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

Myanmar’s military-controlled government has refused the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) recent demand for the immediate release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and questioned the necessity of ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar, according to the country's foreign affairs ministry. President Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in 2021 from Suu Kyi's civilian government, has been striving to establish political credibility since the coup and reestablish relations with ASEAN.

ASEAN devised a peace plan for Myanmar in April 2021 to cease hostilities and initiate negotiations among conflicting factions, with the special envoy as a facilitator. Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from attending high-level meetings due to his refusal to adhere to the plan. In an attempt to appease critics, the government permitted a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit 81-year-old Suu Kyi last week, marking the first known contact with an independent international humanitarian organization since her five-year detention.

Suu Kyi is currently serving her sentence under house arrest at an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw, on charges her supporters and human rights groups allege are politically motivated. The present ASEAN chair, the Philippines, welcomed the meeting on Friday as a step towards dialogue and reconciliation, while urging enhanced access to political detainees and reiterating its demand for Suu Kyi's "complete and unconditional release." Myanmar's foreign ministry released a statement on Saturday criticizing the call.