Aa |   aA
"Thai Deputy Defense Minister Condemns Cambodia Over Landmine Incident Injuring Thai Soldiers; Keo Remy, however, warned, 'Please do not walk like a crab.'" | BREAKING: Tensions Escalate: Thai Troops Prepare to Launch Unauthorized Attack on Cambodian Territory Amid Internal Political Strife | Cambodia Rebuts Thailand’s Baseless Landmine Allegations and Urges Diplomacy to Maintain Regional Peace | Cambodia Accuses Thailand of Using Landmine Incidents as a Political Tool and Violating Ceasefire Agreements | Breaking: Kandal Provincial Police Arrest Notorious Lotion Manufacturer Love Riya | Cambodia Clarifies Misleading Claims About Ottawa Convention Meeting in Bangkok | Cambodia, China, and Thailand Discuss Regional Cooperation and Border Disputes at Mekong-Lancang Meeting | Smile Asia Philanthropic Visionary Award” Presented to Dr. Pich Chanmony Hun Manet | Cambodia & Thailand Call for Restraint and Adherence to International Agreements | International Observer Team Conducts Monitoring Visit Following Cambodia–Thailand Ceasefire Agreement | Cambodia, Vietnam Strengthen Ties in High‑Level Video Conference; Aim for $20B Trade |

ASEAN Envoy, Cambodia’s FM Prak Sokhonn Seeks Myanmar Junta Blessing to Meet its Opponents

  • Posted Feb 18, 2022 17:18 by Rosahlee Bautista
  • 2349
  Aa |   aA

PHNOM PENH: A special Southeast Asian envoy to the crisis in Myanmar, Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, on Thursday ,February 17, has said he was seeking to visit the country next month and appealed to its military junta to give its blessing for him to talk with a shadow government it has labeled "terrorists."

Prak Sokhonn has said engaging the National Unity Government (NUG), a group of members of the ousted administration and other military opponents, was complicated because of the junta's objections.

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister , Prak Sokhonn says ome of their colleagues demand a bit too much. For him, they have demanded some hard pre-conditions that was not acceptable by Naypyitaw, meaning the special envoy will have to be able to meet with Madame Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint during his first visit - something that Naypyitaw did not accept, so he has said, they stalled. The process was blocked, even two months later nothing happened, so Prime Minister Hun Sen has decided to take a different approach, including engaging with Naypyitaw, engaging with Naypyitaw in order to break the ice.

He has added, if Naypyitaw is not speaking with the NUG (National Unity Government) - so let the special envoy as the bridge, as the facilitator, speak with them.

The foreign minister has not yet made any contact with the NUG because of the fact that Naypitaw has labelled this entity as terrorist group. So you cannot on one hand try to engage with someone and on the other hand, engage with the one who is considered by the former as terrorist.

ASEAN last year has unexpectedly blocked Myanmar's military government from joining key meetings over a failure to honor a peace plan agreed with the 10-member bloc, which included an immediate end to hostilities and letting a special envoy facilitate dialog.

Prak Sokhonn said his predecessor as ASEAN envoy was unable to visit Myanmar because of preconditions by some ASEAN members that the ruling generals found unacceptable. Those included access to Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the elected government ousted in last year's coup. Suu Kyi is on trial accused of multiple crimes.

As 2022 chair of ASEAN, Cambodia has caused some concern among fellow members over Prime Minister Hun Sen's preference to directly engage with the generals, including visiting junta leader Min Aung Hlaing last month.

Related News