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ASEAN consensus in balance as Hun Sen plans Myanmar visit
Cambodian premier Hun Sen plans visit to Myanmar, officials announced a day after a court jailed deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on what supporters insist are bogus charges.
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In this file photo taken on Oct. 13, 2009, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (left) poses with his son Hun Manet during a ceremony at a military base in Phnom Penh. Along with the announcement that his son would eventually succeed him, Hun Sen said he would visit Myanmar next month when Cambodia takes over the chairmanship of ASEAN from Brunei. (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)
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senior ASEAN official said on Tuesday that incoming regional chair Cambodia “would and ought to” reflect the bloc’s stance “in its entirety”, as Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to visit Myanmar next month, nearly a year after the latter's military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
More than 10 months after Myanmar’s Tatmadaw staged a coup to overthrow the country’s democratically elected leader, the Southeast Asian “family” ASEAN looks no closer to getting the military regime to respect the regionally mandated Five-Point Consensus that aims to bring an end to the violence and turmoil plaguing the country.
The consensus demands the cessation of violence, the appointment of an ASEAN special envoy to mediate dialogue and the facilitation of humanitarian aid, among other things.
Members of the 10-nation grouping, which relies on consensus for decision making, have been at odds with each other over the regional response to the crisis.
And after the late start by current ASEAN chair Brunei to mediate talks between the military and opposing civilian elements in the power struggle, the position of the rotating chairmanship is set to fall on Cambodia, which analysts suggest could be more aligned with the junta due in part to the autocratic reign of Hun Sen.
Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, visited Phnom Penh on Tuesday to meet with Hun Sen in person, with Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and top diplomat Prak Sokhonn saying they discussed a range of topics including “ASEAN issues”.
“Cambodia and other ASEAN member states will help Myanmar to effectively achieve a win-win solution,” the official said in a Facebook post issued after the meeting.
