KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will head a regional diplomatic mission to Myanmar next month following the junta’s decision to lift its state of emergency, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan confirmed on Friday.
The visit is expected to take place on September 19 and will include the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, Mohamad told reporters.
“I want to get a clear picture for me to bring to the attention of the ASEAN leadership in October,” he said, referring to the bloc’s annual summit.
As current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysia has been leading efforts to increase pressure on Myanmar’s ruling junta. ASEAN has barred Myanmar’s generals from attending high-level meetings due to ongoing violence in the country, but diplomatic attempts to resolve the crisis have so far yielded little progress.
Myanmar’s conflict erupted after the military overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, plunging the nation into a many-sided civil war.
Last week, military chief Min Aung Hlaing announced the end of the nationwide state of emergency imposed during the coup and outlined plans for December elections. However, opposition groups have vowed to boycott the polls, and a UN expert has dismissed them as a “fraud” aimed at legitimizing the junta’s rule.
Mohamad said the ASEAN delegation will seek clarity on the election process.
“I want to discuss with them whether their elections will be comprehensive,” he said, noting that 63 cities or areas remain under a state of emergency, mostly in conflict zones or under anti-junta control.
No official date has been set for the vote.
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