Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties of the Republic of Korea issued a formal statement on 17 December urging Myanmar’s junta to take three key steps to resolve the national crisis, including an end to violence through an immediate ceasefire, guarantees for freedom of expression, and the initiation of inclusive political dialogues.
The lawmakers included these demands in a statement denouncing the junta’s human rights violations and its attempt to hold what they characterized as an illegal election. They specifically urged the junta to establish an inclusive election commission without excluding any political forces in order to ensure the credibility of the electoral process.
Additionally, the demands included ensuring that everyone in Myanmar, including ethnic minorities, has unimpeded access to humanitarian aid. The South Korean lawmakers stated they vehemently oppose any effort to justify violence and human rights violations in any form, expressing their firm belief that the only way to determine Myanmar’s future is through free and fair elections, inclusive political dialogues, and the restoration of people-centred democracy.
Regarding the junta’s planned election, the statement added that it is an attempt to legitimize military rule and consolidate power by the junta, meaning the international community cannot recognize it as legitimate in any way.
The statement also noted that the South Korean National Assembly is deeply saddened by the junta’s continued atrocities and violations of human rights, despite having already passed a resolution strongly denouncing the military coup in Myanmar and demanding the restoration of democracy and the release of detainees.
The lawmakers used the junta’s 10 December airstrike on a hospital in Mrauk-U, Rakhine State, which killed 33 civilians, as an illustration of this barbarism and conveyed their deepest sympathies to the citizens who perished.
This move follows an 11 December meeting where the Foreign Minister of the National Unity Government, Daw Zin Mar Aung, met with South Korean lawmakers at the Korean National Assembly to urge a formal condemnation of the junta’s planned election.
