 |
| "Dramatically changed": ASEAN takes Myanmar crisis reaction into consideration |
If the generals continue to hang political detainees, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has stated that it may reevaluate a deal reached with Myanmar to stop the turmoil brought on by the military takeover.
The so-called Five-Point Consensus, which was agreed upon last April, has been pushed for the government to execute by the 10-member group, which includes Myanmar, and has criticized last week's death of four democratic campaigners.
The military representative was not allowed to attend the ASEAN foreign ministers' conference in Phnom Penh.
Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia and the current chair of ASEAN, warned at the beginning of the summit, "If additional inmates are killed, we will be compelled to reassess... our position vis-à-vis ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus."
In Myanmar, more than 70 political prisoners have received death sentences, while at least another twenty-four have received absentee judgments.
The political and security ramifications of the situation in Myanmar, which has sparked an economic and humanitarian crises, according to Hun Sen, have threatened ASEAN's unity.
Since the military took control in February 2021 and imprisoned elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her cabinet, over 2,145 people have died.
Though the Five-Point Consensus had "not advanced to everyone's hopes," Hun Sen said that there had still been some advancement, especially in the provision of humanitarian help.
The death of the activists by the military administration, he continued, had "changed tremendously" the situation and made it worse than it had been before to the peace deal.
Though the Five-Point Consensus had "not advanced to everyone's hopes," Hun Sen said that there had still been some advancement, especially in the provision of humanitarian help.
The death of the activists by the military administration, he continued, had "changed tremendously" the situation and made it worse than it had been before to the peace deal.
ASEAN is convening after coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, whose government has been subject to international isolation and sanctions, reaffirmed that Myanmar remained an ASEAN member and would endeavor to put the consensus into action.
In the highest-profile visit to Naypyidaw since Hun Sen's trip there in January, the army leader is expected to see Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later on Wednesday.
Just two weeks after the army chief's visit to Moscow, according to a briefing from the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Lavrov was scheduled to meet with Min Aung Hlaing and the foreign minister of the military government, Wunna Maung Lwin.
Rights organizations have claimed that the military has been attacking civilian targets with aircraft made in Russia. In February, Tom Andrews, a Special Rapporteur for the UN, claimed that Russia had provided the military with drones, two different types of fighter jets, and two different types of armored vehicles, one of which had air defense systems.
Lavrov will travel to Myanmar first, then proceed to Cambodia for the meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers. Wang Yi, China's senior diplomat, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are also anticipated in Phnom Penh.
The war between Russia and Ukraine, North Korea's missile testing, and worries about regional security are just a few of the topics that ministers are anticipated to discuss.
