Indonesia hosts international meeting on Myanmar with UN, junta rivals, sources say

(Reuters) – Indonesia is hosting an international meeting involving the United Nations and opponents of Myanmar’s ruling military, sources with knowledge of the talks said on Friday, as a regional effort to end a civil war fails to gain traction.

Myanmar is embroiled in a bloody crisis stemming from a crackdown on pro-democracy protests that followed a 2021 coup by its military, which is battling on multiple fronts to contain a nationwide rebellion by a movement allied with several ethnic minority armies.

The United Nations, the regional bloc ASEAN, the European Union and Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) would be at the talks, according to a source with knowledge of the two-day meeting.

A diplomatic source confirmed the NUG was in Indonesia for talks, while a third source said the United Nations was at a special meeting on Myanmar.

A fourth source said a meeting was being held in Indonesia involving “stakeholders” in the Myanmar crisis.

The sources did not provide details on the other attendees, or proposals being discussed.

Asked about the meeting, Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat said there were plans for talks between ASEAN special envoys on the Myanmar crisis, but he gave no details of attendees or a timeframe for the talks.

Myanmar’s military government and the delegations of the U.N. and EU in both Myanmar and Indonesia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for the NUG declined to give comment or confirm the meeting was taking place.

DIALOGUE ELUSIVE

The meeting comes just days away from a summit in Laos of leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose peace plan for Myanmar, drawn up three years ago, has so far failed despite repeated calls for dialogue.

The bloc, currently chaired by Laos, has expressed openness to other avenues to support its plan, including mediation from neighbouring countries and organisations outside of ASEAN.

Reuters reported last month that a think-tank funded by the Indian government had invited anti-junta groups involved in the rebellion to a New Delhi seminar next month.

Last year, former ASEAN chair Indonesia said it had received positive signals about preliminary dialogue from major parties in the conflict, but there has been no signs of advancement yet.

The junta has refused to engage in talks with its rivals, calling them terrorists bent on destroying the country.

Last month it urged its armed opponents to halt their rebellion and join the political fold for an election next year, a call that was rejected by several groups, and dismissed by some analysts as a hollow gesture.

It is not clear if any anti-junta groups have agreed to run in the election, which has already been widely dismissed as sham.

The outcome is unlikely to be recognised by Western countries, with dozens of parties disbanded for not registering to run, including the dominant National League for Democracy, whose government the generals toppled in the coup.

(Reporting by Poppy McPherson, Shoon Naing, Panu Wongcha-um, Stanley Widianto and Ananda Teresia; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Angus MacSwan)