Retno Marsudi: Indonesia Will Make A Constructive Contribution To The Myanmar Issue

The Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that Indonesia will continue to strive and contribute constructively in resolving political conflicts in Myanmar following the coup carried out by the country's military on February 1.

"Since the beginning, Indonesia has consistently conveyed its willingness to contribute," said Retno when delivering a joint press statement after the bilateral meeting with the Hungarian Foreign Minister in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Tuesday, February 16.

Affirming that the safety and welfare of the people of Myanmar must be a top priority, Retno assessed that efforts to secure the sustainability of an inclusive transition to democracy in Myanmar need to be put forward.

"(For that) the regional mechanism must be able to work better to constructively help resolve this difficult issue," he said.

In response to the development of the situation in Myanmar, Foreign Minister Retno has communicated with the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as a number of foreign ministers including India, Australia, Japan, Britain, and the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on the issue of Myanmar.

Retno also plans to communicate with the US and Chinese foreign ministers to discuss the same issue.

The Myanmar military launched a coup against the civilian government and arrested state adviser Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, a politician from the election-winning party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), as well as a number of pro democracy and human rights activists in Myanmar.

Shortly after the coup, the military imposed a year-long state of emergency that put the executive, legislative and judiciary powers in Myanmar under the control of the supreme leader, Military Commander General Min Aung Hlaing.

Two days after the coup, the Myanmar police officially arrested Suu Kyi on charges of importing illegal communication devices, while President Myint was arrested for violating the Law on Disaster Management.

These actions prompted Myanmar citizens to take to the streets and stage peaceful demonstrations.

Thousands of citizens, ranging from labor groups, civil servants, health workers, students and young activists staged a peaceful demonstration against the military coup and demanded local authorities return power to the democratically elected government.

Recently, the Myanmar military junta drew criticism, especially from the international community for its harsh response to the demonstrations, even injuring demonstrators.