ISTANBUL
Top diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to meet in Cambodia on Wednesday amid calls to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar.
Six of the 10 foreign ministers of the regional bloc will meet in Phnom Penh while Thailand and Brunei will attend the meeting virtually.
Myanmar, one of the 10 members of the regional bloc, has not responded to the invitation to attend the ministerial moot expected to last until Thursday.
“The foreign ministers will discuss ways to further strengthen external relations with dialogue partners while maintaining and promoting ASEAN solidarity and unity, and discuss ways and means to mobilize joint efforts to build a stronger ASEAN community,” said Chum Suntori, spokesperson of Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, according to Khmer Times.
It will be the first high-profile summit of ASEAN after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen visited Myanmar last month.
The visit to Myanmar, which is under military rule since Feb. 1 last year, had come under criticism.
Myanmar’s military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, by deposing the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi over allegations of fraud in the 2020 general elections.
The military takeover has triggered mass protests in Myanmar, with the junta’s forces having killed more than 1,500 people in a crackdown on dissent, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local monitoring group.
The ASEAN had announced its special envoy to Myanmar but he is yet to undertake a formal visit to the Buddhist-majority country.
Meanwhile, Bangkok-based human rights watchdog Fortify Rights said the alleged crimes committed by the Burmese military, including the massacre of civilians and use of human shields in Karenni State, “may amount to war crimes.”
In its new flash report, Fortify Rights urged the ASEAN to support the establishment of a UN Security Council-mandated global arms embargo to prohibit the sale of weapons and dual-use technology to the Myanmar military junta.
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