3 yıl önce

Myanmar’s junta chief backs ASEAN peace efforts

Min Aung Hlaing has said that he will facilitate the ASEAN special envoy's visit to Myanmar as well as meetings with the all parties concerned, including ethnic groups.

AP

The statement came after a meeting between Min Aung Hlaing and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The head of the military junta in Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, has agreed to support peace efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the country.

The Myanmar military junta leader said on Saturday he “welcomed” the participation of the special envoy of the ASEAN chair on Myanmar to join cease-fire talks.

He said his government had “declared a five-month ceasefire … until the end of February 2022" and decided to further extend it until end of the year.

The announcement came during a meeting between Min Aung Hlaing and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was on a visit to Myanmar.

According to the joint statement, Min Aung Hlaing said that he will facilitate the ASEAN special envoy's visit to the country and meetings with the all parties concerned, including ethnic groups.

Hun Sen, for his part, emphasised that a complete peace and national reconciliation cannot be achieved without participation and agreement of the all parties involved.

Cambodian PM visits

Hun Sen, who himself seized power in a 1997 coup and has in subsequent elections been criticised over crackdowns on his political opponents, returned from Myanmar on Saturday after a two-day trip.

Myanmar's state media reported that Min Aung Hlaing had thanked Hun Sun for "standing with Myanmar".

Hun Sen's visit was the first by a head of government since the army overthrew the civilian administration of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 1 last year, sparking months of protests and a bloody crackdown.

The army has said its takeover was in response to election fraud and was in line with the constitution.

Five-point ASEAN peace efforts

Cambodia’s foreign minister Prak Sokhonn, who accompanied Hun Sen to Myanmar, denied the trip amounted to backing the junta, saying it was another way of working to implement a five-point ASEAN peace plan adopted in April.

He also confirmed that Hun Sen did not ask to meet with Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate who has been in detention since the army takeover last year and faces more than a dozen criminal charges.

Prak Sokhonn, expected to take up the post as special envoy for Myanmar, said the refusal of the current envoy, Brunei's foreign minister, to visit without guarantees he could meet with Suu Kyi was unproductive.

"If they build a thick wall and we use our head to hit it, it is useless," Prak Sokhonn told reporters.

"Cambodia uses different approaches to achieve the five-point consensus.''

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies