The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) will be hosting ‘The Myanmar Coup and the Future of ASEAN’, a webinar panel discussion on the ongoing Myanmar crisis and its possible effects on the future unity and regional centrality of ASEAN, as well as how the bloc can play a meaningful role in resolving the crisis.

The webinar will be held on 11th May 2021, and is being held as part of IDEAS’ ASEAN Prosperity Initiative (API), a long term initiative designed by ASEAN to identify the major opportunities and challenges relating to the bloc’s future prosperity.

In order to shed light into the most urgent and pressing issue facing ASEAN at this time, the webinar includes a number of distinguished speakers with considerable expertise on the complex internal dynamics of Myanmar and its larger relationship to the workings of ASEAN. These include:

●      Lilianne Fan, International Director and Co-Founder of Geutanyoë Foundation;

●      Eric Paulsen, Representative of Malaysia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR);

●      Moe Thuzar, Fellow and Co-coordinator of the Myanmar Studies Programme at the ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute;

●      Khine Win, Executive Director of Sandhi Governance Institute in Myanmar.

Following a key summit held by ASEAN in Jakarta on 24th April 2021 concerning the ongoing Myanmar crisis, what emerged was a five-point “consensus” to end the violence and facilitate dialogue. Whether ASEAN’s five-point consensus will have any meaningful impact on the situation in Myanmar remains to be seen – with the civilian-led National Unity Government stating that dialogue could only commence after the junta had agreed to certain demands, including the restoration of the country’s democratically elected leaders and the release of political prisoners. The Tatmadaw, for their part, stated that ‘law and order’ would be their first priority.

Ultimately, the stakes are high. Experts have warned that a failure to adequately respond to the crisis risks diminishing ASEAN in the eyes of the world, and may challenge the bloc’s future unity and consensus-based politics. 

Those interested in participating in our discussion can register for the event here.

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Download Media Statement PDF File Here
For enquiries, please contact:
Amir Ridzuan Jamaludin, Assistant Manager, External Relations
T: +603 2070 8881/8882 | E: amir@ideas.org.my