Myanmar junta leader set to join Asean summit in Jakarta

YANGON: Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing is set to join Southeast Asian leaders at a special summit in Jakarta next week, the Thai foreign ministry said Saturday, in what will be the coup leader’s first official trip since the military deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since the Feb 1 coup, Myanmar has been in turmoil – with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets to demand a return to democracy.

The junta has sought to quell the anti-coup movement with lethal force, killing more than 720 people and detaining some 3,100 activists, journalists and dissidents, according to a local monitoring group. The international community has largely condemned the junta for its use of force against unarmed civilians – deploying targeted sanctions against top military brass, their families and army-linked businesses.