ASEAN rejected the participation of the leaders of the Myanmar military government at this month’s summit in order to maintain the credibility and integrity of the organization.
The foreign ministers of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, ASEAN for short) held an emergency meeting on Friday (October 15) evening and decided to invite a non-political representative of Myanmar to participate in the regional summit to be held this month.
Brunei, the ASEAN presidency, said in a statement that due to the inability to reach an agreement on inviting Myanmar politicians to attend, it will invite a Myanmar non-politician to participate in the regional summit to be held from October 26 to 28.
The statement said, “Due to insufficient progress and concerns about Myanmar’s commitment, especially its commitment to establishing a constructive dialogue between relevant parties, some ASEAN member states have suggested that ASEAN give Myanmar room to restore internal affairs and normalize. “
The statement did not mention Min Anglai’s name, nor did it say who would be invited.
Brunei said that some member states have received requests from a government of national unity composed of opposition figures in Myanmar to attend the summit.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Saturday that the decision to exclude Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing from attending the summit was “a difficult but necessary decision to maintain the credibility of ASEAN.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the decision was made because of the lack of progress in the roadmap agreement between the Myanmar military government and ASEAN to restore peace in Myanmar in April this year.
A spokesperson for the Myanmar military government told the media that this decision was the result of “foreign interference.” He said that representatives of the United States and the European Union have put pressure on other ASEAN member states.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said in this regard that it was originally the responsibility of the Myanmar military government to decide on an alternative representative to attend the summit.
He told reporters, “We have never thought about removing Myanmar from ASEAN. We believe that Myanmar has the same rights.” “But the military government does not cooperate, so ASEAN must strongly defend its credibility and Upright.”
(This article is based on a Reuters report)
.