Myanmar's general could be barred from attending the ASEAN leaders' summit

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

The military has made "no progress" on the peace plan approved in April, according to a regional envoy, while Malaysia says it may initiate negotiations with the shadow administration.

 

Following the generals' failure to make progress on an agreed road map to restore peace after their February coup plunged the country into chaos, Southeast Asian countries are considering not inviting Myanmar's military regime's leader to their leaders' summit later this month, according to a regional envoy.

 

The military's inability to implement a five-point plan agreed to with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in April was "tantamount to retreating," according to Erywan Yusof, ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar.

 

Myanmar has been in chaos since army head Senior General Min Aung Hlaing seized control on February 1, putting an end to ten years of timid advances toward democracy and provoking huge demonstrations and civil disobedience.

 

Brunei's second foreign minister, Erywan, said the ASEAN group was "deep in discussions" about not allowing the military administration to participate in a virtual summit slated to begin on October 26.

 

"There has been no progress on implementing the five-point consensus up until now, which has caused concerns," Erywan added.

Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar's military administration, did not return calls from the Reuters news agency on Wednesday.
At a news conference last week, he said Myanmar was engaging with ASEAN "without jeopardising the country's sovereignty."

 

Supporters of democracy and the National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow administration set up by MPs who were pushed out of office by the generals, have criticised the bloc's efforts to interact with Myanmar's military.