VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) raised the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus at the 44th General Session of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Jakarta on August 7-9, to end the conflict in Myanmar.

Indonesian House Speaker Puan Maharani as chairman of the session, stated that Indonesia invited ASEAN countries' parliaments to strive for the five points of consensus that had been agreed upon to be implemented by the Myanmar government.

"Indonesia's position is clear that we want peace in Myanmar. We encourage the government to be able to jointly encourage Myanmar to agree on and implement the five points of consensus of the agreement that has been mutually agreed upon," Maharani remarked in Jakarta on Sunday.

The House speaker also echoed Indonesia's hopes that the ASEAN countries attending the 44th AIPA General Assembly would also encourage Myanmar to implement the five-point consensus to end conflicts in their country.

"We hope that all of the ASEAN countries that are present at this opportunity, the nine chairpersons of the parliaments, can encourage Myanmar to immediately resolve the problems peacefully in accordance with the ASEAN agreement," she affirmed.

The Five ASEAN Consensus Points on Myanmar were agreed upon by ASEAN member countries on April 24, 2021, or less than two months after the Myanmar military junta took over the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021.

The consensus urged the Myanmar government to allow the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid from ASEAN countries, to immediately stop all forms of violence, to hold dialogues that involved all parties, to appoint special envoys for negotiations, and to allow ASEAN special envoys to visit Myanmar to meet with interested parties in conflict.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in its report referring to the results of interviews and monitoring from February 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023, showed that the death toll reached more than 2,900 people, and 17,572 citizens were arrested and detained by the military junta.

Hence, Maharani stated that peace in Myanmar is one of the priority agendas of the 44th AIPA General Assembly.

"Parliament, through its network at the regional and international levels, has a strategic role in taking part in efforts to find solutions in the Myanmar conflict," she remarked.

She noted that efforts to create peace in Myanmar are also in line with this year's AIPA theme, namely Responsive Parliaments for a Stable and Prosperous ASEAN.

The 44th AIPA General Assembly takes place in Jakarta on August 7-9 and will be attended by parliamentary chairpersons from nine ASEAN member countries, namely Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Some 18 observers and guest countries, as well as representatives from nine international organizations will also attend the General Assembly. A total of 568 delegates are attending the General Assembly. (antaranews)