The current chair of Asean hosted a meeting of “important political groups” from army-ruled Myanmar, officials said, in an effort to advance the regional bloc’s long-stalled peace plan.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma Theresa Lazaro (pic), who took over this year as Asean’s special envoy to the crisis in Myanmar, said discussions at the “stakeholders’ meeting” in Tagaytay included talk of de-escalation, facilitating aid delivery and fostering political dialogue.
“I encouraged their active, constructive and meaningful sharing of perspectives on the implementation of the Asean Five-Point Consensus,” Lazaro said of the meeting on X, referring to the peace plan agreed between Asean and Myanmar in 2021.
Lazaro’s meeting follows her trip to Myanmar earlier this month, when she met ruling general Min Aung Hlaing and had what Manila said was a “warm and constructive exchange of views”.
Dominic Xavier Imperial, a Philippine foreign ministry official, yesterday confirmed the military government was not represented at this week’s meeting and declined to name the attendees at their request.
“Important political groups were represented,” he said in a text message.
Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since a 2021 coup that triggered a protest movement, which was brutally suppressed by the military. The situation has devolved into a civil war between the military and a loose alliance of rebel groups.
Myanmar – a resource-rich former British colony, which has been governed by the military for most of the past six decades – is facing one of the most serious humanitarian crises in Asia.
Thousands have been killed in post-coup conflict and, according to the United Nations, 3.6 million people were displaced.
A spokesperson for the junta did not answer calls yesterday. Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meeting.
Myanmar is holding a phased general election, with two of three voting rounds already completed and official results so far showing a party allied with the military winning the majority of seats.
A third round is scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Though turnout has been low, the junta has said the election will bring political stability, describing it as “a victory for the people”.
Critics and some Western governments have called the vote a one-sided sham to perpetuate army rule through civilian proxies.
The Chin National Front, an ethnic minority rebel group that holds territory near Myanmar’s northern border with India, confirmed that it had attended the two-day meeting this week and praised envoy Lazaro for making early headway in talking to all sides.
“This was a positive meeting,” its spokesperson Salai Van said.
“We are optimistic about the situation.” — Reuters
