ASEAN envoys in Myanmar for talks on current situation

NAY PYI TAW: Envoys of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are in Myanmar to hold talks with top officials about the current political situation in the country following the February 1 military coup.

The envoys are Second Minister of Brunei's Foreign Affairs Erywan bin Pehin Yusof, whose country currently holds the rotating chair of the ASEAN, and the bloc's Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, Xinhua news agency reported.

Upon their arrival, they met Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the Chairman of Myanmar's State Administration Council (SAC) and Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, here on Friday.

According to an SAC statement, both sides exchanged views on matters related to the outcomes of a recent ASEAN leaders' meeting on Myanmar; implementations of ASEAN recommendations from the Preliminary Needs Assessment; ASEAN's efforts on access to COVID-19 vaccines; and bilateral friendship between Myanmar and Brunei.

The Myanmar military leader apprised ASEAN envoys of the progress of review on the 2020 general elections in Myanmar, situation of terrorist actions, matters related to re-holding elections when the country restores stability and future cooperation plans on humanitarian assistance, the statement said.

A five-point consensus was reached by ASEAN leaders regarding the situation in Myanmar at the bloc's leaders meeting in Jakarta in April.

The consensus called for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar and for constructive dialogue among all parties involved in the fighting, suggested a special envoy of the ASEAN Chair to facilitate mediation of the dialogue process and pledged to provide humanitarian aid to the country.

The February coup ousted the democratically-elected government of former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The reason for the siege was because the military alleged that there was massive voting fraud in the country's November 2020 general elections, which saw Suu Kyi's NLD party win a majority of seats in both houses of parliament. Nationwide protests against the coup have been met with fierce army reprisals that left hundreds of people dead. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group, at least 818 people have been killed so far, while more than 5,300 have been detained. (IANS)

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