Fadli Zon Reveals ASEAN Parliament's Plan To Visit Myanmar

Chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Fadli Zon, at the "Committee on Joint Communique" meeting in the 44th AIPA General Assembly, Jakarta, Wednesday (9/8/2023). (ANTARA/HO-DPR RI)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the House of Representatives' Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) Fadli Zon said that the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Political Committee plans to visit Myanmar to see firsthand the conditions of the people there.

"Maybe later we can visit there to see firsthand what happens there, a kind of special entry (special decision) from parliament," said Fadli Zon in his statement, Friday, August 11, quoted by Antara.

Where, Fadli said the Political Committee at the 44th AIPA General Assembly agreed that parliament members of AIPA form a team in monitoring efforts to achieve peace in Myanmar to monitor the implementation of the five points ASEAN agreement (Five-point Consensus ASEAN) which has been agreed upon by Southeast Asian countries.

"About Myanmar we will form a body or a committee, maybe an ad hoc committee to monitor the implementation of five point consensus from the parliamentary side," he said.

He said the special envoy's plan was like a task force sent by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict to monitor the condition of the people of the two countries affected by the war, as agreed at the 144th IPU General Session in Indonesia in 2022.

Fadli then shared his personal experience as a representative of the Asia Pacific parliament in the IPU Task Force visiting Russia and Ukraine, as well as having a dialogue with the Ukrainian parliament.

"I'm part 1 of the 8 people who go there. Every geopolitical region has one representative, I represent Asia Pacific. There are 8 people around the world we also come to Kiev and also to Moscow," he said.

However, Fadli said that sending a special envoy from AIPA to Myanmar was not yet an official decision because there was still debate among AIPA lawmakers.

Through a fairly long debate process. Later from the results of this resolution we will translate the realization, what the shape will be. Later it will be discussed again, we hope it won't take too long. We will try to pick up the ball," he said.

Fadli also hopes that AIPA will agree on sending a special envoy as an effort to play the parliamentary role of ASEAN countries to take a bigger role in facilitating inclusive dialogue for reconciliation in Myanmar.

By sending a special envoy, according to him, AIPA will be considered to be able to contribute more to resolving the conflict in Myanmar because it can see firsthand the impact of the crisis in the country.

"We hope so, but not yet a decision. But this is one step for us to open ourselves up to forming an ad hoc committee for parliamentary visits there," said Fadli.

In addition to agreeing on the formation of a monitoring team to achieve peace in Myanmar, the AIPA Political Committee also produced six draft resolutions, of which two are proposals from Indonesia. First, the Resolution to Maintain Peace, Security and Regional Stability through Dialogue and Collaboration (Resolution on Maintaining Regional Peace, Security and Stability through Dialogue and Collaboration).

Second, the Resolution of Parliamentary Cooperation in Contributing to Long-Term Peace in Myanmar (Resolution on Parliamentary Cooperation in Contributing to Long-lasting Peace in Myanmar).