Justice For Myanmar urges ASEAN to reject junta’s sham election and end complicity

As Southeast Asian leaders gather in Kuala Lumpur for the 47th ASEAN Summit, the human rights group Justice For Myanmar has issued a direct appeal to ASEAN to end what it calls the bloc’s “complicity” in the Myanmar junta’s international crimes.

The group is demanding that ASEAN reject the junta’s upcoming election, which it claims is an attempt to manufacture legitimacy through a rebranded regime and coercive violence.

The junta, which seized power on 1 February, 2021, continues to commit widespread human rights abuses. According to Justice For Myanmar, these include indiscriminate airstrikes, mass killings, sexual violence, torture, and the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Children have increasingly become casualties of the conflict, the group warns.

More than 22,000 individuals remain arbitrarily detained by the military, with torture and censorship reportedly escalating in recent months.

Justice For Myanmar argues that ASEAN’s response—particularly its Five-Point Consensus adopted in 2021—has failed to contain or address the junta’s abuses. Instead, it claims, ASEAN’s political and economic engagement has served to enable further atrocities.

“The junta’s so-called polls are not a path to democracy, but a façade designed by the junta to falsely legitimise its reign of terror,” said Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung.
“There can be no free, fair or credible election organised by an illegitimate junta. ASEAN must unequivocally reject this fake process.”

ASEAN member states and businesses are accused of maintaining financial and logistical ties with the military regime. Justice For Myanmar states that at least 54 companies based in ASEAN countries continue to do business with the junta and its affiliates.

These ties reportedly include sectors such as oil and gas, land leasing, timber, telecommunications surveillance, and aviation fuel supply. Such industries are described by the group as “lifelines” sustaining the junta’s campaign of terror.

The group further alleges that the junta is funding its activities through cyber scams and transnational crime networks, contributing to broader regional instability.

ASEAN’s own defence frameworks have also come under scrutiny. According to Justice For Myanmar, the military has used its participation in ASEAN defence dialogues to gain access to intelligence and training. These forums, the group says, have allowed the junta to build propaganda, expand military capabilities, and forge strategic relationships despite its pariah status.

As part of its preparations for the upcoming election, the junta has rebranded the State Administration Council (SAC) as the State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC). Justice For Myanmar warns that this change is designed to bypass international sanctions and blur lines of accountability.

Countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union—who have already imposed sanctions on SAC—are being urged to update these sanctions to include SSPC, to prevent circumvention.

Yadanar Maung said ASEAN must act now to “deny the junta any form of legitimacy,” adding that it is time to end support for businesses that enable repression.

“ASEAN’s failure to address corporate complicity has fuelled the junta’s terror.
"The bloc must urgently act to cut off the flow of money, technology, and aviation fuel,” Maung stated.

Justice For Myanmar is calling on ASEAN leaders to take the following steps at the Summit:

• Reject the junta’s rebranded SSPC and its planned election.

• Bar the junta and its representatives from all ASEAN processes and platforms.

• Pressure member states and regional businesses to sever economic and logistical ties that support the junta’s operations.

Finally, the group stresses that ASEAN has a regional responsibility not only to support the people of Myanmar but also to protect broader regional security from the spillover effects of the junta’s transnational crimes.