistance groups including the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) shaped in the wake of the coup, and its equipped wing, the People’s Defense Force (PDF) which was declared a terrorist organization by the Myanmar junta.

Declining to talk to either group junta chief has asked racial armed organizations for peace talks but the major groups which are engaged in heavy fighting with junta troops, have overruled his offer, demanding the NUG and PDF should be involved in any negotiations.

Rupturing a pledge it made under the consensus, the junta has unceasingly banned all demands not only from the regional bloc, the United Nations, and the West but also from China to meet Myanmar’s imprisoned leaders the ex-State Counselor, and President.

A prearranged visit to the country by ASEAN’s first special envoy, chosen to implement the consensus pledge, was canceled when the junta deprived him of his entrance to other leaders.

It was only last week that ASEAN’s current chair, Cambodia, hosted an advice-giving meeting on ASEAN philanthropic aid for Myanmar with the junta and international aid organizations, announcing a plan to deliver aid via the regime.

The decision has engrossed widespread criticism both locally and internationally due to its breaches of ASEAN’s own five-point Consensus. It was a partisan conference that was merely busy with the regime and its consequence has nothing to do with the welfare of the Myanmar people.

In contrast of it, ASEAN should hold a multi-stakeholder discourse in harmony with the Five-Point Agreement and take action according to the outcome of such dialogue. Now ASEAN itself has dishonored the Consensus.

At the moment, the ASEAN’s consensus has failed because the bloc was engaging with the wrong party, the Myanmar junta instead of the NUG.

The member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) also said the NUG symbolizes Myanmar and is the accurate party to lead aid arrangements with ASEAN. NUG Foreign Minister also urged ASEAN member states and leaders to involve different stakeholders in line with the Five-Point Consensus instead of the Myanmar junta.

After a year of being ignored by the junta and seeing no willingness on its part to cooperate and abide by the consensus, some ASEAN member states have begun to engage with the NUG.

Recently, Malaysia’s foreign minister met with his counterpart from the NUG in Washington, where ASEAN leaders were collected for an unusual summit between the US and the bloc. Malaysian Foreign Minister became the first minister from an ASEAN member country to individually and publicly meet a NUG minister. ASEAN should also the suit.

It is true the Five-Point Consensus needs to be implemented but the issue is that there is no culpability device that the aid would reach the needy masses of Myanmar. Now it is time for ASEAN to move to meet all stakeholders because if coup leaders failed to deliver the aid to the affected masses of Myanmar then what would happen next? This is a headache for the ASEAN leadership.

Although, ASEAN has proved a fiasco for over a year, as a clear way up for Myanmar. However, ASEAN and the rest of the world continue to treat the consensus and press the junta to end its violence against civilians. Unless this failed approach is abandoned and stronger action assumed to opportune and whole enactment” of the peace plan there will be no progress in the coming days.