Homes lay flattened by suspected military air strikes in the district of Mutraw, also known as Papun, in eastern Myanmar's Karen State, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Air strikes this week by Myanmar's military on villages inhabited largely by the Karen ethnic minority killed a number of civilians, and destroyed two churches, two relief organizations said Friday. - AP
JAKARTA/YANGON, Jan 14 (Bernama): Asean chair Indonesia will set up a special envoy’s office to deal with the post-coup crisis in Myanmar, reported Vietnam News Agency, quoting Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
Retno said the special envoy’s office, which will be spearheaded by her, is crucial to enable a national dialogue to address the ongoing crisis.
As the holder of the Association of South-East Asian Nations’ chairmanship for 2023, she said Indonesia will work according to the five-point consensus - referring to the bloc’s plan for putting Myanmar back on a democratic path.
Retno added that Asean will also continue to collaborate with the United Nations special envoy in dealing with the Myanmar issue.
The Myanmar military toppled an elected government on Feb 1, 2021, and since then has carried out a widespread campaign of torture, arbitrary arrests and attacks that target civilians, according to the United Nations and human rights groups.
More than 2,700 people have been killed and more than 17,000 have been arrested in Myanmar, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. - Bernama
