April 24th local time, the special meeting of ASEAN leaders on Myanmar opened in Jakarta, Indonesia. Min Aung Lai, Chairman of the Myanmar National Management Committee, attended the meeting. In addition, the leaders of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Viet Nam, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Laos, Thailand and the Philippines, also attended the meeting.
This meeting is closed for one day. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at a press conference on the evening of the 23rd that this is the first time since the outbreak of coronavirus outbreak, ASEAN leaders held offline meetings, showing concern about the situation in Myanmar and ASEAN’s determination to help Myanmar out of the current situation.
Myanmar held federal parliamentary elections last November, and the National League for Democracy (NLD) won more than half of the seats in the federal parliament. Myanmar’s military is at odds with the NLD over the results of the election, which it says were rigged, has called on the electoral commission to investigate and postponed a new federal parliamentary session.
In the early hours of February 1 this year, Myanmar’s President Moon Min, State Minister Aung San Suu Kyi and some senior NLD officials were detained by the military.
Myanmar’s military subsequently declared a one-year state of emergency and state power was handed over to the commander-in-chief of the National Defence Force.
On 2 February, the General Command of the Myanmar Defence Forces announced the establishment of the National Governing Council, chaired by the Commander-in-Chief of the National Defence Force, Min Aung Rai.
Following the meeting, the special meeting of ASEAN leaders on Myanmar issued a statement of the ASEAN Presidency, calling on all parties in Myanmar to begin constructive dialogue in order to find a peaceful solution that is in the interest of the people.
The statement said that as a family, ASEAN leaders have held close discussions on recent developments in Myanmar and expressed deep concern about the situation in Myanmar.
The statement said ASEAN leaders reached five points of consensus on the situation in Myanmar, including that all parties should exercise maximum restraint, that all parties should begin constructive dialogue, and that ASEAN should promote mediation in the dialogue process.
