YANGON (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar’s military-backed government rejected the latest call by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the unconditional release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying demands to do so are interfering with the country’s judicial process.
The bloc’s calls for access to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the release of other detainees "carry implications for the relevant judicial process and the fundamental principles of the rule of law in a sovereign state,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday. Any release will only be carried out in accordance with the law, it said.
The statement comes days after coup leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing visited Thailand, following years of regional ostracism for Myanmar in the aftermath of the military power seizure in 2021. Last month, Myanmar’s foreign minister met Asean counterparts in an informal gathering that was the first in-person engagement at that level since the coup.
The coup triggered a civil war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people, and prompted Asean to bar Myanmar from its summits until the country makes progress on the bloc’s so-called Five-Point Consensus. The roadmap calls for steps including ending violence against civilians and expanding humanitarian access.
Myanmar allowed Arnaud de Baecque, resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, to meet Suu Kyi earlier this month, releasing rare photos of the ousted leader in detention since the coup. Her prolonged imprisonment has fueled international concern over her health.
Asean’s chair - the Philippines holds the rotating position this year - said in a statement on Friday that it hopes for its special envoy to Myanmar, Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, to be allowed to visit the country to meet Suu Kyi and other parties. She visited the country and discussed with Min Aung Hlaing on how Myanmar can improve cooperation within Asean in January.
Myanmar’s foreign ministry also said it believes Asean doesn’t need to continue to have a special envoy to the country, a position that was created in the aftermath of the coup. That’s because the current government that emerged from the "multiparty democratic elections reflecting the genuine will of the people has assumed state responsibility.”
The vote that brought Min Aung Hlaing to the presidency was widely criticized on the international stage. It was a phased election that wrapped up in January this year and was held only in junta-controlled townships.
"Myanmar is of the view that the appointment and the continued role of the new Special Envoy of the Asean Chair are no longer necessary,” it said. "Myanmar will continue to enhance its engagement with Asean” in its own way while upholding and safeguarding its national interests and sovereignty, it said.
The ministry also reiterated Min Aung Hlaing’s state-of-the-nation address, saying Myanmar will take appropriate countermeasures, on a case-by-case basis, in response to unconstructive and discriminatory treatment. It urged Asean to refrain from actions that could be tantamount to exerting undue pressure or interference in the internal affairs of a member state.-- ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
