Philippines calls for release of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi

ABS-CBN News Posted at Mar 02 2021 11:55 PM | Updated as of Mar 03 2021 01:16 AM MANILA (UPDATED) - The Philippine government has called for the release of Myanmar's detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a "complete return to the previously existing state of affairs” in the country. The Philippine statement was delivered by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. during the virtual informal meeting held by ASEAN foreign ministers on Myanmar following the coup d’etat that turned the country upside down. Locsin cited the “unifying role of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her country’s history and in its destiny” while recognizing the role of Myanmar’s Army’s “in preserving Myanmar’s territorial integrity and national security.” "We have always stood by Myanmar’s side as it tried to fix its ethnic challenges; the worst ones clear legacies of reckless and opportunistic Western imperialism. We have stood by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in particular; and defended her against calumnies from hypocrites in the West. We have hit back hard at her pro-democracy and human rights critics— not a single one of whom has done anything at all for democracy and human rights; let alone as much as she has at great risk to her life and with great loss in her life. We worked hard to give Myanmar back the respect due a responsible member of the community of nations moving, in the face of great challenges, towards fuller democracy. This should not stop now," Locsin said. "Indeed, more than ever we should help all the more. Our appeal is not from the outside but from inside what we claim is one family: a family first of peoples and not of governments; feeling the hurt in one of its members," he added. The Department of Foreign Affairs explained the line referring to the role of Myanmar’s army as recognizing "that the Myanmar army that is subject of different sentiments within the country has a role to play in achieving the peace and unity in Myanmar.” “Our call is for the complete return to the previously existing state of affairs: with respect to the preeminent role of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; alongside the Army her father created for the protection of the people he led to freedom and the country he gave them at the cost of his life. This is what is needed,” Locsin said. “And the first step should be for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and subsequent dialogue among the parties involved in their country’s destiny. The rest of ASEAN must stand by Myanmar; ready to give what help it is asked by the people and government of Myanmar.” Locsin reiterated that the appeal was made not from the outside but from inside what we claim is one family,” saying that it is “a family first of peoples and not of governments; feeling the hurt in one of its members.” "In the Philippines, we have a saying: the hurt of the small finger is felt by the whole body. Myanmar is not a small finger but a big part of the two hands that together make up the family of ASEAN 10," he said. The ASEAN foreign ministers called Tuesday for de-escalation of the post-coup political crisis in Myanmar and for dialogue among all parties concerned in search of a peaceful solution, while suggesting a bigger role for ASEAN. All the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers attended the meeting including Myanmar's military-appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. On Monday, Suu Kyi, aged 75, appeared at a court hearing via video conferencing as supporters marched in several towns and cities in defiance of a crackdown after the bloodiest day since the Feb. 1 military coup. Myanmar has been in chaos since the military seized power after alleging fraud in a November election won by the NLD in a landslide, with daily protests getting increasingly violent as police and troops try to stamp them out. - report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more