Lawmakers call for ASEAN, UN action on Myanmar coup

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers have called for international action on the military takeover in Myanmar.

Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations to intervene and bring back democracy in Myanmar.

In a privilege speech on Monday, Abu called on leaders of ASEAN member-states to negotiate with the military junta and help restore democracy in Myanmar.

Abu said there should be a long-term ASEAN-led effort to put Myanmar back on the road to democratization, including the conduct of new, free and fair elections.

“It is not in anyone’s interest to see Myanmar’s progress toward democracy and good governance slip away after so much progress have been achieved.

A return to democracy will strengthen Myanmar’s integration, not the very least within the Southeast Asia region where it belongs,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Zarate called on the UN Security Council to convene and act on the matter.

“We call for the United Nations, the Security Council, to respond to the situation, including deploying delegates in Myanmar to send a strong message that this kind of militarist action is not acceptable in the community of nations,” Zarate said.

He sought the establishment of a global arms embargo and referral of the Myanmar situation to the International Criminal Court.

“We reiterate the demands of several civil society organizations, even parliaments in other jurisdictions, that the military should immediately and unconditionally release all the detained individuals and restore civilian rule in Myanmar,” he said.

Myanmar’s military seized power on Feb. 1 in a coup against the democratically-elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her NLD party following an early morning raid.