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

Myanmar’s military-led government has rejected the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s latest demand for the immediate release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and expressed doubts about the necessity of the organization’s special envoy for Myanmar. This comes as President Min Aung Hlaing, the former army chief who seized power in 2021, has been striving to regain political legitimacy and reestablish relations with ASEAN.

ASEAN initially presented a peace plan in April 2021 to put an end to the hostilities and start dialogue among the different factions in Myanmar. The special envoy was part of this plan. However, Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from attending high-level meetings due to his refusal to follow the plan.

In a move to mollify critics, the government permitted a representative from the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the 81-year-old Suu Kyi last week, as her first known contact with an independent international humanitarian organization since her five-year detention. Suu Kyi is currently serving her sentence under house arrest in Naypyitaw, on charges that her supporters and rights groups claim are politically motivated.

Min Aung Hlaing’s administration was recently criticized by Myanmar’s foreign ministry for dismissing ASEAN's renewed call. Despite commuting her sentences based on humanitarian grounds, the government insists that a complete and unconditional release can only occur in line with the law. The ministry also affirmed its ongoing collaboration with ASEAN's present envoy, the Philippine Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro, but expressed no need for continued engagement when Singapore assumes the chairmanship on January 1, 2027.

Min Aung Hlaing's government has dismissed ASEAN's peace plan, citing disagreements among member states and the intention to respond to each situation individually. The credibility of the December and January elections, held by a government that emerged from multiparty democratic elections, has been questioned, with critics arguing that they were a sham aimed at solidifying the military's control while ostensibly restoring civilian rule.