On 9 September 2021, over 60 former and current parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia have signed an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, urging his administration to take urgent action to support human rights and democracy in Myanmar, and express concern about its stated policy to wait on action by the ASEAN. 

In the case of Hakeem al-Araibi, the Thai government claims that its hands are tied.  They can do nothing.  They are only following the law, protocol, the judicial process – anything but justice and common sense. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on 6 February which absolved themselves of all responsibility.  Once they received the Interpol red notice (since withdrawn as invalid) and the request for extradition from Bahrain, ‘legal proceedings in Thailand regarding Mr Hakeem had already started and could not be reversed’. But they never had to start.

The Australian Government continues to have grave concerns about the actions of the military in Thailand. Since the military seized control of government functions on 22 May, the Government has registered our concerns to authorities in Bangkok through Australia’s Ambassador to Thailand and the Thai Embassy in Canberra. In line with our concerns, Australia is reducing our engagement with the Thai military and will lower the level of our interaction with the Thai military leadership.