Myanmar opposition welcomes ASEAN’s junta snub

Gulf Today Report

Myanmar's shadow government, formed by opponents of the ruling military, welcomed on Monday the exclusion of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming regional summit, but said it should be the legitimate representative.

However, the opposition said it would accept inviting a truly neutral alternative Myanmar representative, as decided over the weekend by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

READ MORE

ASEAN excludes Myanmar junta leader from summit

New Zealand extends coronavirus lockdown in Auckland

Meanwhile, Myanmar's junta leader on Monday defended his military government's actions in a regional peace plan and said it was seeking to restore order, but that its opponents were committing violence, which ASEAN should take notice of.

Flags are seen outside the ASEAN secretariat building in Jakarta, Indonesia. File/Reuters

Myanmar will release more than 5,636 people arrested over their roles in protests against its ruling military, according to an announcement on state television on Monday.

In a televised address, coup leader Hlaing reiterated the junta's five-step process toward restoring democracy, and said some of the things demanded by a special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were non-negotiable.

It was Min Aung Hlaing's first remarks since ASEAN agreed to sideline him from an upcoming leaders' summit over lack of progress in a peace roadmap.

The amnesty was for humanitarian reasons, it said, blaming outlawed opposition groups for stoking the unrest.