Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday urged Myanmar\u2019s Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to uphold an agreement he made with fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to end the political crisis in his country, but observers say the entreaty had likely fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n
Hun Sen, who recently assumed the rotating chair of ASEAN, made the request to Min Aung Hlaing during a video conference, a day after he confirmed plans to invite the junta chief to an upcoming summit of the bloc even though he has yet to implement the so-called Five-Point Consensus, a plan he agreed to last April to end violence in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
The call was billed as a follow up to Hun Sen\u2019s Jan. 7-8 trip to Myanmar \u2014 the first by a foreign leader since the military\u2019s Feb. 1, 2021, coup \u2014 which drew widespread criticism for conferring legitimacy on a regime that has detained nearly 8,800 civilians and killed some 1,500 others, mostly during nonviolent protests of its rule, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.<\/p>\n
In addition to discussing \u201chow to further advance\u201d implementation of the consensus, the two leaders \u201cshared the view on the need to make more efforts to improve the situation in Myanmar,\u201d according to a statement by Cambodia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hun Sen stressed to Min Aung Hlaing that he is \u201cdeeply concerned over the persistent violence\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n
The statement said that Min Aung Hlaing told Hun Sen that Myanmar \u201cis committed to work with Cambodia as the ASEAN chair,\u201d and that the two sides agreed to continue to hold \u201ccandid discussions on matters of mutual interests,\u201d but did not clarify whether he planned to honor his promises to the bloc.<\/p>\n
Speaking to RFA\u2019s Khmer Service, Cambodian political analyst Em Sovannara said he expects there is little chance that Min Aung Hlaing will follow through on his promises to ASEAN, despite the rosy portrayal of Wednesday\u2019s video conference offered by Hun Sen\u2019s foreign ministry.<\/p>\n
If the status quo remains in effect, he said, the political crisis in Myanmar will continue and likely result in further bloodshed.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The talks took place because] Hun Sen wanted to restore face after he was criticized over his recent trip to Myanmar being a waste of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In the statement, Hun Sen noted that the Five-Point Consensus \u201crepresents ASEAN\u2019s shared resolve to bring normalcy\u201d and should therefore \u201cremain a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of that process, he called on Min Aung Hlaing to facilitate a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy of the ASEAN chair as soon as possible. He asked that \u201call parties \u2026 including [the junta] exercise with utmost restraint, cease violence, and endeavor to achieve a ceasefire\u201d to set the stage for dialogue, and requested full cooperation from the military in support of ASEAN relief efforts.<\/p>\n
Other statements on Hun Sen\u2019s Facebook page referred to Min Aung Hlaing as the \u201csenior leader\u201d of Myanmar or chairman of the country\u2019s State Administration Council, using the official name of the junta \u2014 noticeably different than the more deferential tone that followed the Jan. 7-8 visit in which Cambodia\u2019s Foreign Ministry called him the Myanmar\u2019s \u201cprime minister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier statements prompt concern<\/strong><\/p>\n As recently as Jan. 20, Cambodia\u2019s Foreign Ministry had issued a press release condemning clashes between the military and anti-junta forces in Myanmar\u2019s Kayah state for \u201cjeopardizing\u201d what it characterized as \u201cprogress\u201d made in the aftermath of Hun Sen\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n Such statements, as well as Hun Sen\u2019s failure during his visit to meet with any of Myanmar\u2019s prodemocracy leaders, including jailed National League for Democracy chief Aung San Suu Kyi \u2014 another condition of the five-points \u2014 had prompted concern from observers, who said they suggest the prime minister intends to treat the junta with kid gloves as chair of ASEAN.<\/p>\n In the weeks since Hun Sen\u2019s visit, Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to four years in detention and the military has deployed air strikes during clashes that have displaced thousands of civilians.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Hun Sen told Dato\u2019 Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob \u2014 his counterpart in fellow ASEAN member state Malaysia \u2014 that he had invited Min Aung Hlaing to an upcoming ASEAN summit, provided he implements conditions to end the political crisis in his country. If Myanmar fails to do so, he said, the junta will have to send non-political representatives to the meeting.<\/p>\n Hun Sen warned that ASEAN has \u201ca lot of work to do\u201d and cannot allow itself to \u201cbecome a slave to Myanmar\u201d by becoming too focused on the latter\u2019s internal politics, Cambodia\u2019s Foreign Ministry said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reported by RFA\u2019s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n
\r\nThis content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia<\/a> and was authored by Radio Free Asia.
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