Anti-government protesters hold banners to show their support and welcome the new government of national unity found by lawmakers expelled from the NLD and call for the continuation of the traditional New Year strike in Myanmar, Yangon, Myanmar, on 17 April 2021. REUTERS / Stringer /
Myanmar’s neighbors must negotiate with a newly formed national unity government if they want to help resolve the turmoil caused by a military coup on Feb. 1 and must not recognize the board, a government official said. unit.
The ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying to find a way out of the bloody bloodshed that has ravaged the Myanmar member since the military ousted an elected government led by the democracy Aung San Suu Kyi.
The army has shown little willingness to engage with its neighbors and has no signs of wanting to talk to the government it ousted.
But in the first hint of the group’s progress, board chairman Min Aung Hlaing will attend an ASEAN summit in Indonesia on April 24, a Thai government official said on Saturday. Read more
It will be the military chief’s first known foreign trip and meeting with foreign leaders since he took power. The board has not commented on the ASEAN meeting.
Moe Zaw Oo, deputy foreign minister of a National Unity (NUG) government set up last week, said ASEAN should not recognize the Myanmar board.
“If ASEAN is proposing actions related to Myanmar affairs, I would like to say that it will not succeed if it does not negotiate with the NUG, which has the support of the people and has full legitimacy,” Moe Zaw Oo told Voice of America’s Birman language service in an interview published Sunday.
Pro-democracy politicians, including members of parliament expelled from Suu Kyi’s party, announced the formation of the NUG on Friday. It includes Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the coup, as well as leaders of pro-democracy protests and ethnic minorities.
The NUG has sought international recognition as a legitimate authority and had requested an invitation to the ASEAN meeting in place of Min Aung Hlaing.
“It is very important that the board’s advice is not recognized,” Moe Zaw Oo told VOA, adding that the unity government had not been invited to the meeting in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Myanmar security forces have killed 730 people in their efforts to end protests against the coup, according to the activist group’s Political Prisoners Assistance Association, which has received condemnation from countries. and unprecedented criticism from various ASEAN members despite the bloc’s principle of not interfering in the affairs of others.
EXPLOSIONS, SHOCKS
In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga condemned the violence by Myanmar security forces against civilians.
“We pledge to continue taking steps to press for the immediate cessation of violence, the release of detainees and the rapid return to democracy,” they said in a statement Friday.
The U.S. embassy posted the statement on Twitter on Sunday. It made no reference to the NUG.
On Sunday there were crowds on the streets of several Myanmar cities to show support for the NUG.
Security forces shot dead two protesters in the ruby mining town of Mogok on Saturday, a resident told Reuters.
Several small bombs exploded in the main city of Yangon, killing one soldier and injuring several people, media reported.
There were no liability claims for the explosions. The army has accused protesters of carrying out bombings.
The coup has also sparked clashes between the army and insurgents from ethnic minorities in the north and east who have expressed support for the protesters. The fighting has forced thousands of civilians to leave their homes in the border regions.
The military has defended its coup alleging that the result of the November elections was fraudulent, although the election commission rejected those objections.
Suu Kyi faces several charges, including the violation of an official act of secrecy that could see her imprisoned for 14 years. His lawyers reject the charges.
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