Indonesia calls on ASEAN to appoint envoy for Myanmar

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s foreign minister on Wednesday urged the Association of Southeast Asia Nations to immediately appoint a special envoy on Myanmar following a coup, and reiterated a call for the safety of civilians as the ruling junta cracks down on opposition.

After holding talks with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell in the capital, Jakarta, Retno Marsudi said that Indonesia is continuing to communicate with the chair and other ASEAN member countries following their demand for an immediate end to killings and the release of political detainees in Myanmar.

ASEAN leaders met in April in Jakarta with Myanmar’s coup leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. They also demanded that dialogue between parties in Myanmar should immediately start, with the help of the ASEAN envoy.

“The special envoy appointment must be completed immediately,” Marsudi said. “The safety and well-being of the Myanmar people must continue to be a priority.”

An Indonesian diplomat familiar with the Myanmar issue said Wednesday that Brunei, which currently holds ASEAN’s rotating presidency, will send Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof to meet the junta on Saturday.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media on the issue, said the visit is aimed to seek Myanmar’s approval of the ASEAN envoy. Myanmar is a member, and traditionally the bloc has refrained from interfering in each other’s affairs amid criticism its divisions and alignments with either the U.S. or China are weakening its position.

Marsudi said that naming the envoy involves both sides in Myanmar, making progress in the process slow.

According to Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has kept a detailed tally of arrests and deaths since the February military takeover, 818 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security personnel since the coup. More than 4,300 people are in detention, including 104 who have already been sentenced.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the junta chief, said in an interview last week with Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television that the death toll had been exaggerated and was actually about 300, and that 47 police had been killed and more then 200 injured.

Niniek Karmini And Edna Tarigan, The Associated Press

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