More than 3,600 people have been killed by Myanmar security forces since 2021 coup Indonesia positioned to play ‘critical role’ to end violence by ruling junta JAKARTA: The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights called on ASEAN chair Indonesia on Wednesday to take leadership in resolving the Myanmar crisis as he urged the regional bloc to hold its member’s ruling junta accountable for grave human rights violations. Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, was on a mission to Indonesia to meet government and ASEAN officials, as well as Rohingya refugees in Aceh province. “I came to Indonesia because the human rights situation in Myanmar is dire and getting worse, and because I believe that Indonesia is positioned to play a critical role in the resolution of this crisis,” Andrews told reporters in Jakarta. Over 3,600 people have been killed by security forces since the junta took power in February 2021, with 19,000 more imprisoned, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a nongovernmental organization that tracks killings and arrests. “I’m worried that the deepening crisis in Myanmar has become invisible to much of the world, and that some governments are beginning to think that the junta’s tyranny is inevitable. This narrative is exactly what the junta wants and needs to prevail,” he said. Andrews highlighted Indonesia’s “importance in the region and the world” as ASEAN chair this year, a member of the Group of 20 biggest economies, and Southeast Asia’s most populous country and biggest economy. “ASEAN must consider measures to impose accountability on the junta for its grave human rights violations and blatant disregard for implementation of the Five-Point Consensus,” Andrews said. “Even if ASEAN remains deadlocked, I urge Indonesia to reach out to those nations who support the people of Myanmar and engage in coordinated actions that will isolate and degrade the junta’s capacity to attack the people of Myanmar.” The Five-Point Consensus plan, also referred to as 5PC, was forged by ASEAN with Myanmar’s top general in April 2021. It called for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar and dialogue among contending parties to seek a peaceful solution. Andrews’ call comes weeks after Indonesian President Joko Widodo warned ASEAN leaders that the bloc’s credibility was at stake due to the deadly violence in Myanmar. As part of his trip, the UN special rapporteur also met with Rohingya refugees who had fled persecution in Myanmar. Hundreds ended up in Indonesia last year after dangerous sea journeys that left them stranded for weeks on boats in the Indian Ocean. “Indonesia is in a strong position to act as a leader — in the OIC, ASEAN and beyond — to advocate for durable solutions to the crisis facing the Rohingya,” he said. “It is literally a matter of life and death for the international community to reassess its current course of action or, in some cases, inaction and to forge a new path forward with and for those whose lives are at stake. This will require principled leadership, leadership that Indonesia is well placed to provide not only for the region, but also the world,” Andrews said.