The military junta of Myanmar (former Burma) ordered the expulsion of the East Timorese chargé d’affaires, in protest at the recent positions taken by the Timorese authorities on that country.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, requests the charge d’affaires of the embassy of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Mr. Avelino Fernandes Ximenes Pereira, to leave Myanmar no later than September 1”, refers to a note from that country’s diplomacy to which Lusa had access.
In reaction, the President of the Timorese Republic, José Ramos-Horta, considered that East Timor should be proud, because the expulsion is a response to the defense of human rights.
“It is one of those situations that we are proud of. For acts of coherence in denouncing military coups and denouncing serious crimes, crimes against humanity, and if our business manager is expelled for this reason, it is a reason to be proud,” he said. .
The head of state stressed that East Timor continues to support the position of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the organization’s efforts to resolve the situation in Myanmar.
“Timor-Leste does not have a different position than ASEAN, which is to condemn the military coup, the massacres of the civilian population, women and children. And the military responsible is just as responsible for the crimes of humanity in Myanmar as it is Putin responsible for crimes against humanity in Ukraine,” he said.
“On this issue, my advice is to join forces with the ASEAN consensus, support ASEAN in whatever ASEAN needs and whatever ASEAN agrees to do,” he said.
In the two-page note, the military junta points to various acts committed by the Timorese authorities, including references to the situation in the country by Timorese President José Ramos-Horta.
He also alluded to the statements by the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmão, who on August 3 stated that East Timor might not join ASEAN if the regional body failed to find a solution to the conflict in Myanmar.
“As long as you are prime minister, you will not be able to join ASEAN if ASEAN does not convince the military junta, if it does not find a solution. We are a democracy. We may have problems, but there are no coups, there is respect for the elections presidential and parliamentary elections, showing the world that we have a democratic culture,” Xanana Gusmão said at the time.
These comments prompted the Myanmar government to summon the charge d’affaires to a protest vote on August 15.
“The prime minister’s reckless and irresponsible statements are not only detrimental to the maintenance of bilateral relations between Myanmar and Timor-Leste, but also flagrantly neglect the continued violent attacks by the terrorist group called the National Unity Government (NUG),” he said. in the note of August 25.
That same note from the Government of Myanmar also lists as reasons for the expulsion of the Timorese diploma the fact that representatives of the NUG were invited to the inauguration of the new Government and that there were meetings between José Ramos-Horta and representatives of the group that opposes to the military coup in the country.
At the ASEAN summit in May, the Indonesian president acknowledged, on behalf of ASEAN, that no progress had been made in ending the conflict in Myanmar, renewing a call to end the violence in the country in a regional organization summit.
“I have to be honest. There has been no significant progress in the implementation of the five-point consensus,” Joko Widodo told the 42nd ASEAN summit.
Widodo was referring to a peace plan drawn up in 2021 by the organization’s ten member states and Myanmar’s military junta, which called for an immediate end to violence and dialogue between the parties to the conflict, mediated by an ASEAN envoy. .
The military junta has refused to take action to enforce that agreement, prompting ASEAN to bar military leaders from participating in the organization’s meetings.
This week, the members of the Security Council of the United Nations – with the exception of China and Russia – condemned the violence and the death of civilians in Myanmar (formerly Burma).
The overwhelming majority of the 15 countries that are part of the Security Council again urged the military junta to end the attacks, release the ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and respect human rights.
In that joint statement, it was regretted that “sufficient progress” had not been registered in the implementation of the first Security Council resolution on Myanmar, adopted in December.
It should be recalled that in June, in South Korea, the former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, called on the Timorese president to exert pressure, directly and through ASEAN, on the Myanmar regime to accept the implementation of a regional peace proposal.
“I hope that ASEAN can exert much stronger pressure. People continue to suffer a lot. And I ask you, Mr. President, to try to exert pressure through ASEAN as well,” Ban Ki-moon told José Ramos-Horta.
The request was made during a brief meeting between Ban Ki-moon and José Ramos-Horta on the sidelines of the opening of the 18th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity.
“It is a very difficult mission for ASEAN and I know that in several countries the frustration with this issue is felt,” said Ramos-Horta, who, after the meeting, stated that he considered it difficult for him to intervene directly with the Burmese army.
Source: TSF
