Burma: ASEAN special envoy meets junta leader


ASEAN’s special envoy for Burma met junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on Monday (March 21) to try to renew dialogue in the country, which has been in chaos since the February 2021 coup against Aung San Suu. Kyi.

The two men discussed “the violence that results from political disagreementand humanitarian cooperation, the Burma Army Information Team said in a statement. Nearly 1,700 civilians have been killed by the security forces since the putsch and nearly 13,000 arrested, according to a local observatory, the UN denouncing possible crimes against humanity and war crimes. The visit to Burma of Prak Sokhonn, Cambodian Foreign Minister and new envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is due to end on Wednesday. It aims to “encourage political consultations (…) with all parties concerned“Said the Cambodian government, without further details.

ASEAN diplomatic efforts

Prak Sokhonn had asked to meet during his stay with representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow body made up of former MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party – many of them in exile – and representatives of minorities. ethnic. The junta, which placed the NUG on its list of terrorist organizations, immediately rejected this request. The diplomatic efforts made by ASEAN have so far remained a dead letter.

The bloc adopted, in vain, almost a year ago, a five-point plan to try to restore dialogue. Faced with the lack of progress, he excluded the junta from several meetings. Burma has descended into violence since the coup. Citizen militias supported by ethnic minorities have taken up arms against the regime in several regions of the country.


SEE ALSO – “We risk our lives”: in the jungle of Burma, nurses treat Covid in secret from the junta



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