JakartaPost/Reuters-Jan 30, 2024
Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Monday pressed for an end to Myanmar’s bloody conflict and expressed unity in their backing for a regional peace plan and a “Myanmar-owned and led solution” to the crisis. In a statement after an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) retreat, the ministers gave support for efforts by the new special envoy on the crisis, from Laos, in “reaching out to parties concerned” and expressed confidence in his resolve to help the Myanmar people. Myanmar has been locked in conflict since the military seized power in a coup in 2021 that sparked nationwide chaos and abruptly ended a decade of tentative democracy and economic reform. The new special envoy, Alounkeo Kittikhoun, met the junta chief during a visit to Myanmar earlier this month, according to its state media. Neither ASEAN nor Laos has yet made an announcement about that trip and it is unclear if he met any anti-junta groups. ASEAN has faced internal discord over how to address the crisis. The junta has been fighting on multiple fronts to put down a rebellion by pro-democracy militias allied with a shadow government and ethnic minority armies, calling them “terrorists” and refusing to negotiate with them. More than 2 million people have been displaced. The previous ASEAN chair, Indonesia, initiated a flurry of quiet diplomacy to encourage dialogue between Myanmar’s warring parties, but some analysts have cast doubts on whether new chair Laos has the clout or will to advance that. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/2024/01/30/asean-foreign-ministers-back-myanmar-owned-and-led-solution-to-crisis.html.
