ASEAN talks peace with Myanmar junta
YANGON: Myanmar’s shadow government of ousted politicians has welcomed a call by Southeast Asian leaders for an end to “military violence” after their crisis talks in Jakarta with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The general attended a high-level summit on Saturday with leaders from the 10country Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss the mounting crisis.
Since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February 1 coup, Myanmar has been in an uproar — with near-daily protests and a nationwide boycott of work in all sectors of society staged to demand a return to democracy.
Security forces have deployed live ammunition to quell the uprising, killing more than 740 people in brutal crackdowns, according to local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
But the ASEAN meeting produced a consensus that there would be “an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar”, said a statement released by the bloc on Saturday night.
ASEAN will also have a special envoy to “facilitate mediation” between all parties, and this representative will be able to travel to Myanmar.
A spokesperson from a shadow government of ousted politicians — many of whom are from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party — on Saturday welcomed the call for an end to violence.
“This is what the National Unity Government has been calling for,” said an NUG spokesman known as Dr Sasa, who is currently in hiding.