Myanmar visit didn’t achieve its goals: ASEAN special envoy

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Though the three-day trip to Myanmar “got some constructive outcomes,” it did not achieve the expected goals, said the special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Prak Sokhonn, also the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Cambodia, on Monday had traveled to Myanmar, which has been under military rule since February last year.

During his stay in Myanmar, he met Burmese Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Administration Council – the junta administration – of Myanmar “to discuss the progress in implementing the ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus (5-PC),” Cambodia’s official AKP News reported on Wednesday.

It was the second high-profile visit by a Cambodian official to Myanmar, following Prime Minister Hun Sen's January visit, the first by any foreign leader since the Burmese military deposed the elected government.

Sen later also held virtual talks with Myanmar’s military ruler Hlaing.

Sokhonn was appointed as special envoy by Sen in his position as the current chair of ASEAN.

Briefing media upon his return from Myanmar, Sokhonn said the junta administration refused to grant him access to ousted Aung San Suu Kyi.

The country's military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, deposing the government led by Suu Kyi over allegations of fraud in the 2020 general elections.

The military takeover triggered mass protests in Myanmar, with the junta forces killing more than 1,500 people in a crackdown on the dissent, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local monitoring group.

Lately, the protests have died down.

“Senior General Min Aung Hlaing responded simply that the meeting would be possible in a future visit of the special envoy, as currently she and other arrested politicians are under the court procedures, and according to the Myanmar law, they cannot meet with outsiders,” the report said.

Sokhonn, however, held separate meetings with other officials of the junta administration.

He briefed Myanmar leaders on three key initiatives: The ASEAN Troika mechanism which consists of Brunei (former ASEAN chair), Cambodia (current ASEAN chair), Indonesia (next ASEAN chair), and the ASEAN Secretary-General “to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the 5-PC, the formation of the ‘Friends of Myanmar’ group to support the work of ASEAN and Myanmar, and the creation of a humanitarian assistance corridor.”