Myanmar junta protests Chin right’s group meeting with Timor-Leste president

The Myanmar military has condemned a meeting between the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) and Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, accusing the rights group of meddling in the country’s internal affairs, state media reported.The junta also claims the engagement violates the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s’ Charter. The CHRO dismissed the junta’s objection as “baseless and despicable,” saying its meeting with Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta was not interference and noting that a Timor-Leste court accepted CHRO’s complaint on January 12 seeking to prosecute Myanmar’s military for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Chin State. Salai Mang Hre Lian, the CHRO spokesperson and program officer, told Myanmar Now that the junta’s objection is baseless. “I see this as a truly despicable move by the junta,” he said. “The judiciary and executive are separate in each country, yet the military is applying pressure based on its own narrow administrative logic. This approach is baseless, and it reflects a very limited understanding of diplomacy and politics.”He added that because Myanmar's junta-controlled judicial system cannot deliver justice regarding war crimes, the junta is applying to take action through Timor's legal channels. Salai Mang Hre Lian also stated that the court complaint was not discussed during the meeting, and that discussions with the Timor-Leste president focused broadly on regional responsibility within ASEAN to uphold stability, human rights and democracy in light of the Myanmar junta’s post-coup war crimes and abuses. "From Timor's side, there is no violation [of the ASEAN Charter],” he said. “There is no political interference either. Their judiciary and administration are separate.”A CHRO official said the junta has no authority to decide whom a sovereign head of state may meet, adding that its demand for “clarification” over an independent legal case itself interferes with another country’s judiciary and runs counter to the ASEAN Charter’s rule-of-law commitments.The junta stated its foreign ministry summoned Timor-Leste’s chargé d’affaires in Naypyitaw on January 16 to object and “seek resolution,” adding that it has clashed repeatedly with the embassy—objecting to the inclusion of the civilian led National Unity Government (NUG) delegation at Timor-Leste’s 2023 swearing-in ceremony and expelling the Timor ambassador from Yangon later that year. Although Timor-Leste recognises and engages with Myanmar’s NUG, it did not invite the junta to the ceremony, a move that angered the military leadership. The junta has also recently objected to Timor-Leste’s bid for ASEAN membership. “Looking at the ASEAN Charter, it clearly states how to protect human rights, how to promote them, and how to advance democracy,” Salai Mang Hre Lian said.

Myanmar junta protests Chin right’s group meeting with Timor-Leste president

The military accuses the Chin Human Rights Organization of breaching the ASEAN Charter after it met Timor-Leste’s president

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