ASEAN special envoy begins second visit to Myanmar
BANGKOK (AP) — Cambodia’s foreign minister arrived in Myanmar on Wednesday on his second visit as a special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to the country, which has been mired in violence and civil unrest since the military seized power last year.
State-run television MRTV reported that Prak Sokhonn and his party arrived in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and were welcomed by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ASEAN has been seeking to implement a five-point consensus it reached on Myanmar last year calling for dialogue among all concerned parties, provision of humanitarian assistance, an immediate cessation of violence and a visit by a special envoy to meet all parties. Cambodia is the current chair of the 10-nation grouping, which includes Myanmar.
Myanmar's military-installed government initially agreed to the consensus but has since made little effort to implement it, and the country has slipped into a situation that some U.N. experts have characterized as a civil war. Its stonewalling led fellow ASEAN members to block government leaders from attending major meetings of the regional grouping.
A spokesperson for the military government said on Tuesday that Prak Sokhoon will not be allowed to meet ousted government leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his five-day visit. Suu Kyi is being tried on multiple charges, including corruption, and was transferred last week to a custom-built solitary facility at a prison in Naypyitaw, the capital. Her supporters say the charges are politically motivated to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power.
The military ousted Suu Kyi’s elected government and then violently cracked down on widespread protests against its actions. After security forces unleashed lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, some opponents of military...