Generals excluded, Myanmar junta sends official proxy to ASEAN summit
Military-ruled Myanmar sent a bureaucrat to Monday's meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Laos, Indonesia's top diplomat said, adding the move was in line with ASEAN's policy on the conflict-torn country's attendance.
The continued exclusion of Myanmar's ruling generals from significant ASEAN meetings stems from their failure to implement a peace plan agreed upon with the bloc, marking two months since the 2021 coup that instigated turmoil in the nation.
While Myanmar's junta had previously declined ASEAN's invitation to send a 'non-political' representative, this time Myanmar's acting permanent secretary of the foreign ministry, Malar Than Htike, attended the discussions in Laos, according to information confirmed by two diplomatic sources.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that there were no changes in ASEAN's policy, reiterating that Myanmar's presence would not impact the organization's decision-making processes. Over the past two years, the junta has expressed displeasure over what it perceives as ASEAN interference in its internal affairs.
Retno, who led a discreet initiative last year to facilitate dialogue between conflicting parties in Myanmar, highlighted the ongoing commitment to finding peaceful solutions. In Myanmar, a crisis has unfolded since the 2021 coup, with over two million people displaced due to ongoing conflicts.
Human rights groups have accused the junta of employing excessive force and committing widespread atrocities against civilians. The situation remains complex, with pro-democracy militias, a shadow government, and ethnic minority armies engaged in a rebellion against the ruling junta.
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