ASEAN special envoy’s planned visit to Myanmar is still being negotiated as the special envoy has made various demands, but some of the demands cannot be compromised, says SAC Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in a speech on October 18th.
“When it comes to the ASEAN’s special envoy’s plan to visit Myanmar, we still have to discuss and negotiate because various demands have arisen. Any country has to act based on executive, legislative and judicial duties. We have announced that we are acting in accordance with the 2008 constitution. We could not reach a compromise for some demands made by the ASEAN envoy. Anyhow, we will do our best as our country is a member of ASEAN,” the Senior General said.
He also expressed his hope that the ASEAN Summit and ASEAN+ meetings would go in line with the ASEAN principles.
A five-point consensus was reached at the ASEAN meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 24. After a heated debate to choose a special envoy of the alternate ASEAN chair, it was agreed to appoint the second foreign minister of Brunei. At that time, Myanmar promised to implement the consensus based on the country’s political stability and in accord with the ASEAN charter, the Senior General said.
“Of the five points of the consensus, the first is most important. Full efforts were made to try to end violence as quickly as possible. But after this announcement, we have seen the incitement from the CRPH and NUG (organizations declared as terrorist groups), the involvement of some EAOs, and the worsening of violence. Till today, we have to handle these issues. No one cares about or deters their violent attacks, killings and destructions. Only do we have to face demands. Only we have to solve these problems. ASEAN needs to take notice of these,” he said.
He added that the people had known about tremendous vote rigging in the multi-party general election held on November 8, 2020. Therefore, lessons must be taken and great care is necessary to avoid the same mistakes. After the scrutiny of the electoral frauds, it was found that there were impacts on the people as well as the country. Thus, actions are being taken against those responsible in accord with the law, he said.
The Senior General said he understands ideological differences in a democratic country. However, protests and riots occurred based on different ideologies after the declaration of a state of emergency that resulted from the past electoral frauds. There were also demonstrations, acts of terrorism and killings that surfaced at the instigation of others. Some people themselves got involved in incitement and even in brutal killings, so they were exposed and actions were taken against them.
As a country plunged into such a situation due to different political ideologies, a five-point roadmap is being implemented. The aim is for the emergence of a genuine union, he said. Then, the Senior General expressed his wish for a peaceful state.
