Ahead Of The Meeting Of The Minister Of Foreign Affairs, ASEAN Leaders Highlighted The Increase In Violence In Myanmar

Illustration of the flags of ASEAN countries. (Wikimedia Commons/Gunawan Kartapranata)

JAKARTA - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is deeply concerned about the escalating violence in Myanmar, the bloc chairman, Cambodia, said in remarks ahead of a special meeting of foreign ministers on Thursday to discuss the crisis.

"We are deeply saddened by the increasing casualties, and the great suffering experienced by ordinary people in Myanmar," Cambodia said in a statement, calling for restraint, immediate cessation of fighting, asking all parties to have a dialogue.

Myanmar's generals have been barred from ASEAN's high-level gatherings since last year, when soldiers toppled Nobel laureate-selected government Aung San Suu Kyi, detained her and thousands of activists, as well as launched a deadly crackdown that had sparked an armed resistance movement.

A spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Myanmar would not participate in Thursday's meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

The meeting aims to produce recommendations on how to encourage the peace process ahead of next month's ASEAN summit.

The ASEAN chairman cited Myanmar's biggest prison bombings, the conflict in Karen State and airstrikes in Kachin State on Sunday, which local media said killed at least 50 people, as an example of a recent increase in violence.

The conflict not only exacerbates the humanitarian situation, but also undermines efforts to implement an agreed peace plan between ASEAN and the junta last year, the statement said.

So far, ASEAN has led international peace efforts, but the junta has done little to honor its commitment to the ASEAN 'consensus', which includes an immediate cessation of violence and starting a dialogue towards a peace agreement.

Instead, the junta said it was trying to restore order by fighting 'terrorists' who would not engage in dialogue.

Separately, ASEAN has invited Myanmar's non-political representatives to Thursday's meeting, but the military government has so far not accepted the offer, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.

It is known, ASEAN has long had non-interventional policies in matters of member sovereignty, but some countries have called for the bloc to take action against Myanmar's military junta.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said ASEAN should " seriously review" the plan and "if it should be replaced with something better".

"Ministers must decide what to do with the Five-Point Consensus, whether to leave it as it is and hope for the best, or add more decisive steps," said Khin Zaw Win of the Tampadipa Institute, an independent think tank of Myanmar.