It was a tough struggle.

Months after their special summit, the ten ASEAN states agreed on a special envoy for Myanmar, who should work on behalf of the confederation to find a solution to the crisis in the Southeast Asian country.

The choice fell on a compromise candidate who had only been considered at the end of the lengthy process.

Till Fähnders

Political Correspondent for Southeast Asia.

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Earlier, three other candidates had been mentioned, each of whom were diplomats from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, all with experience in negotiations with Myanmar. The junta in Myanmar itself, who as an ASEAN member and had been granted a say under the consensus principle of the confederation of states, favored the representative from Thailand. Indonesia, which has campaigned heavily in the Myanmar crisis, wanted to get its candidate through.

But now, according to a statement by the ASEAN foreign ministers, the Southeast Asians have agreed at a virtual summit on Yerevan Yusof, a diplomat who is second foreign minister alongside the sultan in the small Southeast Asian state of Brunei.

Since Brunei is holding the rotating ASEAN presidency this year, he had already negotiated with the junta on behalf of the union of states in the past few months.

The envoy should fly to Myanmar soon

For this very reason, the appointment is viewed critically by many.

ASEAN's response to the crisis has so far been extremely disappointing, said Kasit Piromya, a Thai-native representative of a human rights group of Southeast Asian parliamentarians.

The confederation is divided on the Myanmar question. Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, which have condemned the military's actions since the February 1 coup and called for the release of State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, criticized the slow progress in finding an envoy. In contrast, Thailand, which is itself led by a former junta, still maintains close ties with the military in Myanmar after the coup. For this reason, the junta probably wanted an ambassador from there. It is also viewed critically that the diplomat comes from a country that itself does not comply with human rights standards. The representative of Brunei, of all people, has now been tasked with “convincing a murderous army to adhere to these principles,” says Piromya.

The envoy is expected to travel to Myanmar soon. According to the Foreign Minister's declaration, he should have access to all parties involved there. It is unclear whether a meeting with the arrested Suu Kyi will take place. The ambassador must be careful not to become the junta's plaything, warned the Thai Piromya. Quite a few coup opponents have the impression that ASEAN is being led around by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Just a few days after the much-vaunted ASEAN special summit in Jakarta in April, he had signaled that he only wanted to implement the “consensus” he had co-decided there on his own terms. The struggle for the ambassador has bought him time to consolidate his power and give himself a tinge of legitimacy. He has just appointed himself prime minister of a civil “transitional government”.