Indonesia-Burma relations

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Description: "ASEAN’s capacity to spearhead a collective response to a regional crisis was tested at the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting (ALM) in Jakarta on 24 April following the February coup in Myanmar. Facing backlash for its decision to invite Myanmar’s military junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing to the event, the stakes were high for ASEAN to find a unified stance on Myanmar’s rogue behaviour. But it was Indonesia’s leadership that made possible the resulting five-point consensus. Hours before the release of the ALM chairman’s statement, Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo held a press conference outlining Indonesia’s position on Myanmar, which resembled the final draft of ASEAN’s collective statement. Several differences between Indonesia and the ALM chairman’s statement stand out. First, Jokowi conveyed that the situation in Myanmar is ‘unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue’. The watered-down ALM statement stated a ‘deep concern on the situation in the country, including reports of fatalities and escalation of violence’. Second, Jokowi called on the military government in Myanmar to cease its use of violence, while the ALM statement made no direct reference to the junta. Third, Jokowi called for political prisoners to be released. The ALM chairman’s statement worded this as: ‘we also heard calls for the release of all political prisoners including foreigners’. One of the biggest shortcomings of the ASEAN five-point consensus is the absence of a call for the junta to honour the results of the 2020 general elections that the National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide. While Jokowi emphasised the Myanmar people as Indonesia’s priority, General Min Aung Hlaing’s inclusion in the ALM dashes any hope of restoring a pre-coup state of affairs. The ALM chairman’s statement confirms this. The ALM was convened on 19 March — five weeks after Jokowi called for an ASEAN special summit to discuss the political crisis in Myanmar. While the meeting was being arranged, the Myanmar military’s violent crackdown against protesters and civilians continued, with at least 739 deaths and 3331 arrests as of 21 April. ASEAN’s collective stance on the Myanmar political crisis differs from its response during Myanmar’s 2007 Saffron Revolution. When anti-government protests grew in number across Myanmar in September 2007, the military government responded violently, culminating in an ASEAN chairmanship statement three weeks later. The statement singled out the Myanmar military government and expressed revulsion for what had transpired. Yet despite Indonesia’s best efforts, the ALM chairman’s statement is less assertive than it was in 2007. Naypyidaw’s detachment from ASEAN after forfeiting its chairmanship position in 2006 encouraged ASEAN and its key member states at the time — Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines — to ensure that Myanmar ameliorated its human rights record before it was trusted with further engagement in ASEAN-led processes. Aside from the flaws in the ALM statement, there are also challenges to its implementation. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has managed to find common ground among ASEAN member states on the ongoing political crisis in Myanmar — first at an Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (IAMM) through shuttle diplomacy and subsequently in preparation for the ALM. The night before the ALM, Marsudi hosted a working dinner with ASEAN counterparts in making final preparations for the leaders’ meeting. Though the leaders of Thailand, the Philippines and Laos were absent from the ALM, a consensus was reached on how to prevent the situation in Myanmar from destabilising the wider region. Now that ASEAN has articulated a regional response to the situation in Myanmar, it needs to ensure that the junta adheres to the first two points of its five-point consensus — halting the violence and facilitating constructive dialogue between concerned parties. The other three points also require continuous commitment from ASEAN including Myanmar to appoint an ASEAN special envoy, facilitate humanitarian assistance and advance dialogue. While the implementation of ASEAN’s five-point consensus is still too early to assess, ASEAN must display a tangible commitment to its framework for peace and stability in the region. This is where Indonesia’s role and leadership within ASEAN should be nurtured. As the regional powerhouse in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is no stranger to advancing initiatives to strengthen political stability in the region. These include former president Megawati Sukarnoputri’s leadership to finalise the ASEAN Political-Security Community, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s incorporation of democratic principles in Indonesian foreign relations through the Bali Democracy Forum and President Jokowi’s adoption of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. In a climate where Indonesia and ASEAN depend on one another to preserve peace and stability in Southeast Asia, ASEAN needs to remain the cornerstone of Indonesian foreign policy — no matter who its president is. Gibran Mahesa Drajat is a Doctoral Researcher at the Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, and a Lecturer of International Relations at President University, Cikarang, Indonesia..."
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Source/publisher: "East Asia Forum" (Australia)
2021-05-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Under the soft light of the morning sun, an Indonesian marching band marched in front of U Phyoe Min Thein, Chief Minister of Yangon Division, and Professor Iza Fadri, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia.
Description: "The ceremony took place at the People’s Square at 9:00am on October 6, and was attended by dignitaries from both Myanmar and Indonesia. The event marked the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries, celebrated with the loud and up-tempo beat of the marching drums. A sizeable local audience was in attendance, and applauded as soon as the cornets, trumpets and tubas joined the musical fray. It was inspiring to see the parade coordinated with such precision and skill, lead by the Field Commander spinning and catching his baton around with ease. As soon as the parade band finished, Bima Suci’s Drum Band performed their Reog Ponorogo mastery. Reog Ponorogo is a performance involving a giant lion mask, garnered with towering peacock features. The dance embodies the struggle of a powerful prince to woo a beautiful princess..."
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Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The brutal images and survivor accounts show a dreadful synchronicity. Once again families huddle around what possessions they salvaged from their homes before they were torched. Children scamper between rows of hangdog wood and bamboo huts. Adults appear frightened and listless. It is as if the hatred and violence that flourished on the equator over a decade ago in Indonesia has now migrated across the Southeast Asian landmass to Myanmar. In parallel, a nation has exchanged decades of military authoritarian rule for a period of wobbly political reform. And again vicious communal violence has threatened to derail the democratization process. Mounting evidence hints at a rear guard action by figures in the previous ruling military junta seeking to stoke enough instability to make democracy seem incompatible with stable authoritarian governance. As Myanmar follows the example of Indonesia and relinquishes a centralized authoritarian political system, will its hopeful road to multi-party democracy prove as deadly and tumultuous?.."
Creator/author: Tom Farrell
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
2013-10-16
Date of entry/update: 2014-05-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Indonesia may be in a position to influence Burma, both as the chair of Asean in 2011 and as a positive example of how a democracy can emerge from a dictatorship... "JAKARTA—Twenty-five years ago, both Indonesia and Burma were ruled by totalitarian regimes known for their human rights abuses, lack of genuine democracy and corrupt leaders who siphoned off national resources. Indonesia is now a functioning democracy and human rights advocate with a relatively transparent, free market economy. Burma, on the other hand, has slid further into the pit of oppression and corruption..."
Creator/author: Saw Yan Naing
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 10
2010-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: When Indonesian President Yudhoyono makes his visit to Burma, scheduled for March, the ruling generals will host a leader from a fellow Asean country now regaining its regional pre-eminence and clout... "If any member of Asean can do anything about Burmese intransigence, it is Indonesia. Historically, the two countries have a lot in common. They won their independence from colonial masters in the post-World War II years; they maintained an independent foreign policy during the Cold War; and they shared membership in the Non-Aligned Movement. During the mid-1990s, Burma?s military leaders began to take a keen interest in Indonesia?s political model as they cast around for ways to justify their hold on power. Much of that interest centered on the Indonesian military?s pervasive territorial structure, and the role of Indonesia?s then-ruling Golkar party in cementing President Suharto?s decades-long hold on power..."
Creator/author: John McBeth
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No3
2006-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2006-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Burma?s former leader Ne Win arrived in Jakarta for a three-day visit amid speculation that Indonesian President Suharto was to ask the Burmese patriarch to influence Rangoon?s military junta to open dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Speculation began to circulate in Jakarta two months ago that Suharto was inviting Ne Win to come discuss the issue of democratisation in Burma.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No. 6
1997-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri?s one-week tour of Asian capitals marks an important milestone in Jakarta?s relations with the outside world. The former opposition leader, who once seemed destined to remain in her country?s political wilderness, is meeting with fellow heads of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)..."
Creator/author: Aung Zaw
Source/publisher: "Thge Irrawaddy" (Commentary)
2004-04-09
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: At a recent seminar in Jakarta, Sjahir, President of the Institute for Economic and Financial Research [ECFIN], had good news to announce. He said, "The worst is over. The Rupiah (Indonesia?s official currency) will be more stable in 1999." Last year, the Rupiah dropped sharply. This set off an economic crisis and sparked student-led protests, which culminated in May of this year, when President Suharto resigned. Now, the Rupiah has regained some of its strength, but the future of Indonesia and the stability of President B.J.Habibie?s government remains uncertain.
Source/publisher: " "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 6, No. 6
1998-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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