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UN envoy urges inclusive ASEAN approach to Myanmar crisis

Thursday, 13 January 2022 10:54 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 13 January 2022 10:54 AM ]

The file photo of a Myanmarese soldier standing guard during a day of anti-junta protest rallies.

The United Nations (UN) special envoy to Myanmar has called on Southeast Asian nations to support international efforts to engage all sides to the conflict in Myanmar in order to find a peaceful solution to the escalating violence in the country.

Noeleen Heyzer, Myanmar's new envoy, made the appeal at a Thursday virtual meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the new chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who traveled to Myanmar last week to meet the country's military ruler.

Heyzer sought progress in a stalled five-point peace plan, the UN said in a statement, adding that "The special envoy advocated for confidence-building measures involving all stakeholders, in addition to ethnic armed organizations."

Hun Sen visited junta leader Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday to revive peace efforts following last year’s military coup. The visit provoked an angry backlash among critics, who said he is legitimizing the army’s seizure of power.

UN envoy urges Security Council action to prevent civil war in Myanmar

The United Nations (UN) special envoy for Myanmar urges the UN Security Council to take immediate action to prevent the further escalation of the crisis in the Southeast Asian country.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup on February 1. Suu Kyi and several other senior figures from the National League for Democracy (NLD) party have been in detention over election fraud allegations. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have held numerous protests against the coup leaders in the Southeast Asian country, demanding the release of Suu Kyi and the other detainees.

The military junta has used lethal force against unarmed civilians, which has drawn widespread backlash. The junta's brutal crackdown on dissent has left more than 1,400 people dead, according to activists cited by the UN.

Myanmar's military forces were also involved in a campaign of genocide against Muslim Rohingya that started in 2017.

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Myanmar’s junta has filed a new corruption charge against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the latest in a series of allegations to have been leveled against her by the military rulers since she was toppled in a coup in February.

The conflict has caused discord within ASEAN about how to deal with Myanmar.

Heyzer further urged Cambodia's incoming Myanmar envoy Prak Sakhonn to work with her and the international community on "a coordinated strategy towards creating an enabling environment for inclusive dialogue."

"She emphasized solutions needed to derive from engaging directly with and listening carefully to all those affected," the UN said.

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