ASEAN envoy says Myanmar military regime must give him access to all parties

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The Southeast Asian regional bloc’s special envoy to Myanmar said on Saturday that the military regime should give him full access to all parties when he visits the strife-torn country.</p>
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have appointed Erywan Yusof as their special envoy Erywan and he has been entrusted with overseeing humanitarian aid, ending violence in Myanmar and opening a dialogue between the military rulers and civil rights leaders. </p>
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"The planned visit to Myanmar is in the pipeline, and what we need to do is make sure we're well prepared when we go there, unlike the visit I had in June," a Reuters report cited Erywan as saying in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the tiny sultanate of Borneo.</p>
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Erywan, who is Brunei's Second Foreign Affairs Minister, said he would seek a more substantive discussion during his next planned ASEAN visit to Myanmar.</p>
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<strong>Also read: </strong> <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/myanmar-junta-leaders-may-hold-elections-by-august-106065.html">Myanmar junta leaders may hold elections by August 2023</a></p>
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However, Myanmar civil society groups have not accepted his appointment as they say ASEAN has not consulted opponents of the military dictatorship and other parties.</p>
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The United Nations and many countries have urged ASEAN, whose 10 members include Myanmar, to spearhead diplomatic efforts to restore stability.</p>
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Singapore’s foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, said it was too early to say how long the ASEAN effort to foster talks would take, saying "political solutions, whilst essential, are difficult, and will take, in my view, prolonged negotiations and discussions. Therefore, I would avoid trying to put unrealistic timelines," according to a Reuters report.</p>
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The military junta has cracked down on protesters with hundreds of them being killed after the democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in a coup and put in jail along with other political leaders on Feb 1.</p>
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Myanmar’s military dictator Min Aung Hlaing, has now assumed the post of interim prime minister as well. He has said elections will be held by 2023, pushing the date farther by six months from his earlier assurance.</p>