PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, DPM Prak Sokhonn, concluded his second visit to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar where he met and held talks with several senior government officials, representatives from seven different ethnic armed organizations and seven different political parties, and attended a handover ceremony of Covid-19 vaccines as part of the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.
DPM Prak Sokhonn conducted his visit to Myanmar from 30 June to 2 July, in his capacity as the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar. He was accompanied by the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, Ekkaphab Phanthavong, who was representing ASEAN Secretary General, Dato Lim Jock Hoi, and members of the Office of the Special Envoy, representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center).
According to a press release issued on Monday, 4 July, this working visit aimed to move forward the progress in the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus (5PC), notably on the matter of expediting the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the joint vaccination program, and engendering a conducive environment for an inclusive political dialogue.
The ASEAN Special Envoy began his visit by attending the handover ceremony of the Chinese government’s contribution of two million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to ASEAN for Myanmar on 30 June, which was presented by the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Myanmar, Chen Hai.
He later paid a courtesy call to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and exchanged views on situational updates and challenges in implementing the 5PC, while following up on the three previous meetings the Senior General had with Prime Minister Hun Sen, and the outcomes of the Consultative Meeting on ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar.
The Senior General spoke of his willingness to engage directly in the National Ceasefire Agreement and reassured the Special Envoy of his full support to fulfilling the latter’s mandate. DPM Prak Sokhonn also took the opportunity to urge the State Administrative Council (SAC) to explore ways to work with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to further enhance synergy between the work of ASEAN and the UN.
When meeting with the Myanmar Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, the DPM recalled two recent communications on death sentence and the request to return Daw Aung San Suu Kyi into house detention. The Special Envoy also reiterated his call for the cessation of violence and requested the SAC to support a safe, timely and impartial delivery of humanitarian assistance to hard-to-reach areas, the release of prisoners and for meetings with several non-SAC individuals, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Daw Su Su Lwin.
On the last two days of his visit, DPM Prak Sokhonn held talks with the representatives of seven ethnic armed groups who have signed the national ceasefire agreement with the SAC, and representatives of seven political parties who won seats at the 2020 election. While meeting with the ethnic armed groups, he emphasized how Cambodia brought about today’s peace, stability and development through Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Win-Win Policy. The ethnic armed groups commended Cambodia’s experience on national reconciliation and the Win-Win policy, and said they appreciated the good office of the Special Envoy in trying to help bring Myanmar back to normalcy.
While meeting with representatives of the seven political parties, the DPM was briefed on the developments of the political and humanitarian situation on the ground, and shared great concern on the severe impacts of violence on civilians, including the burning of villages without clear responsible organizations. They also shared a common desire for peace and non-violence. The Special Envoy, in turn, expressed his commitment to help expediting the delivery of humanitarian assistance to create a conducive environment for political dialogue to start.
DPM Prak Sokhonn paid his first visit to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar from 21-23 March, at which time he said that it was a visit to learn about the current situation in Myanmar, learn about stakeholder positions and listen to the requests of the Myanmar side.
