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Myanmar junta blames 'foreign intervention' for ASEAN summit exclusion
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told the BBC Burmese news service that the United States and representatives of the European Union had pressured other leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to exclude the military leader from the summit later this month.
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Myanmar Army top officials Major General Tun Tun Nyi (L), Major General Soe Naing Oo (C) and Major General Zaw Min Tun (R) attend a rare military press conference at the Defence Service Museum in capital Naypyidaw on January 18, 2019. Myanmar's army said January 18 it killed 13 ethnic Rakhine fighters in counterstrikes after the well-armed group carried out deadly attacks on police posts earlier this month.
(AFP/Thet Aung)
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spokesman for Myanmar's military government blamed "foreign intervention" for the rare exclusion of its junta leader from a regional leaders' summit later this month.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told the BBC Burmese news service that the United States and representatives of the European Union had pressured other leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to exclude the military leader from the summit later this month.
"The foreign interventions can also be seen here," he said. "Before, we learned that some envoys from some countries met with US foreign affairs and received pressure from EU."
Meanwhile, Myanmar Foreign Ministry said Saturday it was "extremely disappointed" with ASEAN's decision to exclude its leader from an upcoming summi.
"Myanmar is extremely disappointed and strongly objected (to) the outcomes of the emergency foreign ministers meeting, as the discussions and decision on Myanmar's representation issue was done without consensus and was against the objectives of ASEAN," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed at an emergency meeting late Friday that Min Aung Hlaing will not be invited to the October 26-28 summit, current ASEAN chair Brunei said.
The bloc, widely considered a toothless organisation, took a strong stand after the junta rebuffed requests for a special envoy to meet with all parties concerned -- a phrase seen to include ousted civilian leader Ang San Suu Kyi.
The statement noted "insufficient progress" in the implementation of a five-point plan agreed by ASEAN leaders in April to end turmoil following a coup in February, and some member states recommended giving "space to Myanmar to restore its internal affairs and return to normalcy".
