Human Rights Watch denounced Thursday, April 7 a meeting between the Australian ambassador and the head of the military junta of Myanmar, considering that it "
credibilized
" a regime accused of war crimes.
Read alsoIn Burma, a year after the coup, the resistance still defies the army
Outgoing Australian Ambassador Andrea Faulkner met junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday.
According to state media Global New Light of Myanmar, the two men discussed "
enhancing
" their "
cooperation in various sectors
".
Katrina Cooper, from the Australian Foreign Office, said the ambassador used the meeting to reiterate his calls for Burma to end the violence and release the detainees - mostly opponents of the junta.
"
This meeting is not only deeply unacceptable, but it undermines the efforts of other governments to isolate the military commander implicated in serious abuses
," said Manny Maung, Burma researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“
By taking pictures and accepting gifts, Australia only serves to lend credibility to a military junta accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against its own people.
»
Seven other meetings with the junta
Since a military coup toppled the administration of Aung San Suu Kyi last year, Burma has become increasingly isolated internationally, with governments urging the country to end a deadly crackdown democratic demonstrations against the military junta.
"
The Australian government does not consider the outgoing meeting legitimizes the current regime
," Ms Cooper told a Senate committee in Canberra.
Manny Maung has urged Australia to "
align with its traditional allies
" by avoiding further high-level meetings with the junta and immediately imposing sanctions.
Read alsoFaced with the military junta, the Burmese hesitate between war and exile
Australian officials reported seven other meetings and phone calls with the junta since the coup, but assured that no sector of the country was engaging with the regime.
Australia has also repeatedly called for the "
immediate release
" of economist Sean Turnell, adviser to civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, detained by the Burmese military junta for a year.
The Southeast Asian country has descended into chaos since the February 1, 2021 coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi and ended a fragile 10-year democratic parenthesis.