PHNOM PENH: The ASEAN Chairman, Prime Minister Hun Sen, has released a statement expressing grave concern over the recent escalation of violence in Myanmar. This includes the bombing at Insein prison, hostilities in Karen State, and the most recent report of an air strike in Kachin State, which hit a civilian gathering, killing and injuring many people.
“We are deeply saddened by the growing casualties, and the immense suffering that ordinary people in Myanmar have endured,” read the statement.
The ASEAN Chairman stated that the latest intensified fighting has not only resulted in worsening the humanitarian situation throughout Myanmar, but also goes against the spirit of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus (5PC) and undermines the effort of the Special Envoy of the AEAN Chair on Myanmar, DPM Prak Sokhonn, to bring progress in its implementation.
“We, therefore, strongly urge utmost restraint and immediate cessation of violence,” added the ASEAN Chairman. “We urgently call on all parties concerned, in particular one with significant power on the ground, to take concrete actions to enable a process of inclusive and constructive dialogue and to seek a peaceful solution and national reconciliation in Myanmar, and for the sake of peace, security and stability in the region.”
On Sunday, 23 October, at least 50 people attending a celebratory event in Myanmar’s mountainous Kachin state were killed in military airstrikes, according to local news outlets and international organizations. According to a statement from KIA Spokesperson, Naw Bu, cited by Reuters, the victims were attending an event, including a concert, held by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to mark the 62nd anniversary of the group’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization.
Myanmar has been wracked by conflict since the military junta seized power in a February 2021 coup. Since then, freedoms and rights in the country have deteriorated significantly, according to rights groups and observers, with the country also seeing the return of state executions and a surge in the number of documented violent attacks by the army on schools.
