Malaysia’s Anwar urges ASEAN to speak up on Myanmar violence

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to speak up and hold Myanmar’s military leaders accountable for blatant human rights violations, but says the country should remain in the regional bloc. Anwar, who took office in November, has become one of the most vocal critics in ASEAN of Myanmar’s military, which seized power in 2021. In a lecture at the University of the Philippines, he urged ASEAN to speak up on atrocities in Myanmar and not be restrained by the group’s bedrock principles of deciding by consensus and non-intervention in each other’s domestic affairs. He says “non-intervention” is not a license for indifference.