Myanmar’s military government has criticized calls for ASEAN’s special envoy to the conflict-torn country to meet groups that oppose last year’s coup, which the junta has declared “terrorists.”
With little sign of the junta implementing a five-point peace plan agreed upon with ASEAN last year, which included an end to hostilities and letting a special envoy facilitate dialogue, growing divisions have emerged in the 10-member bloc over how to restore stability.
After last Thursday’s ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting, Indonesia said it was crucial for the envoy to meet all parties in the conflict, with Malaysia calling for talks with the National Unity Government (NUG), a group made up of members of the ousted administration and other junta opponents.
Photo: AFP
“The ministry notes that while some deliberations were constructive on the implementation of the five-point consensus, two members have suggested special envoy to engage with unlawful associations and terrorist groups,” the goernment said in a statement.
In its first public response to last week’s ASEAN meeting, the ministry said that suggesting the envoy engage with such groups was “not only contrary to the principles of the ASEAN charter, but also undermine ASEAN’s counter-terrorism efforts.”
Representatives from the military-controlled government have not been invited to ASEAN meetings since late last year.
Myanmar has been in crisis since the military overthrew an elected government a year ago, with more than 1,500 civilians killed in a crackdown against junta opponents, according to figures cited by a Thai-based activists group.
The military, which has disputed the death tally, is also fighting on multiple fronts with ethnic minority forces and armed pro-democracy groups in the countryside.
NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung welcomed the call by Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Saifuddin Abdullah for the special envoy, Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn, to meet with NUG.
In a message on Twitter, Zin Mar Aung thanked Saifuddin for his “strong support to find a solution on Myanmar and his clear message to the special envoy.”
Sokhonn said that engaging with the NUG was complicated because of the junta’s objections, adding that being an envoy could act as a “bridge.”
He said that his predecessor as ASEAN envoy was unable to visit Myanmar because of preconditions by some ASEAN members that the ruling generals found unacceptable.
Those included access to Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the elected government ousted in last year’s coup. She is on trial accused of multiple crimes.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
RSS