Southeast Asian foreign ministers will discuss excluding Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming regional summit at a meeting on Friday, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have strongly criticized the military governmentтАЩs inaction on a five-point plan that it agreed to with the bloc in April, centering on dialogue among all parties, humanitarian access and an end of hostilities.
FridayтАЩs previously unscheduled, virtual meeting will be hosted by current ASEAN chair, Brunei, said the sources based in ASEAN member countries, who included a diplomat and another government official.
MyanmarтАЩs military spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not respond to calls seeking comment on the meeting. BruneiтАЩs foreign ministry did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Erywan Yusof, the blocтАЩs special envoy to Myanmar, last week confirmed some members had been тАЬdeep in discussionsтАЭ about not inviting the coup leader to the Oct. 26-28 virtual summit.
He said the juntaтАЩs lack of commitment to the process was тАЬtantamount to backtracking.тАЭ ErywanтАЩs office declined to comment on FridayтАЩs meeting.
Myanmar, with a long history of military dictatorship and international allegations of systematic human rights abuses, has been ASEANтАЩs trickiest issue since the group was formed in 1967, testing the limits of its unity and its policy of non-interference.
The United Nations, United States and China, among others, have backed ASEANтАЩs efforts to find a diplomatic solution, but pressure on the group has mounted in recent months, with some critics calling for tougher measures to respond to MyanmarтАЩs recalcitrance.
More than 1,100 people have been killed since the coup, according to the United Nations, many during a crackdown by security forces on strikes and protests allied with Aung San Suu KyiтАЩs ousted government.
Erywan said this week he was in consultations with parties in Myanmar, does not take sides or political positions and looks forward to a visit.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tin, in written remarks dated Wednesday, said the envoy would not be allowed to meet Suu Kyi because she is charged with crimes.
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