Myanmar’s junta chief will be excluded from an upcoming ASEAN summit, the group said Saturday, a rare rebuke as concerns rise over the military government’s commitment to defusing a bloody crisis, IgbereTV reports.
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed at an emergency meeting late Friday that Min Aung Hlaing would not be invited to the October 26-28 summit, current ASEAN chair Brunei said.
The bloc, widely considered a toothless organisation, took a strong stand after the junta rebuffed requests for a special envoy to meet with all parties concerned — a phrase seen to include ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The statement noted “insufficient progress” in the implementation of a five-point plan agreed by ASEAN leaders in April to end turmoil following a coup in February.
