Myanmar coup: Southeast Asian ministers to discuss peace process in Indonesia

The foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries will be meeting in Indonesia this week to discuss the peace process agreed upon by Myanmar’s junta government. The upcoming meeting will discuss the process and the recommendations ahead of the ASEAN Summit.

The Cambodian foreign ministry said Sunday that the foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries would be having a meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Thursday. The meeting will focus on implementing the five-point peace consensus the 10-member bloc presented to the Myanmar junta, which the junta agreed to last year to end the violence that has plagued the country.

Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told Reuters that the meeting in Indonesia would also focus on coming up with recommendations on how to move forward with the peace process ahead of an ASEAN Summit that will take place in November. Cambodia is the current chair of ASEAN.

This also follows comments made by Malaysian foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah that the bloc needs to decide by November whether the peace plan is still relevant. This comes as members of the regional grouping have also expressed frustration on the lack of progress coming from the junta, which included engaging with the shadow government and a complete end to the violence.

Hundreds were killed in the military’s crackdown on the protests last year when the generals seized power and overthrew the elected government, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thousands have also been detained for opposing the military, which led to international condemnation and sanctions.

Wednesday last week, a clash inside Myanmar’s biggest prison led to at least eight people being killed. Bombs inside packages exploded inside the prison, leading soldiers to open fire in response.

In a statement on social media, an armed anti-junta group claimed responsibility for the clash inside Insein prison, saying that it was in retaliation against junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.

“Today…the Special Task Agency of Burma, carried out two attacks to execute the prison head. We’re retaliating against Min Aung Hlaing and…the prison officers for continuously oppressing our revolution comrades,” said the statement, referring to Myanmar by its other name, Burma.