The shadow government in exile demands to be the only legal representative of Myanmar. Southeast Asian countries propose to invite a neutral, non-political representative.
Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies)-The shadow government of Myanmar, composed of exiled opponents of the military government, welcomes the decision of Southeast Asian countries to exclude the Chief of Staff of the Army from the summit.
The Government of National Unity (Gun) added that one of their representatives should be invited to attend the summit in place of General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the armed forces (Myanmar Army) who claimed to be the prime minister. “ASEAN’s exclusion of Min Aung Rai is an important step, but we ask them to recognize that we are the true representatives of (Myanmar),” a Gun spokesperson said.
In recent days, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has proposed to invite a neutral non-political representative to participate in the summit to be held from October 26 to 28. The military government spokesperson criticized ASEAN’s choice and blamed it on “foreign interference.”
For ASEAN, which has always advocated non-interference in the internal affairs of its member states, the decision to exclude representatives of the military government is unprecedented in history. The organization stated that the Myanmar Army has not made any progress in restoring peace in Myanmar.
The military government seized control of the country in a coup on February 1, and then violently suppressed anti-coup protests. Opponents including the country’s former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Aung San Suu Kyi) have been arrested. To date, the armed forces have killed more than 1,100 people in the country and at least 215,000 have been displaced.
In April, ASEAN and General Min Lai agreed to a five-point plan to restore peace in the country, but regional countries accused the military government of failing to comply with the plan and effectively withdrew from the agreement.
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