Myanmar junta rebuffs ASEAN call to free Aung San Suu Kyi, questions need for envoy

Myanmar’s military junta has rejected calls from ASEAN for the immediate release of detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while also questioning the necessity of ASEAN’s special envoy for the country. President Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in 2021, has been striving for legitimacy and diplomatic relations with ASEAN since his coup.

ASEAN had previously drafted a peace plan in April 2021 to resolve conflicts and encourage dialogue among the various factions, which was to be mediated by the special envoy. However, Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from attending high-level meetings for not adhering to the plan. The government permitted a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross to meet with Suu Kyi recently, marking the first known contact with an independent humanitarian organization since her arrest five years ago.

Suu Kyi is currently serving her sentence under house arrest in Naypyitaw, on charges her supporters and rights groups deem politically motivated. ASEAN’s current chair, the Philippines, welcomed the meeting as a step towards reconciliation but urged enhanced access to political prisoners and reiterated the demand for Suu Kyi’s unconditional release.

The country’s foreign ministry dismissed the latest ASEAN call, stating that while Suu Kyi’s sentence was commuted for humanitarian reasons, her full release would only occur as per the law. The ministry also affirmed that it will continue collaborating with ASEAN’s present special envoy, Philippine Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro, but does not consider the need to maintain this relationship when Singapore assumes the presidency on January 1, 2027.

In his inaugural speech, Min Aung Hlaing rejected ASEAN’s peace plan, alleging that some member states had discriminated against Myanmar and that they would respond on a case-by-case basis. Critics dismissed the December and January elections as fraudulent, aimed at cementing the military’s control while ostensibly restoring civilian governance.