Myanmar coup: Military-appointed foreign minister barred from ASEAN meeting

One year since the brutal coup by the military in Myanmar, the nation has become more isolated from the international stage than ever. The ASEAN alliance has barred Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister from its upcoming meeting.

An official from Cambodia, the country that chairs ASEAN at this time, said Thursday that Wunna Maung Lwin, the foreign minister appointed by Myanmar’s junta government, will not be attending the upcoming meeting among the alliance’s foreign ministers this month. The official cited that Myanmar has not shown progress in the peace plan agreed to by the country’s top general Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power by staging a coup last year.

A non-political representative from Myanmar will instead be attending the upcoming meeting that will take place on February 16 and 17.

“Since there has been little progress in carrying out ASEAN’s Five-Point consensus, the ASEAN member states did not reach a consensus to invite Myanmar SAC’s foreign minister to participate in the upcoming foreign ministers’ retreat,” said Cambodian foreign ministry spokesperson Chum Soury.

The military coup led to a brutal crackdown with security forces killing over 1,500 civilians on anti-coup protests. Military and pro-democracy groups in the more rural areas have also clashed, including ethnic armed groups.

Back in October, ASEAN barred Min Aung Hlaing from attending a summit, a move deemed unprecedented. The alliance, however, is divided on its individual stances towards the situation in Myanmar. Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen apparently supported engaging with the junta government.

Meanwhile, the junta government has filed another charge against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, marking an eleventh criminal charge related to corruption. The new case against Suu Kyi was announced Thursday, in the midst of the military’s new attacks on civilians in the northwestern region of Saigang. Troops reportedly burned down up to 400 homes, forcing their residents to flee the area.

The 11th corruption charge against Suu Kyi, according to the police, was that the ousted leader allegedly received $550,000 as a donation for a charity named after her mother. It has yet to be determined when the court hearings for the charges against Suu Kyi would begin.