Myanmar’s junta has agreed to allow a special envoy from Cambodia, on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to meet with members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted ruling party, a senior Cambodian official said on Monday.
Myanmar’s leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing confirmed the news during a video call with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on January 26. However, the military leader did not clarify which members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party might be made available.
“They have said during the video conferencing between our Prime Minister and senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing that they would provide access to some of the NLD figures, but we don’t know those yet,” Cambodian government official Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters.
The spokesperson also acknowledged that it was unlikely that the special envoy, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, would be allowed to meet with deposed leader Suu Kyi on his initial trip, but said that “The goal is to meet with all relevant, important stakeholders. But it may not be on one go – it could be a number of visits.” “So, of course, it would be great to have Madame Suu Kyi be included,” he added.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn: ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat is scheduled for 16-17 February, adding his visit as the special envoy to Myanmar & his priorities in implementing the 5PC will be dicussed in this meeting. pic.twitter.com/NS00iC6TfP
— Noan Sereiboth (@noansereiboth) January 29, 2022
Former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup and currently faces various criminal charges that carry jail terms adding up to nearly 150 years.
Allowing ASEAN’s special envoy to meet with all stakeholders of the conflict was part of the ASEAN’s five-point consensus on ending Myanmar’s political crisis. The roadmap had been agreed upon last April. However, citing the junta’s “insufficient progress” in abiding by the plan late last year, the bloc barred political representatives from Myanmar, including Min Aung Hlaing, from participating in its meetings.
Despite resistance from the bloc, PM Hun Sen, in December, expressed support for the country’s participation saying: “It’s a family member of ASEAN, they must have the rights to attend meetings.” Following this, as the new ASEAN chair, Hun Sen also met with Min Aung Hlaing in January, sparking regional protest against the unilateral move.
Myanmar spiralled into crisis on February 1, 2021, after its military announced that it was overtaking the government for one year based on the claim that the NLD government had failed to act on claims of voter fraud in the November 2020 election. The NLD had won in a landslide victory with 83% of the votes.
Min Aung Hlaing became the leader of the military government, while several high-level politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint, were placed under house arrest. Nearly 1,500 people killed and 11,500 arrested since then.