Myanmar's military government has said it could not approve a special ASEAN envoy's insistence on meeting with "some specific individuals" in the country, indicating it has effectively rejected his visit because of the request to meet civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and some other opposition leaders.
The Foreign Ministry under the military government issued a statement on Thursday saying "some requests which go beyond the permission of existing laws will be difficult to be accommodated," regarding the request by Erywan Yusof, ASEAN's special envoy on Myanmar and Brunei's second foreign minister.
The special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who was appointed in August, is supposed to mediate dialogue between all sides in Myanmar's political turmoil as part of his mandate. He had planned to visit the country from Monday to Thursday.
While the statement did not explicitly mention that the ministry had refused Erywan's visit, a spokesman of the Myanmar military told Radio Free Asia on Thursday that the special envoy's visit was postponed from his side due to his "bargaining attempts."
Related coverage:
ASEAN mulls downgrading Myanmar representation at summit
ASEAN envoy to Myanmar calls for 4-month cease-fire to deliver aid
Japan, ASEAN envoy to Myanmar vow to cooperate on resolving crisis
In the statement, the ministry also said it hopes Erywan will avoid any actions that are aimed at putting politically motivated pressure on Myanmar.
On Friday, ASEAN foreign ministers will hold an emergency online meeting to discuss Myanmar, including not letting the country's military leader attend a summit meeting late this month, according to ASEAN sources.
Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia proposed at a high-level ASEAN meeting on Friday last week that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led a coup in February that ousted the elected government under Suu Kyi, not be allowed to participate in the summit, the sources said.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
