On the eve of his two-day visit to Myanmar, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said his agenda was close to the five-point ASEAN plan for Myanmar aimed at tackling the crisis that erupted with the military coup staged almost a year ago.
According to a dispatch from the official Agence Kampuchea Presse, Hun Sen said no preconditions had been set for the visit, but the items on the agenda were not far from the five-point ASEAN consensus endorsed in Jakarta last April.
“If the results are fruitful, it may bring peace to Myanmar and the people of Myanmar will acknowledge the efforts of the ASEAN member states,” he reportedly said.
The ASEAN plan called for an immediate cessation of violence, constructive dialogue among all parties, mediation to be facilitated by an envoy of ASEAN’s chair with assistance of the secretary-general, humanitarian assistance and a visit by the special envoy to Myanmar.
Cambodia holds the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2022, enabling Hun Sen to try and negotiate peace; however, others within the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations have accused the prime minister of “going rogue” and “cowboy diplomacy.”
Hun Sen declined to provide further details but ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said the visit failed to respect the Five Point Consensus on Myanmar agreed to by all ASEAN leaders and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who staged last February’s coup.
Meanwhile, the junta has escalated violence against the people of Myanmar, including the massacre of more than 30 people in Kayah state on Christmas Eve
“Furthermore, his actions and stated intention to instate the junta as the representatives for Myanmar undermines ASEAN credibility and fundamentally threatens both regional bloc cohesion and efforts to return to a democratic path in Myanmar,” APHR said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, the junta has escalated violence against the people of Myanmar, including the massacre of more than 30 people in Kayah state on Christmas Eve and intensive attacks in Karen state throughout December which have drawn widespread international condemnation.”
Hun Sen has also been accused of dividing ASEAN and pleasing the Chinese by attempting to bring the junta back into the regional bloc after they were shunned for ousting Aung San Suu Kyi and her government following a landslide election victory in November 2020.
Min Aung Hlaing was refused entry to the ASEAN Summit in October after members said they preferred a non-political figure given the junta’s failure to follow through on the five-point agreement.
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According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, almost 1,400 people have been killed and 11,328 have been arrested in the past 11 months.
Earlier this week, Cambodian foreign minister and ASEAN’s special envoy on Myanmar, Prak Sokhonn, described the outlook in the country as dire and echoed warnings from the United Nations that all the ingredients for civil war are now on the table.
“There are now two governments, there are several armed forces, people are undergoing what they call the civil disobedience movement and [there is] guerrilla warfare around the country,” he said.
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