BANGKOK – Three key Asean member states have indicated they will not be sending representatives to the informal talks today to ‘fully re-engage’ with Myanmar, as proposed by the Thai caretaker government.
“Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir is not coming to Bangkok. There will be no representative from Malaysia,” a source said.
Reuters reported that Asean Chair Indonesia has declined to attend the proposed meetings, and its Foreign Ministry said it “hasn’t heard” about the invitation.
Meanwhile, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington that “it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level” as there is no sign of improvement in Myanmar after more than two years.
The Thai Foreign Ministry also declined to comment on the informal talks.
Myanmar-focused news website The Irrawaddy had reported earlier that Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, in a letter, proposed to host an informal ministerial meeting with Myanmar on June 18 to 19.
The meeting is part of “the unequivocal statement by a member nation of Asean” during the leaders’ summit in Indonesia in May that it was time for the bloc to fully “re-engage Myanmar at the leaders’ level”, the letter said.
“A number of members supported the call, some were willing to consider it, and there was no explicit dissenting voice.
“Should this informal ministerial engagement make substantial positive progress, we would like to suggest that a carpe diem back-to-back meeting of leaders be convened thereafter,” the letter said, quoted by The Irrawaddy.
Since the junta deposed a civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup on February 1, 2021, Myanmar has witnessed turmoil, with clashes between civilians and armed forces recurring almost regularly.
The 5PC, which was agreed to in April 2021 following the military coup, calls for the immediate cessation of violence, the holding of dialogues with all key stakeholders, the appointment of a special envoy to facilitate mediation, the delegation’s visit and meeting with stakeholders in Myanmar, and to allow Asean to provide humanitarian assistance to people in Myanmar.
However, there has been little progress achieved in the implementation of the 5PCs, and Myanmar’s ruling generals have been barred from attending Asean’s high-level meeting due to their failure to honour the agreement.
Since the military coup, more than 3,600 civilians have been killed, over 19,000 have been arrested, and more than 1.8 million have been internally displaced or have fled the country, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. – Bernama, June 18, 2023
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