JAKARTA, Oct 27 — The Special Asean Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Thursday unanimously agreed that the fundamental principles stipulated in the Asean Charter will guide the group’s collective efforts to address the situation in Myanmar.
In a statement, Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister Prak Sokhonn who chaired the meeting said that decision-making in Asean will be based on consultation and consensus.
Ministers and representatives also reaffirmed the importance and relevance of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) and underscored the need to further strengthen its implementation through concrete, practical and time-bound actions.
“The time to act is now, and Asean needs to act together with respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity with the interests of the people of Myanmar at the core,” he said.
Prak, who is also the special envoy of the Asean Chair on Myanmar, said all concerned parties in Myanmar have a stake in ending or worsening the political crisis and it is of utmost necessity and urgency that a dialogue process shall commence the soonest as possible.
The meeting also discussed key recommendations to be submitted for the consideration of the Asean Leaders at the upcoming 40th and 41st Asean Summits next month to ensure full and effective implementation of the 5PCs.
Ministers and representatives also assessed the situation on the ground which remains critical and fragile because of the complexity and difficulty of Myanmar’s decades-long protracted conflicts, which have been further exacerbated by the current political crisis.
A non-political representative from Myanmar was invited to the meeting, but the invitation was met with no positive response, the statement read.
On Wednesday the 10-member bloc said it was gravely concerned over the recent escalation of violence in Myanmar, including the bombing of Insein prison, hostilities in Karen state and the most recent report of an air strike in Kachin State, which hit a civilian gathering where many people were killed or injured.
The United Nations (UN) too is deeply concerned and saddened by reports of airstrikes that took place in Hpakant.
On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup, hours before the newly elected parliament was due to convene for the first time, leading to unrest and turmoil in the country ever since.
— Bernama
