LETTER: The anti-coup protesters in Myanmar now escalating and the growing outrage at the military's overthrow of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi will have an implication on regional stability.
The coup has now brought the 10-year experiment with democracy to a crashing halt.
We register our condemnation on the coup. This definitely will not augur well for peace and stability in the region.
The junta regime of 1962 until 1988 saw the people of Burma under the impunity of the military.
We take cognizance of the suppressive regime when the Citizenship Act was enacted in 1982 by the junta. Since then, the minority communities especially the Rohingyas became the target of the worst ethnic persecution in the world.
We stand firm that the democratic process of Myanmar must be respected and the military must reverse its takeover and resume the civil government elected by the people in the November 2020 election.
We believe that a military government of Myanmar will halt the process for Myanmar to engage with the international community.
Asean as a one community region needs a democratic process to prosper if it wants to create a healthy cooperation between its member states.
We call all the Asean leaders to ensure peace, security and freedom to be maintained in the region.
A military oppression and clash on dissenters must not be allowed as it will end up in a blood bath.
We call the international community to apply pressure on the junta regime to resume the civil rule of the people.
This second coup cannot be tolerated as it will jeapordise the socio-economic and cultural-political health of the region.
We call Asean to convene an emergency meeting to assess the Myanmar situation as many member states of Asean will be impacted by the coup.
We take note the engineered subversion of democracy will affect the Rohingya crisis at the micro-level.
Myanmar's military is the chief architect of Rohingya persecution and genocide.
The international community should take deep concern on the possible repeat of another mass crackdown on the remaining 600,000 that are still remaining in the Rakhine state.
The Rohingyas who are now stateless are fearing a backlash caused by the resurgent militant majoritarianism under martial law.
The international community needs to be more vigilant in preventing a repeat of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar.
The remnant Rohingyas continue to face systematic persecution and live under the sustained threat of genocide, as said by the United Nation's fact-finding mission on Myanmar in their report previously.
This, to us, is posing a threat to humanity in the region and beyond.
We also condemn the nationwide blockade of the internet, similar in magnitude to an earlier shutdown. Cutting off the people of Myanmar from having access to communication lines will escalate tensions between the people and the military government.
The NLD who had popular support in the last 10 years of civil rule must recognize that the rights of the minorities must be re-instituted. The people of Myanmar should embrace the diverse harmonious cohabitation of race, creed and religion as the only way to integrate in the larger Asean community.
We urge the people and all civil societies of Myanmar to stand together irrespective of religion to reclaim democracy and to reassert their will as one nation.
Sectarian divide and communal hatred will weaken the resolve to move forward in the objective of integrating in the one Asean community.
MOHD AZMI ABDUL HAMID
President Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations (MAPIM), Director, International Advocacy for Justice and Peace Institute
DATUK SERİ SYEKH AHMAD AWANG
Chair Alliance of World Mosques in Defence of Al Aqsa
DATUK WIRA SYEKH ABDUL GHANİ SAMSUDIN
Chair Secretariate Ulama Assembly of Asia
DATUK HASSANUDIN MOHD YUNUS
Member of Parliament Malaysia
AHMAD TARMIZI SULAIMAN
Member of Parliament Malaysia
HERRY NURDI
International Justice Network Indonesia
JAMAL ABDUL NASIR
Justice and Development Association Cambodia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times