Myanmar junta chief senior general Min Aung Hlaing, who has ousted the elected government in a coup on February 1, presides an army parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021. REUTERS Stringer File Photo REUTERS
Oct 18 Reuters - Myanmar's shadow government formed by opposition to ruling military welcomed the exclusion of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming regional summit on Monday but said it should be the legitimate representative.
However, the opposition said it would accept inviting a non-political alternative Myanmar representative, as decided over the weekend by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ASEAN will invite a neutral representative from Myanmar to its Oct. 26 - 28 summit in an unprecedented snub to military leaders behind a Feb 1 coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government. The opposition National Unity Government NUG, which has been banned by the military, said that the non-political figure who attends the summit must not be a representative of the junta in disguise
ASEAN excluding Min Aung Hlaing is an important step, but we request that they recognise us as our proper representative, said its spokesman Dr. Sasa.
The decision was an unusually bold step for the consensus-driven bloc, which traditionally favours a policy of engagement and non-interference.
Brunei, asEAN’s current chair, issued a statement citing a lack of progress on a roadmap that the junta agreed to in April with ASEAN to restore peace in Myanmar.
A spokesman for Myanmar's military government blamed Myanmar for the decision which it said was against the objectives of ASEAN, the ASEAN Charter and its principles. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, which ended a decade of tentative democracy and economic reform. Thousands of its opponents have been arrested including San Suu Kyi.
Security forces have killed more than 1,100 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners AAPP, an activist group that has tracked the arrests and killings.