ASEAN changed Myanmar statement on release of political detainees - sources

FILE PHOTO: General view of the ASEAN leaders' meeting at the the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat building in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 24, 2021. Courtesy of Laily Rachev/Indonesian Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A draft statement circulating the day before a Southeast Asian leaders' summit on the Myanmar crisis included the release of political prisoners as one of its "consensus" points, said three sources familiar with the document.

But in the final statement at the end of Saturday's meeting, the language on freeing political prisoners had been unexpectedly watered down and did not contain a firm call for their release, two of the sources said.