The National Unity Government (NUG) claims it had no engagement with any individuals from the Myanmar junta, at discussions on the Myanmar crisis held in Indonesia.

The comment was included in a press release from Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry following a meeting of the Office of the Special Envoy on Myanmar in Jakarta from 20 to 22 November.

It took place as Myanmar resistance forces were carrying out offensive attacks under Operation 1027 and had captured many military outposts (As of 26 November the resistance forces had captured more than a hundred junta military outposts.)

The NUG issued a statement on 25 November clarifying the comment. It stressed that whilst the NUG took part in the meeting, it had no face-to-face meetings with any of the Myanmar junta representatives who were attending.

The NUG statement said: “As the international community including the United Nations supports ASEAN’s intervention in addressing the Myanmar crisis, the National Unity Government has been engaging only with ASEAN at the ‘Separate Meeting conducted based on Groupings’ of ASEAN.”

It also said that the purpose of the engagement was to provide timely updates on the development of the Spring Revolution and to accurately and clearly communicate its position to ASEAN.

The Office of the Special Envoy on Myanmar set up by Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a press release on 22 November saying that it had organised a meeting attended by major stakeholders of Myanmar to push forward implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) and work towards the convening of inclusive dialogue for a comprehensive and durable political solution to the crisis in Myanmar.

It added, “This meeting was conducted separately based on groupings; interlocutors for the Myanmar authority key representatives of the Spring Revolution group including the NUG, as well as representatives of the PPST.”

In response to Indonesia’s news release, the NUG said, “Without the assurance of ending the military dictatorship and establishing a federal democratic union, without the genuine will of the people, spring forces and alliances, and without a guarantee of a transitional period where justice is fully upheld, there will be no engagement."