Myanmar’s junta rejected a request from former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to hold talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, imprisoned after being overthrown in a military coup in early 2021. UCA News reported this on May 10.
The junta’s military spokesman, Zaw Min Tun, said in an audio message that “there is no reason to ease [переговоры] right now,” as the junta focused on holding the promised elections.
“We will avoid problems that could delay or disrupt future [избирательные] processes”says the message.
The military has justified its coup by saying that the November 2020 election was fraudulent and that Suu Kyi’s ouster would make way for a new fair vote, which has not yet been held.
On May 7, Hun Sen requested talks with Suu Kyi during a video conference with Myanmar junta chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, which followed talks with the military diplomatic envoy in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.
Tun also criticized former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a close friend and former economic adviser to Hun Sen, after he reportedly held talks with some ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) fighting the junta.
“We believe that encouraging terrorist groups that destroy Myanmar’s interests is inappropriate.”Thun stressed.
Hun Sen ruled Cambodia for almost 40 years before handing power to his eldest son last August.
His request for talks with Suu Kyi came after Thailand’s call to form a troika within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to negotiate with warring parties.
The trio will include Indonesia, which held the ASEAN presidency last year, current president Laos and Malaysia, which will take over the presidency in 2025.
ASEAN and its five-point peace plan for Myanmar have been heavily criticized for failing to negotiate with all parties to the conflict. However, new momentum for negotiations comes after six months of combat successes achieved by the EAO and the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), the armed wing of the opposition national unity government.
The PDF, led by Suu Kyi, and the EAO control almost all of Myanmar’s borders, although rumors are growing that the junta is planning a counteroffensive aimed at recapturing lost territory.
Around 3 million people have been forced from their homes by the three-year conflict, and about half have become refugees since November, when EAO forces based in northern Shan State launched a offensive in the dry season, according to the latest UN data.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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