Myanmar Military Regime Leader Allows ASEAN Envoy To Meet Aung San Suu Kyi's Party Member

Myanmar military regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. (Wikimedia Commons/Vadim Savitsky)

JAKARTA - Myanmar military regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing agreed to arrange a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) special envoy from Cambodia, with members of the ousted ruling party on an upcoming visit, a senior Cambodian official said Monday.

The pledge, made in a January 26 video call with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, is a small concession in a peace process that has been at a stalemate since Myanmar's military seized power a year ago from Aung San Suu Kyi's elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing did not identify which NLD members might be found, said Kao Kim Hourn, a minister in Prime Minister Hun Sen's office who was part of the video meeting.

"They said during a videoconference between our prime minister and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing they would give access to some NLD figures, but we don't know that yet," Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters by telephone, as quoted by Feb 7.

A spokesman for the Myanmar junta did not answer a phone call seeking comment on the matter.

Myanmar has been in crisis since the military seized power, with some 1.500 civilians killed in the junta's crackdown on its opponents, according to figures cited by the UN human rights office.

Engaging all parties to the Myanmar crisis in dialogue is a key pillar of the ASEAN peace process adopted by the 10-nation bloc last year. Among them are ending the violence and welcoming the special envoy.

Kao Kim Hourn acknowledged it was impossible for the envoy, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, to meet on his initial trip with Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the coup and faces criminal charges that carry a prison sentence of up to nearly 150 years.

"The idea, the goal is to meet with all relevant and important stakeholders. But maybe not all at once, it could be a number of visits. So, of course, it would be great if Mrs. Suu Kyi was included," Kao said.

To note, dozens of members of the NLD party have been detained since the February 1, 2021 coup.

Meanwhile, Nay Phone Latt, spokesman for the remaining NLD leadership in exile, said any meeting with ASEAN envoys must be approved by the party.

Min Aung Hlaing's promise was not enough for Cambodia to invite Myanmar to the ASEAN foreign ministers' retreat next week. Cambodia, this year's ASEAN chair, last week asked Myanmar to appoint non-political representatives, continuing the exclusion of junta officials that began at the annual leaders' summit last year.

Regarding the Myanmar Coup. VOI editors continue to unify the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by tapping this link.