Ministerial Statement — Myanmar—Executions by Military Regime

I wish to make a ministerial statement on the execution of activists in Myanmar. On Monday, 25 July Myanmar’s State-run newspaper announced the execution of four people, including political figures Phyo Zeya Thaw, Kyaw Min Yu, Hla Myo Aung, and Aung Thura Zaw. The four were tried by a military court and reportedly denied access to legal counsel. This is a horrifying act by Myanmar’s military regime. These executions are the first in Myanmar in decades and speak further to the regime’s brutality since the coup. Our sympathies and thoughts are with the families and the loved ones of the victims at this time, and with the families and loved ones of all of those who have been killed by the military regime.

In response, I issued a statement on 26 July which notes Aotearoa New Zealand’s strong and longstanding opposition to the death penalty and condemns the executions in the strongest possible terms. New Zealand has also joined a statement at Foreign Minister level with other like-minded countries condemning the executions. Prior to the executions, New Zealand made direct representations to the Myanmar embassy in Canberra. We also shared our concerns via a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and also at the UN Human Rights Council.

In the aftermath of the military coup in February 2021, New Zealand acted quickly and decisively to express our condemnation and to take measures to place pressure on the regime towards a return to civilian government. Immediate actions included suspending high-level political and military bilateral engagement; travel bans on those responsible for the coup and/or ongoing human rights abuses; and ensuring our Government-funded cooperation activities are not channelled through or benefit the military. Since this time, we have consistently called on the military regime to immediately end the violence, adhere to ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus and release all political prisoners including foreign nationals. We have made numerous public statements including in regional and multilateral fora, such as ASEAN ministerial meetings and UN bodies, which have made clear New Zealand’s position and condemnation of the coup.

On 1 February this year, New Zealand announced further travel bans on those with direct responsibility for the coup and/or ongoing human rights violations in Myanmar. New Zealand has also taken a position that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will not enter into force between New Zealand and Myanmar until such time as New Zealand considers a valid instrument has been deposited by Myanmar, and the requisite timeframe under the agreement has elapsed.

Throughout this difficult time we have continued to support the people of Myanmar, who face growing humanitarian needs as the coup’s impact damages the economy and forces high levels of displacement. New Zealand has stepped up its humanitarian and resilience-building assistance since the coup to support the people of Myanmar. We have provided over $17 million to support Myanmar’s internally displaced people; agricultural livelihoods and food security assistance; COVID-19 control and mitigation; protection and advocacy for international humanitarian law; and increasing the resilience of at-risk populations.

New Zealand has been in close contact with our international partners and New Zealand community groups to understand their views on the situation in Myanmar and how we can work together to place pressure on the military regime. This includes regular contact with the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) member States. New Zealand is strongly supportive of ASEAN efforts and leadership on the situation in Myanmar. In April 2021, ASEAN leaders agreed a Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar—ending violence, inclusive dialogue, appointment of a special envoy, visit of the special envoy, and humanitarian assistance—and New Zealand has been engaging with ASEAN to support this process. The ASEAN chair has made clear ASEAN’s condemnation of the executions and the damage that this has on regional efforts to resolve the situation in Myanmar.

I will be engaging with my ASEAN counterparts, and other like-minded partners, on what more can be done to support ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus to help end the violence and return Myanmar to civilian rule. The first opportunity to do this will be at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 4 to 5 August, which I will attend in person. ASEAN has a practice of not inviting political level participation from Myanmar in the current circumstances, and we anticipate that this will be the case for these meetings. I will be using statements during these meetings to once again reiterate New Zealand’s condemnation of the coup and these executions.

The New Zealand National Party joins the Government in condemnation of the executions of the four pro-democracy prisoners in Myanmar, Burma. History records that Burma has long, as a country, been beset by the sort of strife that ensures far too much human misery. It’s a country that has been an international concern for many years. Post-independence, in 1948, saw a period where democracy was developing—until 1962, when the coup occurred. First, that prevailed until democracy was partially restored in 2010. But, after the elections of 2020, a military coup again took over the country, and it is objection to that junta that has led to the four being executed.

There has been—and can be expected—much condemnation of the executions from all around the world. Since most of the recent condemnation has also been directed at the coup, with a strong recommendation for the restoration of democracy, the coming meetings will be all the more important. The question now has to be: what more can be done, and what can New Zealand particularly do, to work alongside other nations that have similar concerns, particularly the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), as mentioned by the Minister, so that the 55 million Burmese who want to return to democracy can live freely in their own country?

While we condemn these actions of the Myanmar junta, for allowing and defending the executions, we recognise that those four people—Kyaw Min Yu, Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo Aung, and Aung Thura Zaw—have given their lives for a cause dear to so many Burmese people. I’m sure that history will not see their lives lost in vain. So my question to the Minister is: what additional support will the Minister propose in support of the five-point plan when she’s at the ASEAN meeting next week?

The way that ministerial statements work now is that they are interactive. When a question is asked of the Minister, the Minister replies at this point. Mr Brownlee still has some more time to go when he gets a response.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. My apologies to the member; I misunderstood the rules. Can I thank the endorsement of the National Party for the decisions that the Government’s taken. In my statement I reiterated that New Zealand was quick to support ASEAN’s leadership and the development of the Five-Point Consensus. We’ve been absolutely consistent in terms of endorsing an ASEAN-led solution and made that very clear from the time that the consensus has been revealed. I’ll also refer the member to my statement and that we’re mindful of the humanitarian needs within Myanmar, and also the way in which we’ve been providing support direct to organisations that can support the humanitarian needs in Myanmar.

Can the Minister tell the House why she thinks greater isolation of those who are running that country at the present time will be useful in trying to persuade them to change their ways, given that diplomacy seems to be the only likely way out of the situation in Myanmar/Burma?

Just in response to that question, that is not what I said. We continue to engage with ASEAN, and we believe that the centrality of ASEAN’s leadership is very important. While we do not engage at a diplomatic or defence level with leaders of the military, in terms of ASEAN and the infrastructure of ASEAN at a government-officials level, it has been a useful forum to be able to convey our concerns in relation to what’s happening in Myanmar.

What are the assurances the Minister has that the $70 million provided so far for humanitarian assistance in Myanmar is being spent appropriately to make people’s lives better and not contribute to the activities of the junta?

This is a significant decision that the Government took when we ceased high-level diplomatic, political engagement and started to channel our humanitarian funds through organisations that were servicing communities and people on the ground, and we have sought assurances through our humanitarian aid networks to maintain the support that is required but also maintain the integrity of that support to assure us that it is getting to where it needs to go. There are far too many people suffering. We want to make sure that those organisations are enabled to be able to support them.

Yes, the question was about what the assurance is that there’s no particular gain to the junta by making that assistance available.

As I say, the support that the Government provides is not through the military regime; it is direct to the organisations that are able to provide the humanitarian support that we’ve identified is required and needed.

Clearly, the member is not remote—Golriz Ghahraman.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s good to be here in person, though it is in no joyous mood that I stand, firstly, to recognise the courage and humanity of the people of Myanmar as they face yet another bout of violence in an ongoing, harrowing atrocity being committed by the junta.

We do join with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to condemn in the strongest terms the murder by execution—and masked by a military court—of Kyaw Min Yu, who was better known as Ko Jimmy, Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo Aung, and Aung Thura Zaw. This is a chilling act being faced by this brave nation, who have continued to fight for democracy, and I want to recognise also the Myanmari community here in New Zealand. I know firsthand the heartbreak of being far away from home as you know that a repressive so-called regime is committing acts of violence against your countrymen. We stand with you here in Aotearoa, and we send aroha to your whānau and community back at home.

Of course, this is nothing new, as others have said. The junta has been a force of atrocity in Myanmar for decades, and I want to recognise the minority communities like the Rohingya community, who have already faced a genocide committed by this military force, both in and out of power. I do want to commend our Minister for taking very swift action when the coup first happened, both in diplomatic terms, and in increasing humanitarian aid, and in public condemnation of the coup.

My question is one of three, but the first to the Minister is whether the Government will take immediate action to seize or prevent any investment or trade that may directly or indirectly contribute to the acts of the junta. I do want to note that we found out last year that even our Superannuation Fund may be involved in continued investments in building companies, for example, that continue to build for the junta. I want to note as well and ask the Minister to let us know the ongoing work that’s being done as a result of the independent review of our export controls regime, which found that, actually, trade or exports that were being approved by her ministry weren’t being done in a systematic way to uphold our human rights obligations, and ask whether she’s seeking to introduce legislation, as was recommended by that review.

In the immediate aftermath of the coup on 1 February 2021, New Zealand acted quickly and decisively—as the member points out—to express our condemnation and to take measures to place pressure on the regime towards a return to civilian government. Immediate actions included suspending high-level political and military bilateral engagement, travel bans on those responsible for the coup and/or ongoing human rights abuses, and ensuring our Government-funded cooperation activities are not channelled through or benefit the military. In relation to the direct question that was asked by the member, can I say that progress has been made to ensure—in relation to the Superannuation Fund—that a responsible investment framework is in place and we continue to monitor that framework.

Thank you. My second question is: will she set the minds of Myanmarese in New Zealand to rest, in particular those who might be on temporary visas, by assuring them that they will not be made to return at any point while it’s still unsafe to do so, and to provide safe and timely pathways to residency for those who wish to avail themselves of that right?

Many in this House will recall that this was a matter that was raised with regards to students studying here, and were concerned that they wouldn’t have the ability to have their visas extended. At the time, the undertaking was that those matters would be dealt with. We have not since had any representation from any of those students that were impacted that they are dissatisfied with the approach that we’ve taken.

Thank you. And finally, I do commend the Minister in noting that in international forums we won’t participate or be trading with the junta as the Government of Myanmar, but I would ask whether our Government can undertake now to call upon all our allies and trading partners to desist from and to refuse to recognise the junta as the official Government of Myanmar, continuing to recognise the Unity Government of Myanmar as the elected and legitimate Government of Myanmar.

We will certainly use our voice to highlight the concerns that we have with the military regime—and in relation to the executions that take place—that are entirely consistent with New Zealand’s position on the death penalty. How they choose to exercise their decisions around their interests are a matter for them. But we believe that the best opportunity to do that is to support both regional and international architecture and fora, to be able to ensure that we are acting with like-mindeds. Can I just note that the ASEAN leadership of the Five-Point Consensus is one avenue that we can continue to affirm a way forward to seek a resolution, and we’ll continue to do that as well as in other fora.

On behalf of the ACT Party, I wish to share our condolences with the family members and loved ones of the four political prisoners and democracy activists executed in Myanmar by the military regime. We condemn these violent actions that violate human rights and the rule of law. They are barbaric. Nobody in any country should be persecuted for their political beliefs. No matter our beliefs, we all share in a common humanity.

These political prisoners were persecuted for their belief in democracy, for wanting their country to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of movement, and property rights. These are values that ACT and this Parliament seek to uphold, but it’s saddening to anyone who believes in democracy to see it under threat around the world and to see people lose their lives for wanting freedom and democracy. We should speak up against human rights abuses when and where we see them, and so the ACT Party joins this Government in condemning the executions carried out in Myanmar.

We call on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to also condemn these executions. The CCP was unwilling to condemn the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, but will they condemn this action? Once again, we share our condolences with the family members and the loved ones of those executed for their beliefs. Our thoughts go out to you. My question is to the Minister: will this Government call on the Chinese Communist Party to condemn these executions in line with the United States?

We will be absolutely consistent in advocating for a return to civilian Government and condemn the executions that have taken place, with all members of the ASEAN group, including strategic partners.

I call on general business.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Tēnā koe e te Pīka. Tēnā tātou e te Whare.

Well—yes, I realise they get a call, but the member never took it. I called the next matter. Unless any member objects, I will return and let the member have her call. But I do want to remind her of the obligation to take calls when they’re available. I’m not a mind reader as to whether people want a call or not.

Sorry about that, Mr Speaker, I didn’t hear. I rise on behalf of Te Paati Māori, thank you, to support the ministerial statement from Minister Mahuta this afternoon. We join with the Government in totally condemning the senseless and brutal executions of political prisoners in Myanmar. Our hearts go out to the whānau and communities who are reeling from the disgraceful act of violence. The death penalty has no place in a civilised and moral world, and using the power of the State to oppress, terrorise, and murder political prisoners is the kind of disgusting behaviour we see from dictators and despots around the world. The Myanmar Government is being run by a totalitarian military junta, who have rightly been condemned across the world for suppression of human rights and attacks on ethnic minorities. The four men who were executed were campaigners for democracy and human rights. They put themselves on the line in the fight for liberation and freedom.

The United Nations has warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Myanmar with an intensification of violence and a rapid rise in poverty. We are disappointed to see the comments of the Government of China and their refusal to condemn these actions. The innocent lives of ordinary people are continually being sacrificed in the power games of imperial powers. We have seen it with Myanmar and Tibet, we’ve seen it in the Ukraine and Eastern Europe, and we’ve seen it in the Middle East. Aotearoa must strengthen our commitments to human rights and denounce these acts, whoever they are committed by. We can be an example of the world leader nation with an independent foreign policy that reflects our place in the South Pacific. That is what Te Paati Māori will support and continue to fight for. Nō reira, tēnā tātou katoa.